Thai food at home

I have had Thai food a couple of times and it’s kind of intriguing to me. I like the flavors of coconut milk, ginger, lemon grass and thai basil. But finding truly vegetarian dishes in Thai restaurants has always been an issue for me. Though they serve a lot of vegetable dishes, most of these are prepared by using ingredients like oyster sauce and fish sauce, while even the seed based sesame sauces can contain some animal extracts. I treid these Thai recipes from my "Vegetarian: The greatest ever Vegetarian cookbook" by Nicola Graimes and they turned out pretty good.

Thai Fragrant rice:

Ingredients:
Brown basmati rice – 1 cup
Onion – 1 medium chopped
Vegetable stock - 3 cups
Ginger – 1” piece, peeled & chopped
Lemon grass – 1 stalk, finely chopped
Lime zest – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Coriander seeds – 1 tsp
Salt – to taste

Method:

• Rinse rice in cold water till the water runs clear. Soak in water for at least 30 minutes.
• Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan; add onions, spices, lemon grass and lime zest and cook gently for 2-3 minutes.
• Add rice and cook for another minute, then add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to very low and cover the pan. Cook gently for 30 minutes then check the rice. If it is still crunchy, cover the pan again and leave for a further 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Fluff up the grains with a fork and leave for 10 minutes.
  

Thai Potato Curry

Ingredients:
Yukon gold potatoes – 4 medium
Onion – 1 large chopped
Coconut Milk – ½ cup
Low sodium vegetable broth – 1/3 cup
Chopped tomatoes – 1 cup with juice
Thai green curry paste (vegetarian) – 2 ½ tbsp (store-bought or homemade)
Chili powder – 1 tsp (optional)
Fresh basil - 1tbsp
Lemon juice – 1 tsp
Salt – to taste

Method:

• In a wok or skillet, heat 2 tsp vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add chopped onions and stir-fry until golden, 5 minutes. Add the curry paste and stir-fry 1 minute.
• Add potatoes and toss well to coat. Stir in coconut milk and broth.
  
• Cover and cook on medium low flame till the potatoes are tender.
• When the potatoes are just done, add the tomatoes with juice, chili powder (if using). Mix well, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
• Stir in lemon juice and basil. Serve over rice.

This is my entry for this Anthony's Curry mela #30.