Massaman Curry from Southern Thailand

Massaman is usually eaten with rice, in a meal together with other dishes. There are also traditional versions using oranges, orange juice, or pineapple juice as additional ingredients.

The art is to balance the sour, sweet and salty flavours equally.

The flavors of the massaman curry paste (nam phrik kaeng matsaman) come from spices that are not frequently used in other Thai curries. Cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, cumin, bay leaves, nutmeg and mace would, in the 17th century, have been brought to Thailand from the Malay Archipelago and South Asia by foreigners, a trade originally dominated by Muslim traders from the Middle East.

What you need for the curry paste

• 3 tbps roasted kemiri nuts or peanuts 
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cardemon
• 1 tsp shrimp paste
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 shallots chopped
• 3 small red chillies (rawits), deseeded and roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp fishsauce
• 3cm piece galangal, peeled and grated
• 3 tbsp coconut milk 

 

What you need for the curry

• 300 gr waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
• 2 tbsp peanut oil
• 250 gr chicken breast (cut in thick strips)
• 1 stem lemongrass, trimmed, white part chopped
• 1 tsp palm sugar
• 400ml tin coconut milk
• 5 cm fresh ginger, finely grated
• 2 tbsp fish sauce, to taste
• 2 tbsp tamarind purée, to taste
• 5 freeze-dried kaffir lime leaves (nerve strippedand cut in thin strips)
• 8 large shrimps, deshelled and cleaned
• two or three spring onions, finely cut

• handfull of roasted peanuts
• steamed rice, to serve

How to make it

1. To make the paste, place the coriander seeds, cloves, cinnamon and cumin seeds into a small frying pan and cook for 1-2 minutes or until the spices start to release their oils. Blend in a mortar blend the toasted spices. Add the other spices and ground. Add two or three spoons of coconut milk to make a paste. 
2. Preheat the oven to 120C.
3. Place a large, casserole over a medium-high heat. Add the chicken stripes and fry untill browned. 
4. Add 60g of the curry paste, coriander stems, the cruched lemon grass and the grated ginger and fry it for a few minutes and fry, stirring constantly, until fragrant, for a few minutes.
5. Add the potatoes and slowly the remaining coconut milk, reserving 2 tablespoons for the garnish. Increase the heat and bring to the boil. Add the palm sugar, fish sauce, tamarind purée, kaffir lime leaves and return to the boil.
6. Cook in the oven for 6 hours or until the potatoes are tender.
7. Half hour befor finishing, add the large shrimps
8. Serve the curry with steamed rice topped with the spring onion and roasted peanuts.