Vegetable Green Curry

This time, after I came back to Bangalore from Kerala, I was tired and lazy. We - me and my little boy - were in Kerala near to a month. I did absolutely nothing there other than lazing around. In my defence, I can't be blamed. I was at my home and I was getting a break from the routine chores in Bangalore, so this was my time to rest! Combined with this, our last week in Kerala was hectic with a wedding and all things associated with it including an almost three day trip to attend the wedding which included almost 12 hours of travel by car in both direction and taking the same day flight to Bangalore. This got the better of me and I was a dead log by the time I reached Bangalore. And the weather here did not help at all. I was put from an oven to a fridge! Ok, I might be exaggerating but Kerala and Bangalore are two extremes when it comes to weather!

So, once I was settled and the routine chores started, laziness not over though, all I wanted was a Thai Green Curry. I love making the curry from scratch and hate using the store bought paste. This time though, I was ready to make an exception - if the store didn't have the ingredients, might as well buy the paste and make the curry! But, the store didn't have that either. The craving was so bad that I really wanted a Thai Green Curry. So I decided to make a Pseudo Thai Green Curry. You can't call it a Thai Green Curry, per se, and hence I named it the Vegetable Green Curry.

 Vegetable Green Curry

Ingredients:

• Onion - 2 no.s, sliced
• Ginger - 1 inch, grated
• Bay leaf - 1 no.
• Zuchini - 1 small, cut into cubes
• Aubergine - 1 small, cut into cubes
• Mushroom -  few pieces, washed and cleaned 
• Babycorn - 3 no.s, cut into 1 inch pieces
• Bell peppers - a few cubes of red, green and yellow variety
• Coriander leaves - 1 cup
• Mint leaves - 1/2 cup
• Green chilli - 3 no.s
• Coconut milk - 1 cup, thick
• Oil - as required
• Salt - to taste
• Sugar - a pinch

Method:

• Grind the coriander and mint leaves along with ginger and green chillies and keep it aside.
• In a wok, heat oil. Add the bayleaf once it's hot.
• Add the sliced onion and salute till it's translucent.
• Add salt and sugar.
• Add the ground paste and saute for a few minutes till the raw smell goes.
• To this, add all the vegetables except mushroom and mix till the paste is well coated.
• Add a glass of water and mix properly. Let it boil.
• Once it starts to boil, lower the flame, cover and cook till it's almost done.
• Now add the mushroom pieces and cover and cook till done.
• To this, add the coconut milk and water (if required) and simmer till the flavour sets in. Do not let it boil.
• Serve hot.

Notes: 

• You can also add tofu, carrot, cauliflower, broccoli and peas.
• This curry goes best with rice.

This curry may not come anywhere near the Thai Green Curry in terms of flavour and taste, but it can definitely replace it in times when you have no other option. I loved the taste of it and by the time I finished my dinner, Thai Green Curry had gone out of my mind!