Green Vegetable Curry

This Thai influenced curry is fragrant rather than spicey hot, and provides a warming alternative to the usual cold weather foods.

Ingredients

For the curry paste

  • 4 lemon grass stalks, inside leaves only, chopped
  • 6 medium hot small chillies, seeded and chopped (change quantities to taste)
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • Thumb size piece of fresh ginger, chopped
  • 2 shallots or 1 onion, chopped
  • Coriander, 1 bunch
  • Lime zest, 1 teaspoon
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • Thai fish sauce (nam pla)
  • Black pepper

For the curry

  • 1 small pumpkin or squash, chopped into 1.5 cm chunks 4 aubergines, chopped into 1.5 cm chunks
  • 8 Shiitake mushrooms, or 200 grams button mushrooms, chopped into 1.5 cm chunk if necessary
  • 400 ml can of coconut mil
  • 400 ml stock (vegetable if only using vegetables)
  • Fresh green peppercorns
  • Coriander, a bunch
  • Thai basil leaves, roughly torn (you can use ordinary basil in place of the Thai)

 

 

Method

Tips

 

For the curry paste whizz all the ingredients in a food processor until you have a paste.

The paste needn't be too smooth so you have some texture left. Also, you will not need all of it and the rest can be stored in the fridge for about 1 week.

 

Fry the squash and aubergine in vegetable oil until slightly browned, then add mushrooms and brown them.

At this stage you can replace the vegetables with meat or add meat to the curry

 

Add about 4 tablespoons of the curry paste, and fry for a couple of minutes, stirring so it doesn't burn

 

 

Add the coconut milk, stock and a few green peppercorns, and simmer until the vegetables are tender.

If you want to use fish add it  here, cut into 1.5 cm chunks

 

Taste and add more curry paste if wanted; if you do cook for another few minutes.

 

 

You can use meat or fish in place of or in addition to the vegetables, and vary the vegetables according to what is in season.