Yellow Split Peas with Spinach

This is ridiculously simple, cheap, and easy. You can eat it like a soup or serve it over rice. 

I found a cookbook devoted to Indian slow cooker recipes and I couldn't be more thrilled. Here's the link on Amazon to Anupy Singla's The Indian Slow Cooker if you feel inspired. I have mixed feelings about slow cookers. Sometimes I think that everything that comes out of them tastes exactly the same, other days I wonder why I don't use it more often. However, Indian cooking already uses one million spices and it's kind of nice to be able to keep the preparation simple. I'm going to try another three recipes from this book and if they taste as good as they look, I'll be a slow cooker devotee forever. 

This was supposed to be made with lentils, but I made a mistake and used split peas. I'm not going back. Also, I used half water, half broth to make this, and much to my surprise this tasted very meaty. If you don't have a slow cooker, just do this on the stove and use 14 or 15 cups of water or broth. I tried it to be sure and it was fine. 

Ingredients:
3 cups dried yellow split peas
1 inch piece ginger, peeled and minced or grated
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced 
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoons salt
12 cups water or homemade broth
4 cups firmly packed spinach leaves, chopped

Directions:
Put all the ingredients except for the spinach in the slow cooker and cook on low for four hours, then add the spinach. Turn if off and let it sit for a few minutes to wilt the spinach.