Beef Massaman Curry Recipe
Beef Massaman Curry or Gaeng Massaman literally translates to "Muslim Curry" and is a mild antastically tasty Thai curry with a great variety in textures between the Beef, the soft Potatoes and the hard peanuts. It is extremely easy to make and really benefits from a long slow cooking time.
Preparation: 15 Minutes
Cooking: 20 Minutes or the longer the better
Ingredients
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This serves 4 people
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 650g gravy beef or chuck steak, trimmed
- 2 cup coconut cream
- 2 tablespoons massaman curry paste (see below)
- 1 cup beef stock
- 1/2 cup unsalted roasted peanuts
- 2 medium potatoes, peeled, cut into 3cm pieces
- 3 red onions, peeled and sliced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- steamed jasmine rice, to serve
Massaman curry paste
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp white peppercorns
- 2 stalks lemongrass (the tender, inner white part only), finely sliced
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 big knob ginger, peeled and sliced
- 1 tbsp shrimp paste
- 7 large fresh chillies (less if you require a slightly milder curry)
- 1 tsp cardamon seeds
Method
- First of all to make the curry paste put the coriander, cumin and peppercorns in a frying pan and roast over a medium heat. Stir all the spices until fragrance is given off and the spices turn slightly golden. Take them off the heat and allow to cool and then grind in a pestle and mortar and pestle. Then put all the remaining ingredients for the paste in the mortar and blend these until you have a smooth paste.
- Remove any excess fat from the beef and cut into 5cm/1in cubes. Then coat the cubes in the paste and set aside whilst you complete the next steps.
- Add the Vegetable Oil to a frying pan and fry the onions and potatoes until the onions are brown.
- Add the curry paste coated beef and any remaining curry paste and brown the meat for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the coconut cream, beef stock, peanuts, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, cardamom pods, sugar, tamarind concentrate and fish sauce. Bring this to the boil and then allow to simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours over a low heat. Keep an eye on the curry as you want the sauce to thicken but not dry out.
- When the Potatoes are tender the curry is ready and can be served with Steamed rice.