Homemade Recipes

Ingredients:

Curry Paste:

1 tsp coriander seeds, toasted

1 tsp cumin, toasted

1 tsp fennel seeds, toasted

1 large onion

4 cloves garlic

8cm piece ginger

2 red chillies

3 lemongrass stalks roughly chopped

2 lime leaves or the zest of one lime

1/2 tsp turmeric

Curry:

3 Tblsp vegetable oil

400ml coconut milk

500ml vegetable stock

1 Tblsp concentrated tamarind paste

2 Tblsp brown sugar

1 medium butternut squash, peeled & diced

100g peas

100g green beans

3 Tblsp fish sauce

juice of 1 lime

To serve:

a handful of coriander, chopped

75g toasted cashew nuts

2 Tblsp pumpkin seeds

500g steamed Basmati rice

Directions:

Lightly toast the coriander seeds, cumin, and fennel seeds in a dry frying pan until they become aromatic.

Using a mortar and pestle, crush the spices to a coarse powder.

Place the onion, garlic, ginger, chillies, lemongrass, lime zest, toasted spices and turmeric in a food processor and blend until it has the consistancy of a thick, even paste.

Using a large saucepan fry the curry paste in a little sunflower oil for about 10 minutes, or until it takes on a deep crimson colour.

Add the coconut milk, vegetable stock, tamarind and sugar to the pan and simmer on a low heat for about 10 minutes or until the sauce thickens, then add the squash and cover for a further 10 minutes. Add the green beans and simmer for a further 5 minutes.

Finally stir in the fish sauce and lime juice.

Garnish with coriander, toasted cashews and the pumpkin seeds and serve with steamed Basmati rice.