New Zealand Spring Lamb - Thai Curry

I've eaten a couple of other of New Zealand Lamb's prepared lamb dishes, Lamb Korma and Moroccan Lamb, both of which I liked for a quick but not so fresh meal (I mean, it left me wanting to make my own freshly). I had seen this one before, a Thai curry, but avoided it, because I though to make my own. This is supposed to be a Massaman curry (with Green Curry mixed in), made in South Thailand by Muslims, a recipe I had heard of before, and one dish on a long list of dishes I would like to try in Thailand. Looking through the ingredient listing, I am pleased that the ingredients look to be fairly authentic, they use coconut milk, fish sauce, green curry paste, massaman paste, tamarind pulp, rice bran oil (something I'm getting in to) and kaffir lime leaves - all fairly traditional Thai ingredients. Lamb, though, is not really a traditional Thai ingredient, you'd only find it made by Muslims in the South. I would say that I enjoyed the flavour of this, equal in flavour to the Moroccan Lamb, but, again, it left me wanting to make my own.

I see now that their website has lots of lamb recipes, I think I'll check them out!

Keralan Fish Curry

I made this recipe for our Christmas celebration this year, it went over very well. Kerala is a state of India. This recipe is from Jamie Oliver, it's different than other Keralan Fish Stew recipes I've seen (which use onion rather than shallot, add lime juice at the end and don't use tomato). I used Madras curry powder, rather than the chili powder it originally called for - Madras curry is from India, and contains lots of chili powder, so I feel justified (though, again, I'm not sure that this is a traditional ingredient). For the fish, I chose haddock, it turned out well, but you could also use cod. Because some of my relatives can't take the heat, I didn't add the green chili (the Madras curry powder provides heat in itself); feel free to even add more, if you like it, I've seen a recipe that uses 4-6 chilies. Serve it on basmati rice or Thai jasmine rice. Enjoy!

Keralan Fish Curry
Rice Bran oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
20 curry leaves
6 shallots, finely sliced
4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1 x 2.5 cm piece of ginger, finely sliced
1 green chili, finely sliced
1 Tbsp Madras curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
750 g firm white fish cut into chunks
1 x 400 ml tin coconut milk
1 x 400 g tin of chopped tomatoes
Chopped coriander

Heat a lug of groundnut oil in a large pan and fry the mustard seeds with the curry leaves till the seeds start to pop. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli, and cook on a medium heat for 5 mins, till softened. Mix together the chili powder and turmeric with a splash of water, and then stir into the pan. Fry for a minute, then add the fish, coconut milk and tomatoes. Season.

Bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 mins, or until fish is cooked and sauce reduced. Serve sprinkled with chopped coriander.

Chicken Stir-Fried with Lemongrass and Chile

This dish I first tried in my favourite Vietnamese restaurant, Pho Hung in Mississauga, and it quickly became my favourite Vietnamese dish. This recipe comes from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors by Andrea Nguyen; I was excited to see how it compared to Pho Hung's dish. The key to this recipe is the curry; use the Madras curry if you can get it, I used something from Japan called Oriental curry, and, while it had similar ingredients, it wasn't spicy enough - at least, that is what I like about this dish. We also added too much coconut milk; you need to "dry it out" in order to get the right consistency. But, still, it tasted similar in a lot of ways, and I'm glad to have another dish I can prepare myself. The second time I tried making it, I used some Madras Curry, as I finally found some, at this Chinese supermarket, I also used a more reasonable amount of coconut milk, and it tasted very much better, more spicy but not hot. We also found out, in talking to one Vietnamese restaurant manager, that this recipe is Chinese-Vietnamese, you would not find it on a strictly Vietnamese menu.

Chicken Stir-Fried with Lemongrass and Chile
1-1/3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, well trimmed and cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons Madras curry powder
2-1/2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped (about 1/3 cup)
1 or 2 Thai chiles, finely chopped
1 stalk lemongrass, trimmed and finely chopped (about 3 tablespoons)
1/2 cup coconut milk, canned or freshly made
3 or 4 sprigs cilantro, coarsely chopped, as garnish
Thai Jasmine rice

In a bowl, combine the chicken, salt, sugar, curry power, and fish sauce and turn several times to coat the chicken evenly. Set aside to marinate at room temperature for at least 15 minutes or for up to 1 hour.

In a wok or large heavy-bottomed skillet, heat the oil over high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the shallots, chiles, and lemongrass and stir-fry for about 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add the chicken and the bell pepper; stir quickly to mix. Stir-fry the chicken for about 2 minutes, until they are nicely browned on all sides.

Add the coconut milk, lower the heat to a simmer, and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure even cooking. Cook till the coconut milk is reduced and barely visible. Garnish with the cilantro and serve with Thai Jasmine rice.

Red Curry with Duck and Lychees

I’ve had duck before, prepared the Chinese way and the European way, and found it mostly to be very oily. Now, this dish is a whole different matter, the roasted duck that we used paired excellently with the lychees and tomatoes (which sort of explode in your mouth when you bite down on them, delicious). You can also make this with pineapple or young coconut instead of lychees. Serve this over steamed Jasmine rice and garnished with a few leaves of Thai basil.

Red Curry with Duck and Lychees
Adapted from a recipe from Fresh Thai by Oi Cheepchaiissara
1 lb boneless duck breast, or 1/2 roasted duck
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp light soy sauce
1/2“ fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1-1/2 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp red curry paste
3/4 cup canned coconut milk, shaken well
3/4 cup vegetable stock
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1-1/2 Tbsp palm sugar
8 oz canned lychees, drained
4 oz cherry tomatoes
5 kaffir lime leaves, torn in half

Remove the skin and fat from the duck breasts; thinly slice the raw meat or shred the roasted duck meat. Mix the meat with the sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and allspice and marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Heat the oil in a wok or heavy-bottomed frying pan and stir-fry the red curry paste over medium heat for 2 minutes, until fragrant.

Add the meat, coconut milk and stock and cook for 5-6 minutes or until the meat is cooked (half the time if using roasted duck meat). Add the fish sauce, sugar, lychees and tomatoes and cook for another 1-2 minutes (don’t let the tomatoes overcook). Add the kaffir lime leaves and let heat for another minute.

Tanzanian Curried Chicken-Banana Soup

I have somewhat of an African heritage, from Tanzania, onetime Tanganyika, specifically my father was born there, though food-wise this heritage is sparse, and I've never really felt a need to discover the cuisine of that former German protectorate (my father is not a chef, my mother did the cooking, and she cooked mostly German and North American meals, so I was never exposed to that kind of food till much later). Really, the only African dish I remember my father regularly bringing to the table (mostly in the fall when the corn came out), is something he called ngati, which consisted of field or feed corn, with the tough kernels which are normally feed to livestock, you boil these for a long while, then add some red kidney beans and boil some more; what you get is something which I believe is designed to make you chew for a long while, then cleans out your system (or so I have memories of it, I haven't eaten it for a long while, but my father continued to enjoy it well into his 60's; he's almost 80 now, so it must have been good for something).

The curry powder I used for this soup is certainly not traditional, though there were a fair number of Indians living in Tanganyika and they had curries (which my father enjoyed as well, though the one that we made wasn't that spicy and the appeal of it, to my father, was the little side accompaniments); we used a Malaysian curry powder that we had on hand. Too, I used Ancho chili powder, sweeter and raisin-y in flavour, rather than a hot chile that would be used. I also used young coconut meat rather than the older water coconut meat, we had some frozen, and I just roughly chopped the meat up, though I think that the more traditional older coconut ground fine would have tasted better, and provided a sweet coconut base flavour to the soup. Lastly, we used sweet bananas, rather than what I would guess is used more traditionally, plantains, which are more starchy and less likely to fall apart when cooked. Still, the product of our labours was great tasting, and we used it more as a sauce than a soup, I first had it with rice, then we both enjoyed it with noodles. The result of our curry-chili mixture was not so spicy hot, feel free to up the temperature if you need to. My beautiful Bride wanted me to make this again, and soon, which is a testament to how good it tasted.

Tanzanian Curried Chicken-Banana Soup
4 Tbsp peanut or vegetable oil
4 chicken thighs, bone-in, or 3-lb. chicken, cut into pieces
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tbsp dried red chile, ground to a powder
2 tsp black pepper
8 cups chicken stock
1 large tomato (or 4 canned tomatoes), peeled and chopped
1 cup fresh coconut, grated
2 ripe bananas, sliced into chunky quarter pieces

In a Dutch oven, brown the chicken pieces in the oil. Remove chicken, reserving, and add the onion and garlic to the pot. Sauté until soft, then stir in the powdered chile, the curry, and the black pepper and fry for 2 more minutes. Add the tomatoes, stock, chicken pieces, and coconut, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

When the chicken is done, remove, let cool, then strip away the meat and cut it into bite-sized chunks, discarding the skin and bones. Add it back into the pot with the banana chunks. Simmer 10 minutes.

Curry Leaves

Highly valued in South India and Sri Lanka, the leaves of the Curry tree, also known as Sweet Neem, are interesting; you can smell curry with the fresh leaves, especially when fried in oil. You can best use them with fish or coconut milk curries. They are best fresh, though their shelf life is short; you can also freeze them indefinitely (separate the leaves from the stems and remove any bad leaves); or you can dry them (to dry, put whole stalks with leaves between newspaper sheets and place in a warm area, like the top of a refrigerator), though this way they lose their flavour quickly.

Where do you find curry leaves? In specialty Indian stores, or certain Chinese supermarkets (which is where I found these). You can also sometimes find young curry tree plants for sale; you can grow them indoors and thus have a constant supply.

For a delicious recipe, try Eggs with Curry Leaves.

Yellow Curry Chicken with Pineapple

The pineapple in this dish was simultaneously sweet, spicy and hot; it tasted excellent! We used chicken thighs, rather than the breast it originally called for. We also used mushroom vegetable stock, rather than the chicken stock it calls for. Yellow curry is less spicy than its red and green near-cousins, and has turmeric to give it its yellow colour. This is an easy dish to make.

Yellow Curry Chicken with Pineapple
adapted from a recipe from Fresh Thai by Oi Cheepchaiissara
1-1/2 Tbsp sunflower oil
1-1/2 Tbsp yellow curry paste (we used Mae Ploy)
300 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs, thinly sliced
3/4 cup canned coconut milk, shaken well
3/4 cup vegetable or chicken stock
10 oz pineapple, cut into 1 inch cubes
1-1/2 Tbsp fish sauce
1 long red chili, stemmed, seeded and finely sliced, to garnish (optional)

Heat the oil in a nonstick wok or skillet and stir-fry the curry paste over medium heat for 2 minutes until fragrant.

Add the chicken and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes.

Add the coconut milk, stock, pineapple and fish sauce.

Spoon into a serving bowl, garnish with chili, and serve immediately.

Eggs with Curry Leaves

When I saw this recipe, I knew that it would taste good, because I have enjoyed the taste of curry leaves in other, Indian, dishes, I especially like the fragrance that comes when they are fried. We had no scallions, so we omitted those from the original recipe, I think it could only have been better than it did taste; we enjoyed it two ways, I ate it on bread, my beautiful Bride enjoyed it on rice.

Eggs with Curry Leaves
adapted from a recipe from Mangoes & Curry Leaves by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1 tsp butter
1 tsp vegetable oil
5 to 8 fresh or frozen curry leaves, coarsely chopped
1 tsp minced ginger or ginger mashed to a paste
1/4 cup finely sliced shallots

Whisk the eggs in a bowl until very smooth, add the salt and set aside.

Heat a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter or ghee and oil, and when the butter is just melted, add the curry leaves, ginger and chili and stir-fry briefly. Add the shallots and scallions, reduce the heat to medium, and stir-fry until the shallots are softened, about 4 minutes.

Beat the eggs briefly again, then pour into the hot pan. Lower the heat to medium-low and use a wooden spatula to gently fold the cooked edges of the egg in toward the centre of the pan. As the mass of egg starts to set, run the spatula under the central mass of egg and turn it over. Cook a little longer; the eggs should be just set but still soft and tender.

Eggplant and Mushroom Curry

This is very similar to the Eggplant Masala we made recently, this one uses cumin seeds instead of black mustard seeds, does not have tamarind, and adds tomatoes. Still, it turned out fairly tasty, probably even better than the eggplant masala. You can use any kind of mushroom here, likely button mushrooms work best, but we had some King mushrooms left over. It is interesting how the slow addition of water to the onion spices mixture transforms it into a paste; each tablespoon of water bubbles up with the heat of the pan.

Eggplant and Mushroom Curry
adapted from a recipe from Six Spices by Neeta Saluja
6 Tbsp cooking oil, divided
8 ounces sliced King mushrooms
1 medium eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1 Tbsp coriander powder
1/4 cup water
1 tsp salt
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

In a medium-size pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil on medium heat. When oil is hot, add sliced mushrooms and eggplant. Stir-fry until vegetables start to turn brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Heat remaining oil in the same pan. When hot, add cumin seeds and stir for a few seconds. Add onions and garlic. Cook until they become soft, stirring often to prevent burning.

Stir turmeric, chili and coriander powders into the onions and garlic. Add 2 tablespoons of water at a time until all the water is used up and spices form a smooth paste.

Add mushrooms, eggplant and salt. Stir well with the spices. Cover, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are cooked. Add tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes.

Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve hot.

Asparagus and Sweet Potato Curry

I like sweet potatoes, and my beautiful Bride likes asparagus (ok, most vegetables), so this recipe, found by my beautiful Bride, created a great and delicious curry dish. The spices and ingredients are Indian in nature, and work well with the sweet potato and asparagus.

Asparagus and Sweet Potato Curry
3 Tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp powdered turmeric
2 bay leaves
1 tsp coarse sea salt
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 14.5 oz. can coconut milk
1 large sweet pototo, peeled, thinly sliced
2 bunches asparagus, trimmed, cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
salt and black pepper
cilantro to garnish

Warm coconut oil in large saute pan over medium heat. Add mustard seeds and cook until seeds pop, 2-3 minutes. Add onion and saute 5-7 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add garlic, ginger, garam masala, chili powder, turmeric, bay leaves and salt, and saute another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Add tomatoes and their juices to food processor with metal blade and quickly pulse a few times to break them up. Pour tomatoes and coconut milk into saute pan with onions and spices. Fill coconut-milk can with water and stir well to incorporate any coconut milk that may have been left behind. Add to saute pan and mix well. Add sweet potatoes and simmer over low heat about 20 minutes, until potatoes are tender and sauce has thickened. Add asparagus, cover, and simmer 3-5 minutes, until tender but al dente. Remove from heat.

Salt and pepper to taste, garnish with cilantro, and serve immediately.

Jungle Curry of Fish and Vegetables with Fried Shallots

Jungle Curry is a type of curry made mostly in Northern Thailand, its main difference between most other Thai curries, is that it does not have coconut milk in it. It also usually contains krachai, giving it a delicious spicy flavour. You can use any combination of vegetables in it, though it's better to use more substantial ones, ie. ones that will retain their shape with cooking. We used the Southeast Asian Chicken Broth that we made earlier for this curry, it turned out well, and also gave it a good flavour. This is quite an unusual and interesting, flavourful curry, that could be adapted to use meats such as pork or chicken.

Jungle Curry of Fish and Vegetables with Fried Shallots
adapted from a recipe from Thai Food by David Thompson
1 whole small red snapper, cleaned
1 cups chopped mixed vegetables (cauliflower, carrots, orange pumpkin, Thai eggplant)
1 Tbsp Red Curry Paste
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 cup stock
1 Tbsp fish sauce
4 small "fingers" krachai, sliced thin
2 Tbsp shredded pak chii farang (long-leaf coriander)
fried shallots, for garnish

Dust the fish with flour, shaking off the excess. Pan-fry the whole fish in about 1 tablespoon of oil, about 10 minutes, until crispy and cooked through. Set aside. Remove flesh from fish bones and flake.

Add red curry paste and minced garlic and fry over a high heat with 1 tablespoon oil until fragrant enough to produce a sneeze. Add stock and krachai and, when boiling, the chopped mixed vegetables. Simmer until just cooked, about 2 minutes. Add flaked fish and fish sauce; bring to heat again. Finish with shallots and pak chii farang.

Morning Glory Curry

My beautiful Bride found this recipe in a book entitled Vegetarian Thai Recipes. Morning glory, also called Water Spinach or Ong Choy, is a long green vegetable that grows easily in waterways. It can be found in most Asian supermarkets, and is delicious stir-fried; there are many recipes from most Southeast Asian countries. The whole kaffir lime in this recipe is an unusual ingredient, mostly its zest and sometimes its juice is used. This is a delicious curry, served over fragrant Thai jasmine rice.

Morning Glory Curry
2 Tbsp oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 Tbsp red curry paste
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup oyster mushrooms, chopped
fried tofu, sliced
3 kaffir lime leaves, coarsely chopped
1 small kaffir lime, cut in half
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp tamarind water (mix tamarind paste with water)
1 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 cup morning glory, cut into 1 inch pieces

Heat the oil and fry garlic until golden brown. Stir in the red curry paste and immediately add the coconut milk, stirring well. Add remaining ingredients except for the last two. Stirring constantly, bring to boil. Add vegetable broth and return to boil. Add morning glory, cook until wilted, only 1-2 minutes. Serve with jasmine rice.

Isan Chicken Noodle Sauce

This sauce contains krachai, also called wild ginger, which, combined with the red curry paste, gives it a wonderful spicy flavour. It is one of the best Asian noodle sauces that I have eaten, spicy and flavourful. This recipe comes from Isan, a province in the North East of Thailand. Asian noodle dishes are done differently than Western versions, you cook the noodles and place them on a plate, along with other vegetables (we used blanched long beans, cucumbers, and shredded Chinese cabbage); each person then takes a little bit of warm, sometimes cold, noodles and some vegetables, and pours the heated sauce over all this. Quite a good introduction to this interesting root.

Isan Chicken Noodle Sauce
250 gms thin rice noodle
500 gms Chicken Leg, Thigh or Breast with Skin
4 garlic cloves, whole
2 medium onions
10 gms Chopped Krachai
4 Kaffir Lime Leaves
2 Tbsp Fish Sauce, divided
1 Tbsp red curry paste
1 tsp sugar
1 spring onion, diced
500 ml Water
500 ml Coconut Milk

Prepare the noodles according to package directions.

Boil the water together with the fish sauce, whole garlic cloves, onions cut into halves, and krachai.

Once it's boiling, add the chicken pieces and cook for 30 minutes.

When the chicken is done, remove the chicken from the sauce and set aside. When the meat is cool, shred the meat using a fork and discard the bones.

Remove the garlic, onion and krachai from the stock and pound them with the red curry paste. Add this back to the sauce.

Add the pulped tamarind paste and shredded chicken back into the sauce.

Add the coconut milk, sugar, fish sauce, kaffir leaves and spring onion, and boil for 10 more minutes.

Eggplant Masala

This Indian dish is one that I got from an authentic Singaporean recipe book, Singapore has an eclectic array of food choices and recipes from various parts of Asia, including India. This is fairly easy to make, though you must watch it carefully, so as not to overcook, and thus burn, the eggplant and spices. Quite tasty served with rice.

Eggplant Masala
From Authentic Recipes from Singapore by David Wong and Djoko Wibisono
3 Tbsp oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, sliced
2 slender Asian eggplants (500 g total), halved and cut into lengths
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp tamarind pulp mashed in 4 Tbsp water, squeezed and strained to obtain juice

Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat and cook the mustard seeds until they pop, about 1 minute. Add the cumin seeds and gently stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the onion and the garlic, stir-fry until light golden brown, about 5 minutes.

Add the eggplants, chili powder, coriander, turmeric and salt, stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the tamarind juice, reduce the heat and simmer until the eggplants are tender, about 7 minutes.

Pork Curry with Pea-sized Eggplants

Having found the pea-sized eggplants that this dish calls for, we decided to make this really simple to make and good tasting fairly authentic Thai dish. You can use an already prepared Red Curry Paste, or make your own. You can also use a Green Curry paste, or even a Yellow one, each one will give a different flavour, but Red is the most common. I prefer my pork to be a little browned, I think that it would serve well, though I have been told that "it is not made that way". Sometime, I will do it that way, just to see what it tastes like.

Pork Curry with Pea-Sized Eggplants
From Authentic Recipes from Thailand by Sven Krauss
1/2 cup coconut cream
1 Tbsp Red Curry Paste (or Green, or Yellow)
350 g pork tenderloin, cut into bite-sized slices
1/3 cup pea-sized eggplants (optional)
1-1/2 cups thin coconut milk
1-1/2 Tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
5 kaffir lime leaves, halved
1 fresh red chili, thinly sliced
1/2 cup Thai basil leaves

Bring the coconut cream to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Add the Red Curry Paste, pork, eggplant and coconut milk. Stir well and simmer over low heat until done, about 15 minutes.

Add the fish sauce, sugar, kaffir lime leaves and chili. Stir and heat through, then remove from heat and garnish with basil.

Pineapple Curry

I watched Jamie Oliver make this recipe, and quickly scratched down the approximate ingredients (and had to ask my sister-in-law to confirm some of them) and the steps to make this very flavourful and interesting curry. The curry leaves are quite wonderful, you can find them in any good Indian supermarket, they smell like curry and impart an excellent flavour to any curry dish. The plantain in this dish is supposed to mimic chicken, so as to keep it a vegetarian dish; look for ripe plantains, they are much starchier than bananas (bananas will not work in this dish, as they will turn to mush). I also used chipotle chili powder, you can use a less hot chili powder if you wish, but I like it spicy. Lastly, the black mustard seeds are interesting too; when they cook in the hot oil, they begin to pop, and the smell of popped corn emerges; adding the curry leaves will stop them from popping.

Pineapple Curry
Adapted from a recipe by Jamie Oliver
2 Tbsp sunflower oil
2 Tbsp black mustard seeds
Handful fresh curry leaves
3 cardomom seeds
thumb-sized piece of ginger, slivered
2 tsp cumin seeds, crushed in mortar/pestle
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
2 tsp tumeric
2 medium pineapples, cored and diced into bite-sized chunks
2 plantains, sliced thickly at angle
1 can coconut milk

Heat oil on medium heat; add black mustard seeds and let cook until they begin to pop. Immediately add the curry leaves. Fry the curry leaves for a moment.

Add the ginger and fry for a minute or two, then add each of the spices in succession, frying for a moment.

Add pineapple chunks and plantain, stir until they are covered with the herb-ginger mixture, and cook for a short while.

Add coconut milk and continue to cook for approximately 8 minutes.

Curried Lentils with Sweet Potatoes and Spinach

My beautiful Bride was making a vegetarian meal, and was washing and cutting some spinach we had bought from the Farmer's Market on Sunday, and I happened to be reading this copy of Delicious Living magazine that I had got recently, it has numerous interesting articles on Organics. This recipe caught my eye, mostly because it is a curry and has lentils and sweet potatoes (of which we had also bought some on the weekend), but it calls for spinach, and so we decided to divide the spinach and make this. I like it when things converge like this. It turned out really good tasting, and it was easy to make (15 minutes of prep time and 15 minutes of cooking time). We had it over rice. You could probably up the amount of liquid to make it into a soup. We used canned lentils; if you use dried lentils, you will have to cook them for 10 minutes and then add the sweet potato and cook for another 10 minutes. To finish it off, the magazine suggested you put a dollop of whole-milk yogurt with some sliced almonds.

Curried Lentils with Sweet Potatoes and Spinach
Adapted from a recipe from Delicious Living Magazine
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 large garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 tsp ground cumin
1 cup canned lentils, rinsed
2-1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
4 cups baby spinach leaves
salt, to taste

Heat olive oil in a medium pot on medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in curry powder, ginger and cumin and let cook for 1 minute. Stir in lentils and broth. Bring liquid to a boil. Add sweet potatoes and bring back to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, until sweet potato is tender and water is reduced. Stir in baby spinach and cook for 1 minute longer, covered, until spinach is just wilted. Add salt to adjust seasonings.

Spicy Basil Eggplant

This recipe, another wonderful dish prepared by my beautiful Thai Bride, originally called for chicken, though as we had some basil and fresh chillies and some eggplants recently purchased from the Farmer's Market, we decided to create this version. You could, of course use chicken, or even shrimp, just cook them to an appropriate doneness, the rest of the ingredients are the same.

Spicy Basil Eggplant
Adapted from a recipe from Thai & South-East Asian Cooking
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2-4 fresh red chillies, seeded and finely chopped (keep the seeds in if you want it hot)
1 lb. eggplant (use small Chinese eggplant)
1/2 red pepper, seeded and sliced thinly
3 Tbsp Thai fish sauce
2 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp granulated sugar
10-12 fresh Thai basil leaves (or more Italian variety)

Cut the eggplant into bite sized chunks. Wash and then salt and leave for 10-15 minutes. Wash again, and then boil for 2-3 minutes, until soft.

Heat the oil in a wok, then add the garlic and chillies and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes over medium heat, until the garlic is brown but not burned (or it will taste bitter).

Add the eggplant and red pepper and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, then add the fish sauce, dark soy sauce and sugar, and continue to stir-fry for an additional 2-3 minutes, until the pepper is soft.

Add the basil and stir in for an additional minute.

Yellow Curry Prawns

I needed to use the last of leaves of the basil plant, and decided to make a yellow curry with prawns instead of chicken (though it would work just as well). The prawns cook very fast, and would be very overcooked if left in when the potatoes are cooking, so I took them out and added them back at the end. If using chicken or pork, you can leave the meat in.

Yellow Curry Prawns
50 g of Mae Ploy (or other brand) Yellow Curry Paste
2 cups coconut milk, separated
15-20 medium prawns, shelled and deveined, tails intact
100 g of potatoes, cubed in small pieces
50 g of onion, diced
100 g of carrots, cubed in small pieces
1/2 cup water
handful of basil leaves

Stir-fry yellow curry paste with 1 cup of coconut milk, until dissolved, then add the additional 1 cup of coconut milk, and heat until boiling. Add the prawns, and continue cooking until done, about 3-4 minutes. Remove prawns and keep aside. Add potatoes, onion and carrots and the 1/2 cup water, and cook until the potato, carrots and onion soften, about fifteen minutes. Add back the prawns and the basil, and cook till heated and the basil leaves are soft

Mae Ploy Thai Yellow Curry

There are three common types of curry popular in Thailand, the red and green kinds are the most popular, though, for some reason, I prefer the least popular kind, the yellow curry. I recall about 20 years ago, eating at a Thai restaurant in Boston with a number of my friends, and ordering a yellow curry dish, it was just chicken. And, it was delicious, flavourful and slightly sweet, with a little kick to it. And, I sought it out since, trying it now and again at various Thai or Vietnamese restaurants. Now, I wanted to make my own yellow curry dish. Rather than make my own, a next step, I decided to try this brand from Thailand, Mae Ploy, who also make a red and a green curry version. It turned out quite good, very tasty, though not as good as that first taste of the yellow. I served it with vermicelli, and used chicken thighs for the meat.

Thai Yellow Curry
50 g of Yellow Curry Paste
2 cups coconut milk, separated
200 g of meat
100 g of potatoes
50 g of onion
100 g of carrots
1/2 cup water

Stir-fry yellow curry paste with 1 cup of coconut milk, until dissolved, then add the additional 1 cup of coconut milk, and heat until boiling. Add the meat, and continue cooking until done, about ten minutes. Add potatoes, onion and carrots and the 1/2 cup water, and cook until the potato, carrots and onion soften, about fifteen minutes.