Thai Red Curry

After not so long break, trying to finish my Thai series, this is the recipe for Thai Red Curry.

Red Curry is more popular. A bit more spicy and maybe because red is more appealing to the eyes.. Haha.. 

I am putting up this recipe because, red curry paste by itself can be preserved and used for different courses- soups, starters, curry, and even rice! So this is just another addition and a guideline  to make your favorite Thai Red Curry.

Again, the choice of vegetables is entirely up to your preferences. Ideally, a mix of at least 5 different vegetables should be good. This will give it texture and taste.  

Also, this curry is healthy and nutritious. Its low cal and flavoursome. For health conscious eaters, this can be taken with brown rice as well. 

So here it is then:

Serves: 4 Preparation Time: 15 mins Cooking Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

3 tbsp Thai Red Curry Paste
1 ½ cup mix vegetables, sliced diagonally, raw (baby corn, carrots, zucchini, brinjal, broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, mushrooms)
3 tbsp tofu or cottage cheese/paneer, sauteed
1 ½ cup coconut milk (200ml appx.)
2 cups water
1 tbsp oil
Salt as per taste

Method:

1.  In a wok, heat the oil. Once hot, add the curry paste and sauté it till the water dries out and it starts oozing out oil. 

2. Now add the vegetables and let it cook for about 2-3 mins on a medium flame. 

3. Add the coconut milk. Mix. Then add water. Add salt and let it all cook until the vegetables are tender but not mashy.  

4. You can now add the tofu or paneer pieces. If you feel the curry is too thin, you may add 2-3 tbsp cornflour slurry to thicken.

5. Garnish with some fresh basil leaves and serve hot. It goes well with steamed rice or Thai Fried Rice.

Notes & Tips:

1. To make cornflour slurry, mix 1 tbsp cornflour with 2 tbsp cold water stirring to avoid all lumps. Use the smooth mixture as required.

2. The tofu or paneer/cottage cheese should be sauteed in about 1 tbsp oil to avoid breaking or crumbling later.

3. My Jain friends can make the jain paste and proceed with your choice of vegetables. For Jains, a firm cabbage leaf, broccoli, cauliflower stalks are good options too.

Do try it and let me know how it turned out! Leave your experiences or queries in the comments section!

Thai Red Curry Paste

The very traditional thai red curry paste is used in many preparations apart from curry.

You can always make a cup of this and freeze it and use as and when required. Though making it fresh is always better. But those crunched for time, the former option works well!

So lets go ahead with the recipe. 

I recently made it using galangal and kaffir lime leaves,have updated the same. 
Galangal is a species of ginger family which is native to thailand. Similarly, kaffir lime is of the lime family native to thailand. In case you do not find kaffir lime, indian lime/lemon leaves would do as well. If doing so, just increase the quantity as kaffir lime is potent in flavour than regular lemon/lime leaves.

Makes: 1/2 cup.  Preparation Time: 5 - 10 mins. Cooking Time: Nil

Ingredients:

4 Dry Red chillies, soaked in hot water or 3-4 tbsp of red chilli powder (Kashmiri preferably)
2 thai red bird chillies (optional),
2-3 medium sized kaffir lime leaves,
2" galangal block (optional)
½" ginger block, (if not using galangal use 2" ginger block)
4-6 garlic cloves, 
1 tbsp cumin seeds,
1 tbsp coriander seeds,
3-4 shallots, small sized, quartered (madrasi/sambar onions)
¼ tsp white pepper powder or black pepper powder, whichever is handy
2-3 stalks lemon grass (2 if thick, 3 if thin), roughly halved
5-6 red or green basil leaves (red is difficult to get here, so you may substitute with green)
few stalks of coriander 
1 tsp salt

Method:

1. De-stem  & de-seed the chillies soaked in water. Be careful not to let the seeds touch your skin as it may sting you later! or simply use gloves! I skipped this step and it tasted the same, so you may do that too. 

2. Put all the ingredients in a mixer/food processor and blend it into a coarse yet smooth paste. You can use the leftover water of the chillies, about 2-3 tbsp while blending.

Thats it! Ready to use! 
I do not have a good picture of it, but it should look something like this:

Notes & Tips:

1. The quantity of lemon grass really depends on the variety used. Hence make sure its a potent one as lemon grass is one of the core flavours of the paste. The stalk we use is the thick stem and not the leaves we use for making tea!

2. Jains can omit the garlic & shallots and proceed with the rest.  

3. You can adjust the spiciness by adding or reducing the amount of chillies. 

4. Thai bird chillies are tiny red coloured chillies which are really potent. So use carefully. You can entirely omit the dry red chillies and use only the bird chillies. But note that the colour of the paste will not be as red. 

5. If you are preserving it, outside, add enough oil (3 tbsp for a cup of paste) and store. 
If frozen is your way, add 1 tbsp oil and store.

Do try the paste and let me know how did you use it. Please leave comments about your experiences with it.