I have eaten Thai and Indian and like it and was interested in cooking it for myself.

Are there any good websites to get recipes/learn how to cook it?

Is there any equipment needed that a regular kitchen doesn't have? or anything that would be nice to have to cook it?

What spices are used and best place to get them?

Thai and Indian are in my wheelhouse. My family has been enjoying my adventure into these goodies for years.

Thai:

Ingredients that make Thai food unique:



Most of these ingredients available at your local Asian markets. Actually all of them should, except the lime leaves.

Here is a great starter recipe for Thai Red Curry Chicken with Sweet potatoes that everyone goes nuts over. It is very doable for someone new to Thai. The web page also explains some about Thai ingredients. Give it a try. I tweak it just a bit, depending on how I feel. Like, sometimes I use red/yellow and green peppers in it, sweet onions, and pineapple. You vary the heat by the amount of red curry paste you use. Be sure to use jasmine rice. I made this as one of the entrees at my daughter's wedding reception. People still talk about it.

I have used http://importfood.com/ for when I could not find ingredients locally. They seem like nice people. They have lots of recipes there. I even bought kaffir lime leaves off of a guy on ebay before. They were fine and reasonable price. I freeze them.

I have a few cookbooks for Thai. I don't think any are in print anymore. One I bought while over in Indonesia. To be honest, nowadays, you are probably just as well off with what you can find on the interwebs, and saving your favorite recipes to a document on your computer. Makes it easy to share recipes with your family members, too. I have heard good things about Terrific Pacific Cookbook, but I don't own it.... yet. Its kind of Asian Fusion I hear, which is pretty much what I do. Except, I'm more like Asian Confusion... haha.

For learning to cook Indian, I HIGHLY recommend this book:  http://www.amazon.com/Indian-Minutes-Monisha-Bharadwaj/dp/1592232795/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372728798&sr=1-1&keywords=indian+in+minutes  

It is by far the simplest to work with that I've run into and will encourage rather than dissuade you from learning more, as others often are too vague or get complicated and prove more frustrating than rewarding.

Here is a recipe for Yum Nuah (Spicy Thai Beef Salad) that I found online and use often.

VERY often.  

http://www.appeal-democrat.com/articles/thai-76701-want-spicy.html

Quick, easy, and refreshing.

Don't forget the thai chiles.


 

Of all of the assorted seasonings, the hardest to find around here is Fenugreek. Even world market gives you one of these when you ask about it. This isn't 100% necessary, but does add a very unique flavor that I haven't found a substitute for. Had to buy this online, I ended up with several pounds.

I wouldn't even consider making Indian if I didn't have whole cardamom and cumin seeds on hand as opposed to the ground spices. This makes a world of difference. I top off curry with fresh cilantro.

I use Choakoh coconut milk since someone mentioned this. I'm not sure about where you live, but the only place in my town to find curry paste is the oriental grocery. I've tried some of the store bought curry sauces long ago and found none that impressed me. YMMV.

very interesting.  I enjoy unique foods.

so far I've only done an indian style chicken curry with dry curry powder with other spices.  I'm sure I'm not even enjoying half the flavor of the real deal.  
I can make a good naan to go with it.  I used that TV show lady, Arti's recipe.


I'd like to try the thai curry too.

I will give a hearty second to ImportFood.com. They have pandan leaves, kaffir limes and lime leaves, and a number of other ingredients that are not easy to find. I've never had anything but a great experience with them, and the owners have been quite pleasant to deal with. Also, as already mentioned, they have a number of recipes on the site with links to the ingredients built in. So far all of them we've tried have been really good.

Check out 'show me the curry' vids on youtube.

As mentioned some of the canned curry pastes are excellent.  Look for this brand at local Asian or Indian food stores.  They are very flavorful and any unused portion will keep in the freezer for months.



http://www.amazon.com/Maesri-Thai-red-curry-cans/dp/B000ETLVXC/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&qid=1374419305&sr=8-27&keywords=curry+paste

The UPS truck showed up today with my order from Amazon, Chaokoh coconut milk and Maesri red curie paste.  

I made a meal tonight with the coconut milk, red curie and chicken tonight served over some basmati rice and both my wife and I didn't like it.  It tasted fishy but I didn't use any fish oil just some onions, garlic, Thai basil,at the end cilantro and lime juice.  What turned you off from the Chaokoh coconut milk?...

No, I didn't know that was the correct process, maybe that's where I screwed up.  I did give it a good shake for a minute but it was so hot today when it was delivered so I'm not sure that it made a difference.

I'll take your advice and try it again in a few days after it's been in the AC, we have seven more cans,  I'll let you know how it works out.  Thanks for the help...

None of that would have made it taste "fishy." Red Curry Paste usually contains shrimp paste and/or fish sauce. That is probably where you are picking up your "fish" taste. Red Curry might not be palatable to you. However, there are vegetarian red curry pastes around that do not have this ingredient in it. (I believe that Thai Kitchen brand is like this; more of an Americanized taste.) You might like that better. I actually add more fish sauce to most Thai dishes I make, in addition to the curry paste. Try the other.

ETA: I have seen Thai Kitchen in every store I've been in for the last 15 years. There is a good chance it will be in your local store in the Imported Foods section, usually close to the coconut milk cans.

Thanks guys, I think I found the problem.. A bad bottle of EVOO that I used in combination with some grape seed oil to brown the chicken before adding it to pot.  Cut the grass that day so the old nose was out of action.

Zhukov- thanks for that link and explanation for preparing the curry with the coconut cream, I screwed that up royally.

SR712- That was my thought too but the listed ingredients for the Maesri red curie doesn't include shrimp paste or fish sauce, regardless of that, thanks for the help.  When you have time I hope you can keep the recipes coming.