Thai Green Chicken Curry

THAI GREEN CHICKEN CURRY
Hello friends and family!!! Penning down my thoughts after a long time. I was very busy this couple of months. Went to my dream destination Maldives thanks to my Husband. And honestly after coming back, extreme pressure bursted out my bubble. Exams, Studies, unpacking, cleaning, washing, drying, preparing for Kali Puja and Diwali and the list goes on!!! Phew!!

Anyway, today’s recipe is , as you can see on the title, Thai Green Chicken Curry. I have been trying this recipe for quite some time now. First my brother cooked it for us at Digha and it tasted amazing. I tried to do it at home but somehow miscalculated the proportions and it was a flop show. Then tried another version of it from Jamie Oliver’s Recipe Book but there i made a mistake and added larger proportions of coriandee sprig than mentioned and it became Dhaniya Chicken to be very honest. So honestly it became like a target for me to achieve and succeed, as the failure was frustrating me to another level. So this time i got all the ingredients mentioned in Jamie Oliver’s Recipe and followed it to the T and well finally succeeded in recreating this famous dish in my kitchen. So those who might gonna try it out please follow the recipe and adjust the proportion according to the quantity of chicken used, as that is the core ingredient in this dish. Its all about the balance between the key ingredients. Of course you can get the main recipe in Jamie Oliver’s website. But for those who interested to know it from me,so that if faced problem while attempting, might ping me up for more details, can definitely read on!!!

INGREDIENTS :

Boneless Chicken : 500gm

Coconut Milk : 400ml

Kaffir Lime Leaves: 4-5

Lime : 1 1/2

Salt and Black Pepper for seasoning

Basil Leaves: 3-4

White Oil : 1 cup

FOR CURRY PASTE:

Cloves of Garlic: 4

Onions: 1 medium size

Ginger: 4cm piece

Cumin Powder:1 tbsp

Coriander Sprig: 1/2 a bunch

Lemon Grass: 2 stalks

Fish Sauce: 1tbsp

Green Chillies: 4-5

PROCEDURE:

1. Ask your butcher to give you boneless chicken in whole not cut into pieces. This dish needs thin strips of boneless chicken so its advisable to do it yourself .  Of course all cannot do so, in that case chicken cubes are okay to use too. in fact in that case you can use chicken with bone too. As i have bought two chicken boneless breasts so i will tell you what i did witb them. I sliced up thin strips of chicken from the whole. Cleaned and pat dry. Then in a wok heat up some white oil. Put the sliced chicken strips in the wok. Sprinkle  some salt on top of it and fry it out both sides for 5 to 6 minutes or untill golden. Keep it aside once done.

2. Now its time to make the curry paste for the gravy and where the chicken will get its flavour and juices. In a mixer add all the ingredients under the curry paste column and grind them out into a smooth green paste. Before that i need to inform you about the lemon grass. Do not use the green parts of the grass and chuck out the tough white leaves that are on top of the soft stalk. Just use the white relatively soft part of the lemon grass else it will become very grainy in texture. Blitz all the ingredients into smooth paste. Try not to add extra water in the paste.

3. Now in the hot wok add a bit more white oil and pour the green paste into it. Keep stirring on a medium-low flame for 4 to 5 minutes.

4. Now pour in the coconut milk all of it in to the wok. Add a cup of Hot water too. Stir them up and mix well. Add the kaffir lime leaves in to the curry. Now turn the heat up and let it come to a boil gently. Let it simmer for minimum 10 minutes or until the curry get reduced slightly .
5. Stir in the chicken and turn the heat to low and cook 5 to 6 minutes more or until the chicken is cooked through.

6. Season the curry with Salt and Black pepper. Roughly chop the basil leaves and add them in. Now squeeze some lime juice in it and garnish with slitted green chillies. Here you go, the very famous Thai Green Chicken Curry is ready to serve.

POINTS TO BE NOTED:

1. In the actual recipe, Jamie Oliver did use chicken stalk that he keeps in frozen cubes’ form. He also used Birds’ Eye Chillies, a kind of Chillies that’s not much available in local market or even Spencer Hypers or Big Basket. Its famous in Thailand and a much used produce. Thai Basil leaves are used here. Due to its limited availability , i used simple basil leaves only. If you dont have it then skip it.

2. Jamie Oliver used mushroom and mangetout in this curry along with chicken. I have eaten Thai green curry with chicken and baby corn too. So its on you what you want to add in or not. You can add Okra as in Lady Finger too if you want to.

3. In case lemon grass is not available then search in big basket app. You will definitely get it there.

This is my take on Thai Green Chicken Curry keeping the basic stuff original to the recipe. So go ahead and cook it up at your own kitchen in your own way, keeping the key ingredients intact. Its a very healthy dish and full of flavour. Its best eaten with Steamed Rice (preferably Thai Jasmine Rice but normal basmati will do too) and Noodles or Phad Thai ones. You can have it with Parantha (Fried Indian Flat Bread) too.

Hope you guys find my recipe easy to follow. For any question do comment below or in my facebook page Improv and Explore. Donot forget to like and share this recipe. There are many more easy recipes of famous dishes….do go through them and keep them handy.

Thanks for all the love. Hope not to disappoint you guys at all. Keep liking, sharing and giving me love and appreciation. And yes do comment if you think of any much needed changes.

Signing off…..Pamela…..