Step 1

Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.

Step 2

Preheat the oven to Fan Oven 180°C /200°C/400°F/Gas 6

Step 3

The garlic: slice the top quarters off the whole bulbs of garlic. Put each garlic in the centre of a piece of foil. Loosely gather the foil around the garlic and pour over ½ teaspoon of vegetable oil over each bulb.

Step 4

Seal the foil around the top of the garlic and put in the oven for 30 – 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them cool in the foil.

Step 5

The onions: put the peeled onions in the centre of another piece of foil. Loosely gather the foil around the onions and pour over 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil.

Step 6

Seal the foil around the top of the onions and put in the oven for 30 – 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them cool in the foil.

Step 7

The chillis: put the dried chillies in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 30 minutes to soften.

Step 8

The paste: heat your frying pan to medium hot and add the cumin, coriander, black peppercorns, cloves, cardamom, white peppercorns and cinnamon. Cook for 15 – 20 seconds, stirring, until fragrant. Tip into a spice grinder and process until they are a powder.

Step 9

Now prepare lemongrass and galangal and transfer to the food processor:- lemongrass – trimmed and roughly chopped- galangal – sliced- Blitz until finely chopped.

Step 10

Now add remaining ingredients:- remove the stems from the softened dried chillies and add- shrimp paste- salt- squeeze the garlic confit out of the cloves into the food processor- add the roast onions.

Step 11

Blitz your paste until smooth. You may need to stop the processor from time to time and scrape down the sides of the jug/bowl.

Step 12

Transfer to a sterilised jam jar, seal and store in the fridge.

Step 13

Alternatively freeze. I use 100g in my Beef Massaman Curry for 4 people and always make at least a double portion of paste. I weigh it into 100g portions and freeze. I freeze them in silicone muffin trays and transfer the frozen pastes to bags when solid.

Step 14

NB You may find it easier to use a hand held blender