Thai Yellow Curry

If you are an admirer of Thai food, here’s an awesome formula that’s bound to thrill you. It is not only very easy to make but tastes as delicious as restaurant food! The best part is, you can simply use vegetables that are a part of your weekly shopping list. There’s absolutely no need for those fancy sauces and exotic greens. All you need is the curry paste and those magical hands!

INGREDIENTS:

• Boneless Chicken – 8-10 small pieces
• Coconut milk (Chaokoh or any brand) – 13.5 oz
• Yellow curry paste (preferred brand is Mae Ploy) – 3 tbsp
• Potatoes – 1 large or 2 small
• Chopped Onion – around ½ cup
• Eggplant – 2 small rounded
• Carrot – 2 small baby carrots or a small piece from your regular carrot
• Soy sauce – 2 tbsp
• Sugar – ½ tsp
• Water – less than half a cup
• Lemon zest – ½ tsp
• Jalapeno – 1 small (thinly sliced, seeded)

METHOD:

Note: If you’ve never had Thai Yellow Chicken Curry before or had it in restaurants but never made at home, then please buy a small pack of the curry paste. The small pack is available in 114 grams tin. Use half of it, and refrigerate the remaining in a freezer bag for upto 2-3 weeks.

•  Pop open both the cans of curry paste and coconut milk.
• Wash the chicken pieces in running water and cut into small, bite size pieces. Chop the onions longitudinally and eggplant into one inch cube.  Peel the potatoes and cut them, a small size potato into 4 pieces. Boil for 5 minutes or till it is half cooked. Keep aside.
• Take a medium size, flat bottom pan. Scoop the top thick cream of the coconut milk and heat it over low heat for a minute. Keep stirring, you don’t want it to stick to the bottom of the vessel. Now, take 3 tbsp of yellow curry paste (half of the small tin) and drop it in the pan. As you sauté it, you will start getting the aromatic fragrance of the spices.
• Dump your chicken cubes and mix it in the curry paste. Uncover and cook over medium heat for 5-8 minutes. Now, add coconut milk and wash off the residue from the tin with some water. Lower the flame and on low heat, let it cook for around 10 minutes or till your chicken cooks halfway and you get the desired thickness of the gravy. If it starts getting thick, just sprinkle some water.
• Add the eggplant, carrots and onion. Toss it around in the gravy, and let it remain there in the coconut bath till the vegetables are just about done. The vegetables should stay firm.  In the final 2 minutes, add the potatoes, soy sauce, sugar, jalapenos and lemon zest. Add a pinch of salt, but taste first because usually you don’t have to add even a bit.
• Get ready to sample some wondrous home-made Thai food! Serve with basmati rice.

Yield: 4 servings