Curry Paste with whole spices

• 6 cloves garlic
• 8cm fresh ginger
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli
• 1 tsp crushed black pepper
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp melted ghee or oil
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 2 fresh green chillies
• 60g coriander (leaves + stems)

Peel the garlic and ginger

Toast the coriander and cumin seeds in a dry front pan over a medium heat for about a minute or until fragrant.

Toss everything in a blender, blitz it up and you’re done.

If you don’t have a blender, simply chop the garlic and ginger as fine as you can and use a pestle and mortar to crush the toasted spices.

This recipe will make enough paste for eight portions of curry — the equivalent to half a jar of Patak’s curry paste.

Store in a sealed glass jar and refrigerate. You can freeze the paste, but it will lose some flavour. To extend the life of the paste in the fridge, make sure the jar you use is spotless clean and try layering a tbsp of oil on top of the paste once in the jar. This creates a seal between the paste and the air.

On the day you use the paste, add the required amount right after cooking the onions and before cooking the meat, frying for about five minutes.