Thai Curry or Indian Curry?

Question

What is your favourite curry: Indian or Thai? I am aware that both countries boast a zillion different curry dishes so my next question is: what is your favourite curry?ld, please do not hesitate to include the recipe / URL for the recipe.

Answer 1

My favourite is Thai curry and I have two recipes that I love to doing
Thai Green Curry with Chicken
1 lb (450 g) cooked chicken, sliced into shreds
1 pint (600ml) coconut milk (you will need to buy two tins)
For the green curry paste:
8 green bird eye chillies (whole)
1 lemon grass stalk, sliced thinly and soaked for 30 minutes in 2 tablespoons lime juice
1 rounded teaspoon kaffir lime peel, pared and thinly shredded
7 thin slices Thai ginger (galangal)
1 heaped teaspoon coriander stalks, chopped
½ level teaspoon roasted ground cumin
½ level teaspoon roasted ground coriander
3 garlic cloves
5 Thai shallots peeled (or normal shallots if not available)
1 level teaspoon shrimp paste
For the finished sauce:
3-4 level dessertspoons Thai fish sauce
1 level teaspoon palm sugar
3 level dessertspoons fresh green peppercorns (or preserved in brine)
7 kaffir lime leaves
½ mild red chilli, de-seeded and cut into hair-like shreds
1 oz (25 g) Thai basil leaves
You will also need a large flameproof casserole or a wok.

The curry paste can be made well ahead of time and there's absolutely no work involved if you have a food processor or a liquidiser because all you do is simply pop all the curry paste ingredients in and whiz it to a paste (stopping once or twice to push the mixture back down from the sides on to the blades). In Thailand, of course, all these would be pounded by hand with a pestle and mortar, but food processors do cut out all the hard work.
What you need to end up with is a coarse paste but don't worry if it doesn't look very green – that's because I have cut the chilli content; in Thailand they use about 35! If you want yours to be green, then this is the answer! Your next task is to prepare all the rest of the ingredients.
To make the curry, first place the tins of coconut milk on a work surface, upside down. Then open them and inside you will see the whole thing has separated into thick cream and thin watery milk. Divide these by pouring the milk into one bowl and the cream into another. Next place a wok, without any oil in it, over a very high heat and then as soon as it becomes really hot, add three-quarters of the coconut cream. What you do now is literally fry it, stirring all the time so it doesn't catch. What will happen is it will start to separate, the oil will begin to seep out and it will reduce. Ignore the curdled look – this is normal. You may also like to note that when the cream begins to separate you can actually hear it give off a crackling noise. Next add the curry paste and three-quarters of the coconut milk, which should be added a little at a time, keeping the heat high and letting it reduce down slightly. Stay with it and keep stirring to prevent it sticking. Then add the Thai fish sauce and palm sugar, stir these in and then add the chicken pieces and the peppercorns. Stir again and simmer everything for about 4-5 minutes until the chicken is heated through. Then just before serving, place the lime leaves one on top of the other, roll them up tightly and slice them into very fine shreds. Then add them along with the red chilli and torn basil leaves. Serve with Thai fragrant rice.


And Thai Prawn Curry with Pineapple
1 lb (450 g) uncooked fresh or frozen tiger prawns in their shells
1 lb (450 g) fresh pineapple, cut into ¾ inch (2 cm) chunks
2 x 400 ml tins coconut milk

For the curry paste:
4 dried red chillies, soaked with the juice and zest of 1 lime for 30 minutes
1 level tablespoon lemon grass, finely chopped
1 inch (2.5 cm) cube fresh ginger
5 garlic cloves, peeled
7 Thai shallots, peeled (or normal shallots if not available)
1 level teaspoon shrimp paste (if not available use 2 anchovies)
½ level teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons Thai fish sauce

To garnish:
2 kaffir lime leaves (if available)
2 medium-sized red chillies, de-seeded and shredded into hairlike strips

If the tiger prawns are frozen, defrost them by emptying them into a colander and leaving them for about an hour to defrost. Then cook the prawns (either fresh or frozen) in a frying pan or wok. Add the prawns in their shells to the hot pan and dry-fry over direct high heat for about 4-5 minutes, turning and tossing them around whilst you watch their beige and black stripes turn pink.

After that remove them from the heat and when they're cool enough to handle, peel off the skins, then make a slit all along their backs and remove any black thread. Now keep them covered and refrigerated until you need them.

To make the curry paste, all you do is put everything into a food processor or blender, then switch on to a high speed and blend until you have a rather coarse, rough-looking paste. Remove the paste and keep it covered in the fridge until you need it.

When you're ready to make the curry, empty the contents of the tins of coconut milk into a wok and stir while you bring it up to the boil, then boil until the fat begins to separate from the solids. This will take about 20 minutes, and if you listen carefully you'll hear a sizzle as the fat begins to come out and the whole thing is reduced. Ignore the curdled appearance. Now add the curry paste, give it 3 minutes' cooking time, enough for the flavours to develop, then add the prawns and the pineapple and let them heat through gently for another 2 minutes. During that time, shred the lime leaves by placing one on top of the other, then roll them up tightly and cut into very thin shreds. Serve the curry with lime leaves and chilli strips sprinkled over, and some Thai fragrant rice as an accompaniment.

Answer 2

Can't choose, won't choose.
Indian Curry is my first love, the perfect comfort food, there is a massive range of flavours for Indian and I love them all. The HOT Vindaloo is the traditional favorite for the end of night of heavy drinking. A Lamb Biriyiani is a complete meal in itself almost a spicy casserole of the curry world. Chicken Dupiaza the double onion curry has enough spice to excit the tastebuds without blowing your head off. Having been born in Birmingham I must also promote the 'Balti' a combination of indian cooking and more western dishes. In fact the majority of dishes we think of as Indian are in fact a combination of traditional Indian food and local dishes.

Thai currys are a competely different flavour to Indian and spicy in a very different way, I love Jungle Curry (a dry version of the tradional Red) as a hot/spicy meal, its gorgeous with Coconut rice or plain noodles. As a milder alternative a Mussaman curry is the Thai equivalent of casserole, with potatoes.

Thai currys are just as tasty as Indian, and depending on the day of the week and how i'm feeling I prefer one to the other.

Right now I would choose the Mutton or Lamb Biriyani recipe from Keith Floyd's 'Taste of India' book, its a recipe for 10-12 for a diner party, and is very rich, without being too spicy (unfortunately it does take over the whole house with the cooking smell) . If you want to get into cooking Indian food, this is a perfect book, with may traditional recipe's you will be familier with, there is never a problem getting ingredients either.

Answer 3

As a regular visitor to Thailand, I would have to say a nice Thai red curry would be my favourite, but I also like a nice Madras and even a Chinese chicken curry from time to time.

Curry, like variety, is the spice of life.

Answer 4

Indian curry. I like Punjab Fish Curry the best.

Answer 5

Thai Red or Green curry is absolutely gorgeous! i like all curry though...sorry don't know any recipes but if you buy cocunut milk then use some thai paste(u can get it from any supermarket) and cook with chicken it is LUSH!

Answer 6

Thai green curry - yummy. As for Indian - my favourite is chicken biryani.

Answer 7

Tough one... I like the flavours of thai more, but then I love naan bread too...

I guess Thai because I find it less hassle to cook (and I can still buy a naan bread to have with it if I really can't do without!)

Answer 8

Definitely Indian
Chicken Tikka Masala all the time

I hate Thai

Answer 9

thai is my current favourite but both are damn good.

favourite thai curry is red bbq duck
favourite indian curry is tandoori chicken jalfrezi

Answer 10

Ohh red thai curry , yummy !