Thai Green Curry Paste

First of all let me tell you I was not aware of the existence of Thai curries in India until some 8 years ago. The first time I tasted this in Pune, though I do not remember the restaurant name now. But what I do remember is the smooth, rich texture of the beautiful aromatic pale green curry along with a plateful of fragrant jasmine rice. Till then probably the only south east Asian cuisine I was used to was Chinese and a little Japanese. After having the green curry I started looking up for Thai cuisines. And the more and more I looked at the culture and cuisines I got fascinated. Whenever I used to see Thai green curry mentioned on the menu, the default selection would be it for me. This became such a practice that my colleagues and friends even started complaining that I was stuck up with it. But I didn't mind! In this regards the two places where I absolutely loved the green curry was - Eddie's Kitchen in Camp, Cafe Peter on Apte Road and of course Wok Asia, the takeaway restaurant - out of which the curry from the last one fascinated me most. All the three variants - fish, chicken, prawns were like super awesome.

Then there was this time when I traveled to Thailand for vacation. I was super pepped up not only for the holiday but that I was going to the birth place of the curry I loved so much. I could already see myself having green curry even before I boarded the plane.

But when I ordered my first prawns Thai green curry in Krabi, I was in for a rude shock. What I had on my plate did look somewhat like the curry I was used to have in India, but it didnt taste like the one I was used to. This was not as sweet, not did it have the usual selection of vegetables. Instead it had some small round things - which I later came to know as Thai brinjals but I didn't like their taste. The curry over there was not loaded with vegetables by default unless you specifically ordered a vegetarian variant. I ended up believing that just like the way we have Indianized Chinese cuisine to suit our Indian palate, Thai dishes might also have undergone transformation to suit our taste buds. So that was the end of my green curry eating in Thailand, but once back I resumed having it here.

The very obvious question for those who are unfamiliar with this name is what is a Thai green curry?

The classic Thai curries are named after the color of the paste used to make the curry. Hence the names - red curry, yellow curry and green curry. Traditionally they are cooked with some protein and seasonal greens and are served along with a bed of fragrant Jasmine rice. Green Curry tends to be one of the milder curries of Thai cuisine. The name Gaeng Kiaw Wan literally means 'sweet green curry', where wan means sweet. It is a smooth and rich coconut milk sweet curry with a lemony aroma and a soft hint of chilli.

Green Curry Paste

You will find many pre-made options of the Thai curry recipe in the market. But nothing beats the aroma and texture of freshly made curry paste. I always feel the green paste is the tastiest out of all three variants - red, yellow and green. For the longest time I wanted to make the green curry at home. I used pre-made curry pastes, powders and what not, but they tasted nothing like the original one. I even tried making the paste at home once but it was not a successful try. And mostly the failure attributed to the unavailability of most of the herbs and spices. So lets be honest, making thai green curry can become a little tricky if you do not happen to have the core ingredients at least - lemongrass, galangal, basil, thai chilli and coriander roots. If I must add also the shrimp paste, but still for our palate it can be made optional. I have mentioned all the substitute ingredients below, but then if you use only the substitute elements, then you may as well end up with a Coriander chutney at best instead of a green curry paste. So take a note of it.

The list of ingredients may look long but don't get intimidated by it. Now a days mostly in all super markets or even online grocery markets have all of the below mentioned ingredients. So if you plan in advance you can easily make a big batch of this paste and store it for later use.

Ingredients

A brief about the ingredients:

1. Lemongrass - Its the most classical ingredient in South East Asian cuisine. Peel the tough green outer layers and use the white softer part.The parts which can be chopped by knife.
Substitute: Kaffir Lime leaves 

2. Galangal - It looks like ginger but is more citrusy and harder. The flavor notes are much stronger and sweeter (I would say it somewhat resembles the smell of camphor!). Galangal, also known as Siamese ginger, is indeed a member of the ginger family.
Substitute : Ginger + the zest of 1 lime

3. Shallot - They are a type of onion but have a sweet and mild flavor, and lack the bite. You can use the onions underneath the spring onion for the same effect.
Substitute : Onion

4. Kaffir Lime Leaves - This is indispensable part of Thai cuisine. Both leaves and fruit rind emit an intense citrusy aroma. If you are using frozen or dried leaves, run them under hot water for a few seconds to thaw them and release those delectable aromas
Substitute : Lime zest / Gondhoraj Lemon leaves

Coriander Leaves , Ginger, Peppercorn & Bird's eye Chilli

5. Thai Chilli / Bird's eye chilli - Small and spicy, bird's eye chilies (also known as Thai chilies) are popular in Southeast Asian cuisine and they truly pack a punch, apart from the beautiful red color body.
Substitute: Any spicy chilli

6. Shrimp Paste - The flavor of shrimp is the backbone of South East Asian cuisine and Thai Green Curry is no exception. It is primarily made from finely crushed shrimp mixed with salt, and then fermented for several weeks.
Substitute : Soy Sauce + fish sauce

7. Coriander roots - It adds a beautiful earthy flavor of the cilantro and much sharper flavors than the leaves. Cut off the white roots from the stem and clean them properly off all the dirt. Then scrape the skin off before using it for the paste.
Substitute : Coriander stem

Coriander Roots

8. Thai Basil Leaves - A stronger-flavored basil than sweet basil, Thai Basil also has a hint of licorice flavor.
Substitute: Sweet Basil leaves

9. Coriander/Cilantro - The coriander leaves add to the beautiful green color of the paste.
Substitute: None

10. The spices - The toasted and ground spices add to the flavor profile. Toasting helps in releasing the aromas better. Don't skip the turmeric, it adds to the nice warm color and also enhances the flavors.
Substitute: None


Please note: while all of the substitute ingredients would still give you a green paste, but it might be little less authentic in terms of the flavors.

Coriander seeds, Lemongrass and Garlic

A few things to Keep in mind:

1. Do not make the paste too smooth. it should have a little coarseness for the body in the curries.

2. Always try to use fresh ingredients while making this paste. Especially the herbs, because the more they age, the flavors and color will be impacted.

3. For making the vegetarian version of the paste, skip adding the shrimp paste

4. When you fry the paste in oil to make curry, the aromas will be much more pronounced

June 26

Day 94 of Lockdown 5.0 and Day 26 of Unlock 1.0

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Procedure: 

Signature Rich Color of the Alphonsos

3. You can choose to grind the mangoes into a smooth pulp if you want your jam to have a very smooth and even texture. Grinding is usually a good idea if you are working with a fibrous variety of mango.

But for Alphonso my recommendation would be to just use a fork and smash the pieces into rough pulp so that we have a pulpy texture to the jam. believe me it tastes far better than a smooth textured jam.

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Procedure: 

1.  First of all wash and clean the fish. Sprinkle salt,turmeric and 1 tsp of mustard oil and coat them well. Let it marinate for about 30 minutes.

Tip: Add oil to the marinade when marinating catfish family of fish. They have a tendency to splutter a lot otherwise while frying. This will reduce the spluttering to a great extent

2. Take mustard oil in a wok. When oil is steaming, fry the fish pieces in batches till they are lightly browned on the sides. Take them out and keep it aside.

3. In the same oil saute the diced pumpkins. Please note this is completely an optional step. But since I love having regular catfish with pumpkins I decided to add some in this gravy as well. Slightly brown the edges of the pumpkin and take them out.

4. Check the oil level in the wok, if it is less add extra mustard oil and let it heat up. Add enough oil to fry two onions. When the oil is hot, temper it with a bruised cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaf and jeera. 

5. Toss in the thinly sliced onions. Add a pinch of salt to the onions to cook it faster. Give it a good toss and let the onion cook

6. Meanwhile in a bowl, take about half a cup of warm water. Add all the dry powdered spices to create a spice mix - turmeric, coriander, red chilli powder. Give it a good stir and let it sit till the onions are done

7. Onions should get cooked and slightly browned along the edges. Add the spice mixture and give it all a good stir. Keep the flame at medium-high. Add the salt and sugar at this stage. 

Tip: I like this particular gravy a little sweet and spicy. So the amount of sugar is more than other fish gravies, like i almost added 2 and 1/2 tsp of sugar to this. But if you don't like a sweeter curry then adjust the taste accordingly. 

Also, pumpkin gravies go well with a little sweetness, so that's another reason for adding sugar.

7. When it starts to release oil, add about two cups of warm water and fold in. Add the fried fish pieces and slitted green chillis.

8. Let it cook for about 5 minutes with lid on. Then add the fried pumpkins and cook for 5 more minutes giving it a slight stir.

The quick and easy fish curry is ready in a jiffy. Serve it with white rice and enjoy!

Do try this out and tag me (@curriesnstories07) on Instagram on your photos whenever you try the recipe and I will give a shout out to you.