The beauty of curries (at least my curries) is that they're a snap to make but taste and look as if you have spent hours slaving over a hot stove.  This is a very straight forward recipe, a sort of curry for beginners, no difficult ingredients to scour the shelves for.  It's deliciousness I have to confess is a little bottle of Thai green curry sauce and the full fat coconut milk - now is not the time to try and be overly conscientious and cut down on fat using a reduced fat coconut milk - you'll end up with a watery, thin dish devoid of that luscious flavor. It could just as easily be a chicken or fish curry if you prefer but shrimp is a favorite with my eldest daughter and she's leaving for college in 10 days (gulp) so she gets what she wants.  

Green Thai Shrimp Curry

A couple of tablespoons of canola oil

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 leeks,white parts only, thoroughly washed and finely chopped

1 red chili, seeded and finely chopped

1 red pepper, finely chopped

1 green pepper, finely chopped

3 tablespoons of Green Curry Paste

2, 14 oz cans full flat coconut milk

1 1/2 lbs cleaned and shelled large shrimp

1 small packet of frozen peas

Fresh cilantro

2 cups white basmati rice

To cook the rice measure 4 cups of water into a medium sized pan, add the rice, cover, place the pan on a high heat and bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and cook until all the liquid has been absorbed - about 20 minutes.

Heat the canola oil in a large saute pan, add the onion, sprinkle with salt and cook on a low to medium heat until translucent.  Add the leeks, chili and peppers.  Cook for a further 4-5 minutes.

Add the curry paste, stir well, add the coconut milk and combine thoroughly, bring to the boil, turn down to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

Add the shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes until pink, add the frozen peas and allow to warm through in the curry.

Serve on a bed of white fluffy rice garnished with cilantro.