Past few Sundays have been about Indian style curries, and quite honestly I was bored. I had nothing in mind planned for Sunday lunch till I got to the supermarket on Saturday. I figured I’ll go back to one of my all time favourites – Thai red curry. I’m very organized in my kitchen. I prep well in advance if needed and keep my space clean. I can’t and won’t cook in a hurry. The best thing is to prep in advance and then just put things together when it’s time to cook. I did the same here as well. I made the curry paste on Saturday itself so all I had to do on Sunday afternoon was cook the chicken in the paste and coconut milk. But this time around I added coriander stems to my curry paste. I don’t think I’m going to make a paste without it anymore. It added such a freshness to the curry, I was ecstatic!
Ingredients:
Marinade:
Chicken on the bone (or boneless) – 1/2 kg
Garlic – 3 cloves grated
Ginger – 1/2 inch piece grated
Chilli powder – 1 tsp
(Marinate overnight or 2-3 hours)
Curry paste:
Shallots or onions – 1/4 cup chopped
Dried red chillies – 4
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Galangal (or ginger) – 1 inch piece
Garlic – 4 cloves
Lemongrass – 2
Coriander stems – handful chopped
Lemon/lime leaves – handful torn
A splash of water
Other ingredients:
Sesame or vegetable oil – 1 tbsp
Coconut milk – 1 tetrapack or 200 ml
Lemon/lime leaves – 4-5
Basil leaves – 4-5
Chicken bouillon cube – 1
Fish sauce – 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Method:
Grind all the ingredients for paste till smooth (or rough, if you like).
Heat oil in pan and saute the curry paste till it turns a few notches darker in colour.
Tip the marinated chicken in and coat the paste over it.
Add 1/2 a glass of water and and the coconut milk along with the lemon leaves (save some for garnish), basil and the chicken cube.
Let it come to a boil and simmer it for 25 mins or till chicken is cooked through. If you’re using boneless, then 15-20 mins should do.
Take it off the heat and garnish with some more lemon leaves and basil if you’d like.
Serve with steamed rice.
