Ingredients:

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
   2      teaspoons     cumin seeds
   1      teaspoon      coriander seeds
   8                    dried red chilies -- (Thai) or
   1      teaspoon      cayenne powder
   1      teaspoon      salt
   1      teaspoon      chopped lemon grass
   2      tablespoons   chopped shallots
   1      tablespoon    chopped garlic
   1      tablespoon    chopped ginger or galangal
   1      tablespoon    shrimp paste

Preparation:

Place the cumin and coriander seeds in a pan, without adding any oil. Dry-fry them, stirring, over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes until they are slightly browned and give off a roasted aroma. Coarsely chop the chilies and soak in water for 10 minutes. Drain. Pound all the ingredients together with a small amount of water to produce a paste. You can pound the spice mix in a mortar and pestle or you can use a food processor. Make a lot of the paste and save it for use in other curries. Store it in the refrigerator. This curry paste goes well with all meats.