Vegan Thai red curry

Instructions

1 To make the curry paste, toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a pan for 2 min. Put the toasted seeds into a liquidiser or blender with the ginger, shallots, garlic and lemongrass. Add the chillies, bird’s eye chilli, if using, peppercorns, roasted red capsicum, tomato purée, lime leaves and lime juice. Add the coriander and a splash of water, then whiz until really smooth, adding up to 1/4 cup water to loosen the paste, if necessary. Spoon one-third of the paste into a bowl and freeze the rest in two batches to use another time.

2 To make the curry, heat the oil in a pan over a high heat. Add the curry paste and fry for 2 min until it deepens in colour. Pour in the coconut milk and stock and stir to mix well. Add the sugar, agave syrup, soy sauce, capsicum, chilli, mushrooms, baby corn, tomatoes and mangetout. Add the lychees, if using, and bring to the boil. Simmer for 7–10 min until the vegetables are cooked through. Taste the curry and add more black pepper if required.

3 To serve, spoon into bowls and garnish with the coriander leaves.