Thai Red Curry

I think it is fun to try different cuisines. Of the many options I have a soft corner for Thai food. I think it resembles our food a lot.. with coconut milk, ginger, lime, red chilies. So last week I tried making red curry but made it from scratch. I did not want to use the store bought paste as it has a lot of garlic in it. I am not a big fan of garlic so I completely skipped it ... One of the reason it is fun to make stuff from scratch. The recipe is simple once you collect your ingredients.

Ingredients for the Curry:
- 2 cups of mixed vegetables cut to bit size pieces - (carrots, bell peppers, snow peas, long beans, baby corn, bamboo shoots)
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1 small red onion
- 1 pack firm tofu cut in cubes
- 2 tbsp oil
- salt to taste
- thai basil (optional - I just used a few leaves of regular basil leaves)

Ingredients for the Red Curry paste:
Grind these to make a smooth paste
- 5-8 Dried Red chilies (Soak in hot water for atleast an hour)
- 1 tbsp Galangal
- 1 stalk lemon grass
- 5 -10 shallots or 1 medium red onions
- 2 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1/2 bunch cilantro
- salt to taste

Method:
1. In a pan pour the oil and add the ground paste. Now fry till it the oil separates. Now add the onions and saute till it becoemes tender
2. Add the vegetables and give it a quick toss. Mix in the tofu cubes.
3. Pour the coconut milk in it. Mix it all well. Add salt and if it is too thick add 1/2 cup water.
4. Boil for about 15 minutes in a medium flame. Garnish with basil leaves if any.

Serve it hot with jasmine rice.