We’re firmly in autumn now and we want one thing and one thing only.
Warm and cosy meals.
The only way to go about it is with a slow cooker.
We sat down with chef Poppy O’Toole who gave us some delicious recipes and tips for the kitchen appliance that can be daunting.
Poppy says: “When I went through my vegetarian era, paneer was my go-to … for everything. It’s a delicious, squeaky-type cheese that can withstand a lot of cooking. It’s still very much a staple in my house – and I hope this recipe will make sure it’s one in yours, too.”
Tomato and Paneer Curry
Serves 4
4 hours on high
Ingredients
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced 4 fat garlic cloves, grated or crushed
- 2 red peppers, deseeded and cut into 2cm slices thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated, or peeled and julienned or finely chopped
- 1–2 green chillies, thinly sliced (or 1–2 teaspoons chilli flakes) 450g paneer, cut into 2–2.5cm
- 25g butter, cubed
- 1 x 600g jar of passata 1 tablespoon tomato purée
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 150ml single cream
- 1 lime, juiced
- 150–200g spinach small handful of coriander, stalks finely chopped, leaves roughly chopped
- Salt and black pepper
Method
- Add the onion, garlic, peppers, ginger, chillies, paneer, butter, passata, tomato purée, sugar, garam masala and cumin seeds to the bowl of your slow cooker. Season with 1 teaspoon of salt and lots of black pepper. Cook on high for 4 hours, until the veg are completely tender and the paneer is pleasantly soft, but hasn’t completely fallen apart.
- Stir in the cream, lime juice, spinach and coriander stalks, until the spinach has wilted. Taste to check the seasoning and adjust as needed. Divide the curry between four bowls and scatter over the coriander leaves.
Poppy’s Suggestions
- Make sure you cut your paneer into big enough chunks so that it doesn’t completely fall apart when you cook it.
- I love this served with steamed coriander rice, and a flaky bread like a paratha to swipe up all of that sauce. Some extra sliced chilli is good, too, if you fancy.
- If you want to make this recipe vegan, you can substitute the paneer for firm tofu and use a plant-based single cream.