Panang Curry Paste

I’ve made this a fair few times! It’s definitely one of my go to pastes! Recipe comes from here

Ingredients

Spices

• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 star anise
• 10 cardamom shells removed - or substitute with regular cardamom pods
• 10 whole cloves
• 2 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 2 tbsp cumin seeds

Other Ingredients

• 3 stems lemongrass finely sliced - or substitute with 3 tbsp jarred/sliced lemongrass
• 2.5 cm galangal or substitute with ginger root
• 2 tsp kaffir lime fruit rind finely chopped - or substitute with lemon or lime rind
• 6 kaffir lime leaves finely sliced - or substitute with dried kaffir lime leaves
• 10 large dried red chillis soaked as per below
• 10 dried red thai chillis soaked as per below
• 4 coriander root chopped - or substitute with 2x fresh coriander stems
• 5 tbsp Crushed peanuts
• 5 shallots finely chopped
• 10 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 2 tbsp Thai shrimp paste or substitute with anchovy paste (or 1 tsp salt for a vegan curry paste)

Method

1. Slice the top off large and small chillis and remove the seeds. Slice into small rings and soak in water for 40 mins to soften. Drain and squeeze out all the liquid (use gloves to avoid a nasty surprise later on!). Chop finely and set aside.
2. Gently toast all spices over a medium heat for 1-2 minutes, starting with the biggest and gradually adding in the others down to the smallest. The order would be cinnamon stick, star anise, cardamom, whole cloves, coriander seeds, black peppercorns and cumin seeds.
3. Place all the toasted spices in a stone mortar and pestle, grind into a fine powder, then set aside.
4. Add the chillis and remaining ingredients in the mortar and pestle - in sequence so that the most fibrous ingredients are added first - lemongrass, galangal (or ginger), kaffir lime rind, kaffir leaves, soaked large dried chillies, soaked small dried chillies, crushed peanuts, shallots, garlic and finally shrimp paste. This will help you to achieve a smooth consistency. Use a spoon to scrape the ingredients from the side of the mortar and pestle down to the centre well as you go.
5. Finally add the toasted spice powder and continue to pound until you obtain a smooth paste.