Pack A Punch With Curry Paste

This Curry Week we’re celebrating the heart and soul of all great curries: the curry paste. Find out how to make your own at home and use it in ways you never imagined – we’ve got it all right here.

Why bother to make your own when you can easily buy ready-made? Well, apart from wowing friends, you’ll have something that’s bursting with fresh flavours to cook with. You can also tinker with it, so if store-bought vindaloo isn’t match for your titanium taste buds, you can really go nuts with the chilli.

If you’re new to making curry paste, this recipe has a fool-proof video to guide you through, while king of quick cooking Jamie Oliver shows us how to make not one but five pukka pastes in one place.

You won’t need much kit to smash together a great curry paste, just a frying pan to heat spices and a pestle and mortar to grind them up.

A food processor makes easy work of blending everything together and you’ll want a food storage container or an air-tight jar for the finished product unless you’re cooking with it pronto.

Always use fresh spices; those decades-old spices lurking at the back of the cupboard just won’t deliver on flavours. Homemade pastes keep for about ten days in the fridge, or spoon portions into an ice cube tray and freeze for up to three months.

Curry paste is a ready-to-go marinade that can be slapped onto just about anything savoury you’re game to try it with. Take these paneer curry skewers, a cheese and veg packed treat that’s great for the OptiGrill.

Rub paste under the skin of chicken thighs, then fry till crispy with this recipe or spread over salmon and serve with coconut rice and cucumber pickle.

Dial-up the flavour by adding a spoonful or two of your favourite curry paste to a dressing, like in this 5-ingredient red curry coconut dressing. Pour it over salads, noodles or veggies for a super delicious and speedy dinner.

For the ultimate in easy sauces, mix mayonnaise with a bit of curry paste (and a squeeze of lime if you like) and use it for chips, coleslaw, corn on the cob – you name it!

This curried parsnip soup can be made with a spoonful of your favourite curry paste – a spot-on winter warmer. In fact, whatever the soup, if you think it can handle a hit of curry then stir it in.

Add a dollop of curry paste to mealtime regulars and switch up family dinners with a tasty twist. When your trusty mac and cheese needs a flavour makeover, try this mind-blowing curried version.

Making your own burgers? Add a spoonful of your favourite curry paste to the meat mix to transform the taste. Or go veggie with these banging chickpea burgers -swap the curry powder for whichever paste you’re in the mood for.

Another guaranteed crowd-pleaser is Keralan style fishcakes. Serve them up with homemade chapatis and you’re winning.

We’ll sign off with these awesome Keema scrambled egg rolls. Breakfast, lunch and dinner rolled into one, they’ve definitely got our vote this curry week.