Thai green chicken curry

BBC

Ingredients

Green curry paste

• 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 inch galangal, chopped
• 2 stalks lemon grass, chopped
• 2 teaspoon lime zest
• 30 g (1 oz) coriander stems/roots
• 30 g (1 oz) chopped shallots
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 40 fresh small green chillies
• 60 g (2 ½oz) Thai basil leaves

Thai green chicken curry

• 1 litre (1¾ pt) coconut milk (should be the sort that tends to separate out so that, when you open it, the milk is more runny at the top and thicker at the bottom)
• 60 ml (2½ oz) green curry paste (see recipe above)
• 1 whole chicken that has been chopped up
• 3 round Thai eggplants (white aubergines), chopped
• 30 g (1 oz) pea aubergines
• 2 tablespoons (350 g or 4 oz) palm sugar, grated
• 4 kaffir lime leaves, torn
• 2 tablespoons (30ml) fish sauce
• 15 g (½ oz) fresh sweet Thai basil
• 1 long red chilli
• 1 long green chilli
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) Thai green curry paste to taste
• Jasmine rice 

Method

Green curry paste

1. Grind the coriander, cumin and peppercorns using a pestle and mortar.
2. Put the remaining ingredients for the green curry paste in a food processor and whiz until pulverized. If necessary add a small amount of water one teaspoon at a time. You can remove the pith and seeds from the green chillies to make the paste less hot if you wish.
3. Add the ground spices.
4. Place in a container and store in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Thai green chicken curry

1. In a wok, fry the thick part of the coconut milk until it starts to split – tthis should take about 3 minutes.
2. Add the green curry paste to the coconut milk and fry for 2 minutes.
3. Place the chopped up chicken in the wok and continue to fry for a further 2 minutes before stirring in the chopped eggplant (aubergine).
4. Add the thin coconut milk, pea aubergines, palm sugar and torn lime leaves.
5. Finally stir in the fish sauce and half the Thai basil.

To serve

You can add slices of one red and one green chilli for decoration. Sprinkle the remaining basil on top.
Serve with jasmine rice.

Did you know?

If you want to beat the chilli burn, drink milk. Milk contains a protein called casein which strips away the capsaicin from the nerve receptors on your tongue.