Vegetable Red Thai Curry

I always forget how good a home made Thai curry is, and when I get round to making one I just want it again and again! It really is a quick and easy meal to make and remember you can make the Thai curry paste in bulk as it keeps in the fridge for weeks!

Vegetable Red Thai Curry

Serves 5-6

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons sunflower oil

4 tablespoons Red Curry Paste (recipe below)

2 x 400ml can coconut milk

2 kaffir lime leaves

2 tablespoons soya sauce

2 teaspoons sugar

2 small sweet potatoes (cut into bite sized chunks)

200 grams cauliflower florets

1 tin chickpeas

2 large red chillies (sliced)

handful chopped corriander

handful fresh basil (torn)

Red Curry Paste (makes 120ml)

6 red chillies

2 chopped shallots

2 garlic cloves

1 stalk lemon grass (chopped)

handful fresh coriander leaves

1 kaffir lime leaf

1/2 tablespoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sunflower oil

Method:

1. To make the paste, place all ingredients in a food processor and blend to a smooth thick paste

2. Heat the sunflower oil in a large pan.

3. Add 4 tablespoons of the red curry paste and heat over a low flame for 2 minutes

4. Add half of the coconut milk and bring to the simmer. Add the remaining milk, potatoes, cauliflower, chickpeas, lime leaf, soya sauce and sugar.

5. Cook over a medium heat for around 15-20 minutes or until all vegetable are tender.

6. Transfer the curry into serving bowls and top with the chopped coriander, basil and red chilli.

Serve with jasmine rice

Enjoy.

Mmmm curry. Nothing betters you!

Indian cuisine has to be my favourite. Growing up in Wembley (one of the largest Indian communities in London), meant weekly visits to one of the many Indian restaurants in the area.

However, although I developed a palate for hot, fragrant curries at a young age, it was not until I visited India a year and a half ago that I really started to appreciate the art of Indian cooking.

The food I ate on this trip was the most delicious, memorable, and inspiring I have ever eaten, and as soon as I returned home, true, home-made Indian food started to make up for the majority of my diet.

Tonight I cooked two of my favourite Indian dishes;

Stuffed baby aubergine and potato

Black eyed bean curry

Black Eyed Bean Curry

Ingredients

2 tablespoons sunflower oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

pinch asafoetida powder

1 onion

1 table spoon ginger - garlic paste

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon coriander powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 tea spoon chilli powder

1 400g tin black eyed beans

3 large tomatoes

1 teaspoon Garam masala

1 teaspoon sugar

Method:

1. Add the sunflower oil to a heavy bottomed saucepan

2. Add the cumin seeds and leave to cook for around one minute before adding the onion and asafoetida.

3. Once the onion begins to brown stir through the ginger-garlic paste, coriander, turmeric, chilli powder and salt and leave to cook for a few minutes.

4. Add the black beans and chopped tomatoes, followed by the sugar and garam masala.

5. Place the lid on the saucepan and leave to simmer for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle with fresh coriander before serving

Enjoy