THAI GREEN VEGETABLE CURRY

Making the curry paste yourself takes your dish from so-so to spectacular beyond belief. The extra love and effort is worth it! But for those short on time, use your favourite high quality green curry paste, and simply add the vegetables. This curry is lovely served with cauliflower rice and a thai-inspired green mango salad.

INGREDIENTS

For the Curry Paste:
WET ingredients
10 Long green chilis
3 sticks Lemongrass  (use white ends)
6 cloves Garlic
8 cm piece Galangal (peeled)
5 cm piece ginger (peeled)
1 bch green onions
Zest of 2 limes
4 lime leaves   
1 bch coriander root (cleaned)
1/4 Cup rice bran oil
1/2 Cup of water

DRY ingredients
3 tsp Peppercorns
8 tsp Cumin
10 tsp Coriander seed
2 tsp Turmeric

For the Vegetable Curry:
600 ml of coconut cream
1 large Eggplant, large 1 inch dice
300 grams Jap Pumpkin, large 1 inch dice
2 Red Onion cut into wedges, leave the core intact with each piece so it stays together
1 tsp himalayan crystal salt
1 tbsp Fish sauce (optional)
1 tbsp Tamari
1 tbsp lime juice
1 ½  tbsp coconut nectar
Fresh sliced greens such as kale, chard, cabbage, broccoli leaves to garnish.

PREPARATION

For the Curry Paste:
Blend all WET paste ingredients till it becomes a smooth paste. Roast all spices except turmeric in the oven at 170 ° C for 8 minutes taking care not to burn them. Mix DRY and WET ingredients.

Heat 1 tbsp coconut oil in a large heavy based saucepan or pot on a medium heat and add 3 tablespoons of curry paste. Fry for 3 minutes stirring  and scraping bottom of pan. Take off the heat if it gets too sticky and wait till it can be scraped off the pan. Continue frying on a medium heat for another 2 to 3 minutes making sure it doesn’t stick.

Note: If you want to use shrimp paste use about 50 grams and roast it wrapped in foil at 180 ° C for 10 minutes. It will be extremely fragrant! Mix this through your paste before you use any for frying.

For the Vegetable Curry:
To your cooked paste, add the coconut cream and bring to the boil. Add the eggplant, pumpkin, and onion. Bring all ingredients to the boil and then turn the heat down to medium.

Once everything is cooked, add salt fish sauce (optional), tamari, lime juice, and coconut nectar (this will take back the acid and sweeten your curry up.)

Sprinkle with fresh sliced greens such as kale, chard, cabbage, or broccoli leaves to garnish.