Massaman Curry with Beef
A rich, mild curry with Persian and Indian roots: braised beef, potatoes and peanuts in a cinnamon, cardamom and tamarind sauce.
- Region
- Southern Thailand
- Condiments
- Fish Sauce, Palm Sugar, Tamarind
- Vegetables
- Thai Shallots
- Fruits
- Coconut
Ingredients
- 1 kg beef shin or chuck, cut into 4 cm chunks
- 800 ml coconut milk
- 200 ml coconut cream
- 4 tbsp massaman curry paste (homemade or bought)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
- 3 star anise
- 3 bay leaves
- 500 g waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 8 small shallots or pearl onions, peeled
- 80 g roasted unsalted peanuts
- 3 tbsp tamarind concentrate
- 3 tbsp palm sugar
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- Jasmine rice or roti, to serve
Instructions
Massaman came to Thailand through Persian and Indian traders, and you can taste it: cinnamon, cardamom and star anise sit alongside the usual Thai paste, and the heat is gentle. It is a slow curry, and it is better the next day.
Method
- Put the beef in a heavy pot with the coconut milk, cinnamon, cardamom, star anise and bay leaves. Add water if needed to just cover the meat. Bring to a simmer, cover partly and cook very gently for 1½–2 hours, until the beef is tender.
- Meanwhile, heat the coconut cream in a wok over medium heat until it bubbles and the oil separates. Add the curry paste and fry for 4–5 minutes, stirring, until dark and fragrant.
- Scrape the fried paste into the beef pot and stir it in.
- Add the potatoes, shallots and peanuts and simmer for 20–25 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked and the sauce has thickened.
- Season with tamarind, palm sugar and fish sauce. It should taste rich and spiced, sweet first, then sour and salty. Simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Remove the whole spices if you like, and serve with jasmine rice or flaky roti.
Cook’s tips
- Make it a day ahead and reheat gently. The flavours deepen and the sauce thickens.
- Chicken legs work too: brown them first and simmer for 40 minutes instead of 2 hours.
Aroy Mak Mak
Aroy Mak Mak is a small team writing about the food of Thailand and its neighbours: recipes you can cook at home, guides to the ingredients behind them, and places worth travelling for. The name means "very delicious" in Thai. Every recipe on the site lists its ingredients, timings and method in full, explains the techniques that matter, and suggests substitutes for ingredients that are hard to find outside Thailand. The guides to regions, condiments, vegetables and fruits explain what things are, how they are used and how to buy and store them. Place pages are researched from current sources, including the latest Michelin Guide Thailand, official websites and maps, and give addresses, opening hours and what to order. Where a detail could not be confirmed, it is left out rather than guessed.