Bengali broccoli and split pea curry

Bengali broccoli and split pea curry

Making a curry from scratch can seem daunting, but this Bengali broccoli and split pea curry recipe is easy enough to make on a Friday night for friends without causing any stress. It’s also a really healthy option, too, as it’s full of protein from the split peas and packed with nutrients from the Tenderstem broccoli.

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 large onion, roughly chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
2cm piece fresh ginger, roughly chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil
200g yellow split peas
200g Tenderstem broccoli, sliced into 3cm pieces
Small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped
Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt

For the spice mix:

2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp fenugreek seeds
2 tsp mustard seeds
1-2 tsp dried chili flakes, to taste
2 tsp nigella seeds

Method

Make the spice mix by dry-frying the all the spices together for a minute or so. As soon as you smell their aroma wafting up strongly from the pan, roughly grind using a pestle and mortar. Set aside.

Purée the onion, garlic and ginger in a food processor until smooth, adding a tablespoon or so of cold water to help this process along if necessary.

Heat the oil in a large heavy-based pan and gently fry the onion, garlic and ginger purée until soft and translucent. This should take around 10 minutes.

Add the ground spices and fry for a further couple of minutes before adding the split peas. Pour in enough boiling water to cover the peas by about 3cm and bring up to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring from time to time. You may need to add a little more water towards the end if it is looking a little dry.

Stir the Tenderstem broccoli chunks through the curry and continue to cook for around 5-8 minutes or until it is tender but with a little bite.

Serve the curry topped with the coriander. Great served with plain rice or naan.

You might also like these broccoli and sweetcorn fritters or this Moroccan beetroot and herb salad.