Ban Thai.....

I am so very excited today. I am uploading the post minutes after making the dish.

My first attempt at making Thai green curry and it has turned out well. I love Thai food. Love the riot of flavors, the texture of the curries, the sweet taste of coconut milk being balanced out by the green/red chillies and lime juice/lemon grass. It also comes very close to Indian coastal food. I am from the Eastern coast of the country where coconut milk/grated coconut is used quite regularly to flavor dishes. I also like the strong sour taste in curries. Thai food makes me feel like it was a cuisine created especially for me.

Last week I watched a cookery show where the host was making a Thai Green curry. I had also read a detailed account of Knife(fellow blogger) making the Thai Green Curry. So, this dish has been on my mind for a while.

My success with Tom Yam soup has also encouraged me to get more experimentative with my cooking. And finally the easy access to ingredients like lemon grass( I now grow it in my garden), galangal, kafir lime leaves etc. And where ingredients were not available some creativity/innovation to the rescue.

I had always thought that the green paste would have some really exotic ingredients and would be difficult to prepare at home. Must be to do with the name. Some internet search, sms exchanges with Knife, encouragement from sis and voila the Thai green curry appeared.

I really enjoyed this one taking shape. As it got close to what was familiar, I started breathing easy. So from feeling terribly nervous at the start of my cooking to becoming almost ecstatic after tasting it. And immense satisfaction after my family had eaten and certified the dish.

Thai Green Curry

Ingredients( a long list but most of the ingredients are easily available at home)

For the green curry paste

Corriander seeds: 1 tsp

Green chillies: 4/5, deseeded. This gives the curry paste a fiery green color and pungent smell. But don't worry the coconut milk and lime juice balances this out. Also the gravy in combination with some rice or boiled noodles tastes just right.

Green corriander:1/2 cup, chopped fine

Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp

Fresh Basil: 2 tbsps

Shallots: 4/5 or about 4/5 tbsps of finely chopped regular onion

Galangal/Thai Ginger: 1 inch piece, chopped fine(you could substitute with regular ginger)

Lemon grass: 2/3 stalks, chopped fine. Save some for the garnish

Kafir lime leaves:4/5

Other ingredients

Soya sauce: 2/3 tsps( or some fish sauce)

Shrimp paste: 2 tbsps( I roasted some dried shrimps and ground them coarsely on my mortar and pestle and added it to the gravy).

Sugar: 1 tsp

Coconut milk: Thin coconut milk about two cups( If using powdered coconut milk, dissolve about 2 tbsps of coconut milk powder in two cups of warm water)

Lime juice: 3/4 tbsps

Chicken: Cut into small pieces( would cook faster and together with the vegetables), about 200 grams

Brinjal: I used a combination of green and purple brinjals(the long ones), so about half of each

Baby corn: 4/5 , cut them into 1 inch long pieces

Mushrooms: 200 grams, quartered.

Oil: 1 tsp

Method

Grind together all the ingredients for the green curry paste.

Heat a wok/kadai. Add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the green curry paste and saute for a few minutes.

Then add the coconut milk, sugar, lime juice, soya sauce, shrimp paste and mix well.

And the chicken and all the vegetables. I love my thai curry with a lot of vegetables but you could halve the quantity if you prefer to have more chicken in your gravy.

Allow the vegetables to cook in the gravy, simmer for about 10 minutes.

Do check the seasoning. Like most Thai food there is a fusion of flavors but it is very important that they balance out. So add sugar/salt, lime juice as necessary.

Serve with some boiled rice or boiled noodles.

Yumm! This one is sure to make an appearance at meal times with regular frequency. Eyes down for Thai red and yellow curries.

Bon Apetit and Happy Cooking!

P.S: Thanks Knife for patiently answering all my queries.