Red and Green Thai Curry Pastes

In February this year I decided I was going to make my own red and green thai curry pastes. I looked into some recipes and found some interesting ingredients that I had never heard of: galangal, and kaffir lime leaves.

Galangal is a root that looks vaguely like baby ginger and tastes like "has a citrusy, piney, earthy aroma, with hints of cedar and soap" according to Wikipedia, although I can't describe it myself. Kaffir lime leaves taste vaguely lime-like and look like this:

Kaffir lime leaves

After mincing all the ingredients according to the recipes I followed, including lemongrass, coriander, spices, and coloured peppers as well as the above ingredients, I attempted to pulp them using a mortar and pestle, resulting in blisters and failure! Using a blender was slightly more successful, although to make it worth it, I'd make a larger volume next time.

Chopped kaffir lime leaves

Turmeric for colour

Lemongrass mixed with spices

Red thai chillies

Green thai chillies

The finished red and green curries

Finished red and green curries