Risotto, with Thai Green curry flavours!

Risotto, like Indian rice is versatile, I’ve gathered. You can make it in a lot of flavours with a variety of vegetables, not to mention the meat options. One idea that I got from GoodFood [May, 2012] magazine is to cook Risotto with Asian flavours, and I was like – why didn’t I think of this before!

This is perfect for families like mine, where one member wants to eat only Indian flavours, and another wants to experiment with the meal. It took me a while before I could actually try this , but when I did try, I knew I had a winning recipe at my hand!

I customized the recipe to suit what I had at hand, in terms of vegetables. I also omitted Parmesan Cheese, which can be added towards the end to give the risotto a creamier texture. For me, coconut milk did the job.

Thai Green Curry Flavoured Risotto

Serves 4
Cooking time – 1 hr 30 min
Level – Easy, but needs a little effort
For the Thai Green Curry Paste
Onion – 1 , medium sized
Garlic – 5-6
Lemon Grass – a couple of 6” stalks
Thai Basil leaves – a handful
Green chillies – 4-5
Ginger/Galangal – an inch sized piece
Coriander leaves – a handful

Method
Grind all the ingredients together in a blender to a thick , smooth paste. Store in an airtight container and use as required.

For the Risotto
Arborio Rice – 1 C
Red onions – 1, medium sized, chopped fine
Garlic – 6, chopped fine
Olive oil – 1 Tbsp
Salt – To taste
Hot water – 4 C

Method
Heat the oil in a deep , heavy vessel and sauté the onions and garlic in the oil till they turn pink.
Add the rice to this and sauté till the rice crackles. Now add 1/3rd of the hot water to this, and keep stirring. Once this water is absorbed, add more water and keep stirring. Add salt to taste. Repeat this till the water is absorbed completely, and the grain is cooked, but not mushy.

Take off heat and keep aside.

For the Vegetable mix
Thai Green Curry paste – 1/2 C [Recipe below]
Vegetables – 2 C, cut in inch sized cubes [I used a mix of bell peppers, broccoli and zucchinis]
Coconut milk – 200 ml [I used an entire packet of Homemade Coconut milk]
Olive oil – 1 Tbsp
Salt – To taste

Method
Heat the oil in a pan, and add the curry paste and cook for 3-4 min. Add the vegetables and mix enough to cover them in the paste. Now add the coconut milk to this and bring it to a boil. Add salt to taste.

To assemble the risotto
Mix the rice and the vegetable mix and stir slowly till you get a nice creamy consistency.
Garnish with some Thai Basil leaves and serve hot.

Note:
You can prepare the vegetables and rice separately well ahead in time and store them. All you have to do is to heat the mix, and add the rice to this and bring the mixture to a boil.