(Base for Thai curry)
This recipe was featured in: thai take-out from my kitchen
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Makes about 1/2 cup of paste
8-10 dried red chillies, soaked in hot water, drained and roughly chopped (I used the seeds but if you don’t prefer it to be too hot, remove the seeds while chopping)
3/4 lemongrass stalk (Please do not use more than this for the specified quantity of paste. Too much of lemon grass can easily spoil the texture of the curry as it doesn’t dissolve or soften on cooking). If you don’t have lemongrass, use the zest of 1 lemon
10-12 cilantro stems (without leaves. This is a great way to use the stems that usually end up in the trash)
1 shallot, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves
1/2 galangal or 1 inch piece of ginger
2 tsp coriander-cumin powder (dhana-jeera powder) Alternatively, 1 tsp coriander powder and 1 tsp cumin powder. (All the recipes I found used cumin and coriander seeds, but from my personal experiences, these seeds cannot be easily ground to a fine powder and can spoil the taste of a dish. Hence, I used available powders)
6 black peppercorns, slightly crushed (If not crushed, they don’t grind well in the food processor)
2 tsp shrimp paste + some of its oil
water, as required to add moisture while making the paste
Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and grind to a thick paste. Add water, as necessary.
Transfer the paste to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator till you are ready to use. It can be refrigerated for 3-4 weeks.
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