Thai Green Curry Chicken

I am just back today after a heavenly lunch at the Thai pavillion at Vivanta By Taj Gurgaon. And frankly I cant stop dreaming about it!! 

An exclusive Bloggers table was held today at the hotel to commemorate the first Anniversary of Thai Pavillion and we were privileged to have amongst us the legendary Chef Ananda Solomon who cooked up quite a delicious fare for us to tantalize our taste buds.

Back home, the fresh vibrant flavors of the memorable food still lingered in my mind and I was inspired enough to try out a Thai dish for dinner tonight, much to the delight of my kids. Thai cuisine is one which still lies unexplored by me due to which I am not quite comfortable cooking it. As my husband is not very keen on Thai flavors, I have never felt the inclination or inspiration to try out my hand in it. Even if I wanted to try it out sometimes, the fresh ingredients were not easily available. But ofcourse times have changed now. I was surprised to find that even my local grocery store has a stock of ingredients like readymade spring roll wrappers, wasabi paste and whipped cream and fresh herbs like basil, celery a big boon for food enthusiasts like me.

This dish was also made keeping my daughter in mind as she is extremely fond of Thai food and especially now that she stays in a hostel and comes home only for the weekends, it gives me real pleasure to put in the extra effort to concoct something special which I know she would immensely enjoy.

To save myself some real effort, I have used a ready made green curry paste to flavor the chicken. It was surprisingly good and added the additional flavors to the curry. Also, what I liked about the ready made green curry paste was that the flavors were pretty balanced and the level of the chillies were quite toned done, perfect for a non-chilly eating family like ours.

This curry calls for Kaffir lime leaves but as this dish was kind of last minute thing I substituted the leaves for some lemon zest and lemon juice. Just be careful not to add in the zest too early as it will leave a bitter aftertaste in your curry. It should be stirred in just before serving. A dish that is totally effortless and made with the least of ingredients, a quick fix dinner that you can prepare in a jiffy and enjoy on a busy weekday.

Ingredients

250 ml coconut milk

1 cup veg stock or chicken stock

4 tbsp green curry taste

1 tbsp oil

1 garlic cloves finely chopped

¼ cup basil leaves, chopped

½ cup  blanched beans and carrots

1 cup boneless chicken, boiled

1 tsp palm or brown sugar

2 tsp fresh Kaffir lime leaves or a 3 wide strips lime zest

1 tsp lemon juice

Method

In  a large frying pan, heat oil until almost smoking point.

Put in the chopped garlic and stir quickly making sure it does not get browned.

Spoon  the green curry paste and stir it around for a few seconds.

Next pour in the coconut milk and let it come to a bubble.

Add the sugar,  pieces of chicken and vegetables.

Simmer covered for about 8 minutes.

Stir in the shredded lime juice and lime zest.

Just before serving add in the  basil leaves.

Scatter with the lime garnish and serve immediately with boiled rice.