As promised, here's to the much awaited Thai cuisine. I had been meaning to try out Thai since as far back as last year, but somehow never got around to cooking it. Over the past couple of weeks, i tried various recipes for Thai Green Curry and after a lot of experimenting, finally hit the jackpot. The secret to cooking a good Thai curry is the proportion of the various ingredients that go into making the curry paste. And worry not, even if you do not have the authentic Thai ingredients required to make Thai curry paste, this recipe turns out as good as any Thai curry you might have had at a restaurant.
The second recipe- Red pumpkin in a fried basil sauce is from the Taj Chef's Vegetarian favorites. This recipe can be made as spicy as you want it to be and is something different than the usual Thai curries that we have at the restaurants.
The second recipe- Red pumpkin in a fried basil sauce is from the Taj Chef's Vegetarian favorites. This recipe can be made as spicy as you want it to be and is something different than the usual Thai curries that we have at the restaurants.
Thai Green Curry
You can substitute the vegetables to your liking
Ingredients
2 can coconut milk
1/2 cup diced carrots
1 cup sliced red and green peppers
a couple of pieces of tofu (optional)
1/2 cup mixed broccoli, and sugar snap peas (whole), eggplants (sliced)
1/2 cup cruncy lettuce
2 tbsp oil
salt to taste
2 tsp soy sauce
For the green curry paste (Makes 2/3rd cup)
2-3 tbsp chopped red onion or shallots
25-30 fresh basil leaves (you can add as few or more as per your spice level)
10-12 green chilies (adjust according to your spice level)
2 tbsp chopped fresh ginger (or fresh galangal)
1 tbsp grated lemon/lime peel (or kaffir lime leaves)
4 tsp ready made lemon grass paste-available in grocery stores (or 3 tbsp fresh lemon grass stalk- use the bottom fleshy part)
1 tbsp cumin-coriander powder
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (you can use both stem and leaves- root too)
1. For the green curry paste, add all the above mentioned ingredients in a blender, add a little water (or as little as required) and blend into a smooth paste.
2. Heat 2 tbsp oil, add in the green curry paste and saute for 2 minutes.
3. Add in the coconut milk and let cook for 15 minutes.
4. Now add in the broccoli, carrot and eggplant and cook till they are done yet not mushy (should be slightly crispy/crunchy to taste).
5. Add 3-4 fresh basil leaves and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes.
6. Next add in the rest of the vegetables and tofu and cook for 5-8 more minutes.
7. Serve hot with jasmine rice.
P.S.- Start with a small amount of chilies and basil leaves in the curry paste. If at any point while cooking, you feel that the curry is not spicy- blend some basil leaves and chilies and add it to the coconut milk-curry so that you do not make it very hot.
2. Heat 2 tbsp oil, add in the green curry paste and saute for 2 minutes.
3. Add in the coconut milk and let cook for 15 minutes.
4. Now add in the broccoli, carrot and eggplant and cook till they are done yet not mushy (should be slightly crispy/crunchy to taste).
5. Add 3-4 fresh basil leaves and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes.
6. Next add in the rest of the vegetables and tofu and cook for 5-8 more minutes.
7. Serve hot with jasmine rice.
P.S.- Start with a small amount of chilies and basil leaves in the curry paste. If at any point while cooking, you feel that the curry is not spicy- blend some basil leaves and chilies and add it to the coconut milk-curry so that you do not make it very hot.
Red pumpkin in spicy fried basil sauce
Ingredients
300 gm red pumpkin- chopped into big pieces
2-3 tbsp rice flour
1 cup chopped red and green pepper
4 coarsely chopped garlic cloves (2 tbsp)
25 fried basil leaves
1/2 tsp black pepper powder
2-3 tsp dark soy sauce
1 cup water
2 tsp cornflour
1 tsp sugar
salt to taste
1. Blanch the pumpkin pieces and set aside. .
2. Lighlty coat the blanched pumpkin with rice flour and deep-fry them till they are golden brown.
3. Heat oil, add in the chopped garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add in the fried basil leaves, red and green pepper and saute for 3-5 minutes.
4. Add in the water, black pepper, salt, sugar and dark soy sauce and let cook to 5-7 minutes.
5. Now add in the fried pumpkin pieces, and add the cornflour to thicken the sauce. If it becomes too thick, add in some water as required.
6. Serve hot with rice.
2. Lighlty coat the blanched pumpkin with rice flour and deep-fry them till they are golden brown.
3. Heat oil, add in the chopped garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add in the fried basil leaves, red and green pepper and saute for 3-5 minutes.
4. Add in the water, black pepper, salt, sugar and dark soy sauce and let cook to 5-7 minutes.
5. Now add in the fried pumpkin pieces, and add the cornflour to thicken the sauce. If it becomes too thick, add in some water as required.
6. Serve hot with rice.
I am a BIG fan of Thai food and your spread looks fantastic.The spicy pumpkin is a totally new dish for me, looks delicious:)
u have an amazing blog...i lov thai food and ur looks coulouful and tempting...great entry
i always wanted to make thai green curry, but was nor=t very sure for its ingredients, now i think i can give it a try...thanx..
Priyanka, hi, just saw your comment on my blog. I didn't realise you had resumed blogging - do your posts appear on Tastes of India? In any case, am subscribing to your blog now, hope to see you around more often.
hey lovely curries.....second one is really tempting.
why dont u send the first one to the curry mela and the second one to Herb Mania: Basil....do let me know if u need to links
wow...they look so good and mouthwatering
NEVER TRIEDMKIN THAI CUISINE,.UR COMBO LOOKS ELICIOUS..
I am drooling.....i wish I could have some right now !:)
Wow, those are yummy recipes. Looks so tempting. Addition of basil sauce must have made the curry more delicious and aromatic. Thanks for your sweet comments on my blog.
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