Thai Green Curry

I love Thai food especially the 'coconut' based dishes - curries, fried shrimp, ice-creams. Coconut milk/flakes take the dish to another level, the special taste that coconut brings out is delicious. So today I am sharing with you one of the Thai curries I have tried at home - Green thai curry with veggies.

The best part of this curry is of course the coconut milk but, yeah, I do love it 'cause its loaded with veggies and that it makes it so colorful. You can try it out with chicken or shrimp and I am sure it will just taste as yummy!

I adapted this recipe from one of 'Sanjeev Kapoor's' recipes (He is one of the well-known chefs in India). The heart of the recipe is the green curry paste; once that's ready and the veggies are cut, the whole process does not take more than 30 mins.

Ingredients
•Orange carrot 1 medium
•Red capsicum 1/2 medium
•Green capsicum 1/2 medium
•Yellow capsicum 1/2 medium
•French beans 6
•Potato 1 medium
•Baby corn 6
•Broccoli florets 6-8
•Mushrooms 6-8
Tip -  In general, you can add any veggies/tofu/paneer/meat you like. 
•Lemon grass stalk 5 (you will get it in the herbs section of your grocery store)
•Lemon juice 1 teaspoon
•Salt  to taste
•Fresh basil leaves 2-3 (if I don't have fresh basil leaves on hand, I substitute them with dried basil leaves)
•Fresh coconut milk 3/4 cup (I used canned Coconut milk)
•Oil 1 tablespoons
Green curry paste
•Galangal 1 inch piece (You will find it in the herb section of your grocery store, if you don't then use Ginger)
•Garlic 2-3 large cloves
•Green chillies 5-6 (adjust them as per your taste)
•Coriander seeds 2 teaspoons
•Lemon rind ,grated 1/4 teaspoons
•Cumin seeds 2 teaspoons
•Shallots 3 (You can substitute regular onions for shallots)
•Coriander roots a small bunch
•Fresh coriander leaves a handful

Steps
1) Cut galangal into strips and diagonally slice the bottom part of the lemon grass stalks. Heat sufficient water in a deep non-stick pan. Add the top part of lemon grass stalks and let the water boil. This is to make the galangal flavored stock.
2) For the green curry paste, grind together sliced lemon grass, galangal, garlic, green chillies, coriander seeds, lemon rind, cumin seeds, shallots, broken coriander roots and coriander leaves with sufficient water into a fine paste.
3) Halve carrot vertically and then cut into 1 inch pieces (juliennes - thin long strips). Separate broccoli into small florets. Cut all three capsicum into juliennes too. Cut French beans into 1 inch pieces. Cube potato. Wash, dry and thinly slice mushrooms. Slice baby corn vertically. Basically cut the veggie/meat/tofu in small pieces so that they cook faster and absorb the curry flavor.
4) Add potato and carrot to lemon grass stock, cover and cook for 3-4 minutes or till the vegetables are slightly soft and have a bite to them. Remove the lemon grass and add broccoli and beans and cook for 2-3 minutes. Transfer the vegetables into a bowl.
5) Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Add the green curry paste and sauté for 2 minutes. Add salt, mix well and cook for a minute.
6) Add the cooked vegetables and mix well.
7) Add coconut milk and stir to mix. At this point, add the three different capsicums and mix well.
8) Add lemon juice and torn basil leaves and mix well.
9) Cook till the potatoes are done.

Yummy Green Thai curry is ready to serve with plain rice or noodles!!

Now that the weather is getting cooler, the Thai curry makes for a perfect Saturday/Sunday lunch with your beloved and a nice movie. Aah, the weekend just got better :)

Do you love Thai food too? Which is your favorite Thai cuisine dish?