I love curries! All kinds – fresh and zingy ones like they usually make in South-East Asia and also the heavier ones as they make in India. I understand that this is a serious simplification, but in my mind, the South-East Asian ones are brighter and Indian ones heavier. Of course, there are thousands of curry recipes in the world and every family has its own tricks and secret recipes. Here is one of my recipes that is leaning towards Thai green curry, but it is definitely not an authentic one being prepared in Estonia with the ingredients I can get my hands on. But it is delicious for sure! I add my curry paste recipe below but feel free to use a store-bought one or make adjustments.
Curry does not always have to be served with rice. I find it exciting to switch it up for noodles sometimes. Not going to lie – it has also happened that I give up starch completely, make a little thinner sauce and eat it as a soup.
As for ingredients that go into curry, for me, curry is a very creative food and you can decide what you like in it. I always add onion, zucchini, capsicum, and eggplant (this time I was out of eggplant), sometimes I add shrimp, sometimes chickpeas or beans. My boyfriend always only wants onion, tofu, and chickpeas. So you decide and make it your own!
Green Curry Noodles
Cooking time: 15 minutes (30 minutes if making your own curry paste)
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
3 tbsp green curry paste
1 tsp grapeseed oil
Around 2 cups of veggies/protein you like in your curry – I used zucchini, onion, red capsicum, leeks, and shrimp
1 cup boiling water
1 cup coconut milk
Lime juice, to taste
4 oz vermicelli noodles
Fresh coriander to serve
Instructions:
Chop the veggies and protein you use
Place the noodles in a large pot and cover with hot water to soak.
Fry the curry paste in oil for a minute, then add the water and longer cooking protein/veggies. Add the ingredients so that the longest cooking ones are added first and just continue adding them. In my case I added onion first, then leeks, capsicum, zucchini, and finally the prawns for only a minute or so)
Add in the coconut milk and have a taste – maybe you need to add a little salt, sugar, or lime juice.
Add in the soaked noodles and cook for another minute, so everything mingles together.
Serve with heaps of fresh coriander.
Curry paste:
My curry paste (makes a big batch that you can keep in the fridge for a few weeks or freeze and use within 6 months)
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 medium onions
4 tbsp grated ginger
2 cloves of garlic
5 kaffir lime leaves
2 stalks of lemongrass
1 tsp turmeric powder
7 oz fresh coriander
5 large green jalapenos
2 Thai birds eye chilies
½ cup rapeseed oil
¼ cup fish sauce (substitute with salt to make it vegan)
2 tbsp coconut sugar
The juice from 2 limes
Toast the cumin seeds and coriander seeds in a dry pan until fragrant, then grind to a powder.
Chop all the other ingredients and add to a blender. Blend everything until you get a nice paste.
By Kadri Raig
Kadri is a food blogger and yoga teacher from Estonia. She loves to spend time in the kitchen, but most of her recipes are simple and don’t take more than 20 minutes of active cooking time. She thinks that everybody can find time to cook healthy food at home, it is just a question of planning. "I work in an office full time, teach yoga 7-8 hours a week and write a blog. So if I manage to cook most of my meals, then so do you!" Connect with Kadri and enjoy many more of her delicious healthy recipes on her website here: www.kahvliga.ee.
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