Recipe: Thai Yellow Curry

I love a good curry, but summer has me craving something lighter than a Indian – especially as I tend to be limited with a creamy Korma. Thai Curries are a good antidote to this, fragrant and spicy, a little creamy, a lot lighter and often packed with veg.

This one has slightly less veg than I’d like as it was a bit of a dreary, drizzly evening, but it hits the right balance between comforting and light. It’s fragrant aromatics are reminiscent of Thai foods, yet the spicing definitely has its Indian influences. Almost as good as a Massaman!

The great thing about Thai curries is that they are relatively easy to make completely from scratch. There’s no need for an excessive spice cupboard, and my recipe certainly doesn’t require a trip to eight different supermarkets. Timewise it’s pretty quick too and, even better, it freezes fabulously.

Very Lazy sent me over a few ingredients to try out, which I’ve used here, but you could just as easily substitute fresh versions.

Ingredients (Paste)

• 1 small onion
• 1/2 bulb of garlic
• 1 chilli (or more if you like it hot – I tend to just grate in more into my finish curry to adjust at the end)
• 1 tablespoon Very Lazy Ginger in oil
• 1 tablespoon Very Lazy Lemongrass
• 1 tablespoon Very Lazy Coriander
• 1 tablespoon curry powder – or teaspoons each of any or all of the following; ground coriander, cumin, tumeric

Ingredients (Curry, Two Servings)

• 1 full quantity of paste
• 250g chicken (or other meat)
• 100g potatoes, cubed chunkily
• 1 can coconut milk
• Cashew nuts
• Coriander, to garnish, if you like

To make the paste, first roast the onion and garlic. Don’t peel them, simply slice the top and bottom off the onion, throw onto some foil, drizzle with oil and create a ‘parcel’ – then bake at 180C for around 25 minutes. Let cool.

Once the onion and garlic is cool enough to handle, peel and throw into a small blender. Add the rest of the paste ingredients and whizz until it looks like a curry paste – adding more or less of ingredients as you fancy. I’m not the biggest fan of lemongrass and I love ginger, so my go-to doubles the ginger here.

Either use immediately, store in the fridge for up to 24 hours, or freeze (I use ice cube trays – easier as they cubes can be cooked from frozen).

To make the curry, heat a little oil in a pan then fry the paste until fragrant. Add the meat, fry until sealed, then lower the heat and add the potatoes and coconut milk. Simmer gently for around 20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked and potatoes tender.

Stir through the cashew nuts and a little fresh coriander, and serve. It’s good with rice for a carb fest, though goes nicely with some lightly cooked green vegetables too. A lovely Yellow Curry, fragrant like a Thai yet as indulgent as an Indian. Lovely!

What’s your favorite curry? Do you make your own?