Anshu's Food Odyssey

Thai Cuisine needs no special introduction; a unique blend of flavors with refreshing aroma of exotic herbs, unmatched sharpness of red chilies, soothing sweetness of coconut milk and a tantalizing tartness of limes, it has carved its own very niche on the international culinary platform. Truly speaking, Thai Food is all about a well balance of flavors: sweet, sour, spicy, salty and bitter. Our love for this exotically flavorful cuisine started during our three years of tenure in Singapore, a country that truly deserves to be called a melting hot pot of South East Asian flavors, be it Thai, Malay, Korean, Japanese or Vietnamese. The best part was, since every ingredient used in Asian cooking was so easily available, I could try out many recipes at home....and Thai was always preferred over other cuisines because my husband was a big fan of Thai cuisine; off-course the credit goes to his frequent visits to Thailand for work where his taste buds got acquainted to all the enticing

A " must have " for the Thai Green Curry , this paste is quite easy to make at home and takes no less than 10 minutes if you have all the ingredients ready. Let's take a look at the recipe below. Ingredients Green Chili Peppers (preferably Thai Green Chili) - 10 to 12 Shallots (small onions) - 3 to 4 Cloves - 5 to 6 Coriander leaves and roots of a small bunch of coriander Basil leaves - 8 to 10 Coriander seeds - 1 tsp Cumin seeds - 1 tsp Lemongrass stalks (bottom part, finely chopped) - 5 to 6 Galangal (finely chopped) - 2 inch Kafir lime leaves (finely chopped) - 4 to 5 Lemon juice - 2 tsp Salt - 2 tsp Method 1. Blend all ingredients together with few drops of water to a fine paste and your green curry paste is ready in no time. Refrigerate and it will last for week to 10 days.

Whenever we go to a Thai restaurant, one dish which is a ' MUST-HAVE ' on our tables is the Thai Green Curry ! Exotically flavorful and aromatic with perfect balance of spiciness, tanginess and sweetness, it makes for an appetizing treat to our Thai food-Craving taste-buds. If you too are a fan of Thai food, I am sure, you would love this curry which I made at home with an assortment of vegetables. Needless to say, it is not an authentic recipe and has been customized to suit the Indian palettes. Ingredients Store bought or homemade Thai Green Curry Paste - 3 tbsp Coconut milk - 2 cups Water - 1 cup Cauliflower/Broccoli - 8 to 10 florets Carrots (thinly sliced) - 1/2 cup Baby corns (thinly sliced) - 1/2 cup Zucchini (thinly sliced, if easily available) - 1/4 cup Red and Yellow bellpeppers (cubed) - 1/4 cup Mushrooms (big cubes) - 1/4 cup Pea Brinjals (Thai eggplants, optional) - 8 to 10 Tofu or Paneer - 8 to 10 medium sized cubes. Fish Sauce or Salt - 3 tsp