Thai Red Curry Paste

This is a little fiddly to make, but should store very nicely in the fridge for a couple of weeks at least and freezes like a dream. I use the dried 'kashmiri' chilis you can get at Spinneys' spice section. If you can't get hold of kaffir limes, substitute with ordinary limes. Fresh galangal is often available at Spinneys, but if you're lucky enough to live in Sharjah, you can drop into the Green House Supermarket, just off Gamal Abdul Nasser Street. This company imports the fresh Thai ingredients for the UAE's Asian restaurants and they always have plenty of treats on sale: garlic flowers, pandan leaf, banana leaf, kaffir limes, pea aubergines and everything else you'll ever need to make great Thai food. They also sell a range of home made curry pastes, incense, fantastic crockery and frozen frogs. I never used the frogs, though.

Ingredients

• 15 dried red chilis, soaked
• 2 stems lemon grass, chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 tsp coriander seed
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh galangal
• 1 tsp chopped fresh ginger
• 2 tsp shrimp paste, toasted
• 2 tsp kaffir lime zest
• 2 kaffir lime leaves, torn
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp pepper

Toast the shrimp paste by spreading it thinly on foil and then grilling it until it dries out and starts to whiten and toast at the edges. This does smell rather rich, incidentally, so do have fans on and doors closed. Toast the coriander seed until it starts to smoke and get all aromatic.l Throw everything into a blender and whizz it, possibly adding a little lime juice just to get everything moving. You're looking at achieving a thick, red paste.