Recipe: yet another Thai Green Curry...

found this recipe in my file.. quite interesting... i think the paste looks quite close to my mother-in-law's... pls. have a look...
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Green Curry Paste - makes enough for a few curries

1 tblspoon whole coriander seed
1 teaspoon whole cumin seed
5 whole peppercorns
3 stalks fresh lemon grass, coarsely chop the nice bits.
1/4 cup of coarsely cut fresh coriander leaves and stems
1 tblspoon of chopped ginger (fresh or pickled)
1 teaspoon of grated lime peel
3 tblspoon of coarsely chopped shallot
1/2 cup of tiny fresh green chillies, chopped (kii noo chillies if you have
them)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of shrimp paste (I sometimes use a sandwich spread)

Place coriander in a small frying pan and dry-fry over medium heat until
darkened and fragrant, 3-5 mins. Transfer to a small bowl to cool. Dry-fry
the cumin the same way. Combine the spices with the peppercorns and grind
to a powder. Combine: chopped lemon grass, chopped coriander, chopped
ginger, chopped chillies, grated lime peel, ground spices, salt and shrimp
paste in a food processor and liquidise. You may have to do this in two
goes. Transfer to a suitable container and refrigerate for (the book says)
up to one week. Shame that you'll have to eat green curries all week.

Green Curry Paste for lazy people

You can now buy good Green and Red curry pastes. The Blue Dragon variety is
available in London supermarkets. BUT they just aren't as good as the fresh
paste above!

Green Curry - the Main Event

Approx 500g of Chicken Breast/Thighs, whatever you like (increase other
proportions for more meat)
1/2 cup coconut cream (usually made from solid blocks)
1/4 cup Green Curry Paste
3 cups coconut milk
1 1/2 cups of diced egg plant
2 tablespoons of fish sauce (smells awful, but you do need this)
1 tblspoon palm or brown sugar
12 fresh lime leaves
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
3 (or more for more heat) fresh red tiny chillies - sliced diagonally into
ovals
I also tend to add fresh peppers and more chillies! and bottled lime juice.
Strips of fresh ginger are nice.

Bone/Skin the chicken, cut into bite size pieces. In a medium saucepan, or
deep frying pan, warm the coconut cream (chop and melt if in block form).
Heat to a gentle boil and cook for about 6-8 mins, stirring to prevent
sticking. The cream will darken and become fragrant as it cooks. Add the
curry paste and continue cooking for 1-2 mins. It should smell verrrry
nice. Add the chicken and stir fry for about 4 mins. Increase the heat and
add: coconut milk, eggplant, fish sauce, lime leaves, sugar and salt; stir
well. Adjust the heat to an active boil and cook for 8-10 mins.

Important bit - you must taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary: use a
little more fish sauce (salty), sugar, curry paste for more ... zing, chilli
powder for more heat, lime juice for more limeiness. The curry should end
up runny - almost soup-like - add more water to achieve this consistency.

Good luck with the recipe,