Thai Red Curry Paste
From: Kate Pugh

Here's a red curry paste recipe, since some of those recipes use it.
I like this better than the ones that come in jars, now I live somewhere I can get the ingredients ;-)

This recipe is adapted from one in the BBC Vegetarian Good Food magazine.
The original recipe used 8 large dried red chillies - I use fresh ones instead.
2 medium chillies gives a medium-hot paste; sometimes I even use more, and I'm not a big fan of over-hot food.

Makes 125ml (1/2 cup, 8 tbsp)

• 2 or more fresh red chillies, deseeded
• 5 garlic cloves
• 2 stalks fresh lemongrass
• bottom stems from a large bunch of fresh coriander (cilantro) (original recipe used 3 coriander (cilantro) roots)
• 1 x 1-inch (2.5 cm) cube fresh ginger or galangal
• 1 large shallot or equivalent onion
• peel of 1 lime (original used 1 tbsp chopped Kaffir lime peel)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp white or black peppercorns

2. Prepare the lime peel by removing as much of the white pith as possible
(lay it outside down and slice the pith off with a sharp knife held horizontally) and then chopping.

3. Place all ingredients in the blender and whizz to a fairly smooth paste.
The raw ingredients come to about 1 cup (225ml, 8fl oz), so it's enough to put in most small blenders.

4. Store in a screw-topped jar in the fridge
. I've kept it for a week or more.