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Rich, creamy, and full of flavor – Homemade Massaman Curry. This dish is jam-packed with fragrant Asian flavors and succulent, tender meat.
An Amazing Massaman Curry Recipe
Made with a homemade Massaman curry paste, this Thai curry is jam-packed full of Thai aromatics with layers and layers of flavor that melt in your mouth, and tender Lamb.
What else can I say? This dish makes me want to dive headfirst into the bowl with my mouth wide open!
What is Massaman Curry?
Massaman curry is a rich, stew-like mild Thai curry. The base of the sauce is usually made using coconut cream, cumin, coriander, lemongrass, and other Thai aromatics.
Homemade Massaman Curry Paste
This recipe is made using a homemade curry paste so there’s no searching supermarkets or specialty stores for store-bought.
What Meat For Massaman Curry
For this recipe, I use Lamb Shanks, but you can use Beef Short Ribs, Chicken Thighs, or Whatever your favorite stewing meat is.
Alternatively, try my Beef Massaman recipe which uses beef stew meat.
How To Make Massaman Curry
- Cook onion, garlic, lemongrass, ginger, cumin, coriander, and peppercorns in a dry frying pan until fragrant
- Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool.
- Blend in a food processor, with anchovy paste, sugar, and oil, and blend until smooth to make the paste.
- Brown the meat until golden brown set aside in a large oven-safe dish with potatoes & onions.
- Add the massaman paste to a frying pan, then fry for a few minutes until fragrant. Stir in the coconut milk and bring to a boil.
- Season with the lime & lemon juice, and fish sauce, add lime leaves, then pour the sauce over the meat, onion, and potatoes, cover and bake for 2 hours.
- Serve on rice sprinkled with the chopped cilantro/coriander leaves.
I can’t stress enough how amazing this dish turned out to be – Slow-cooked, melt in your mouth, tender lamb, and a creamy sauce that is packed with flavor! Thai Lamb Massaman is a fragrant and filling southern Thai dish. Try it and you will not be disappointed!
Recipe Tips
- The secret cooking perfect Thai curries is to use plenty of aromatics, like onion, ginger, and garlic.
- Choose full-fat coconut cream (thick if you can find it) for amazing richness.
- Finishing with just a little bit of rice vinegar and sugar adds brightness and elevates the flavor.
- Feel free to change up the meat to whatever braising meat you like best.
You May Also Like
Here are just a few more curries to add to your repertoire.
What kind of curry is Massaman?
Massaman Curry is a mild, stew-stew like curry often found in Thai or Malaysian cooking.
What Does Massaman Curry Taste Like?
Massaman Curry is a rich, creamy, mild curry with a rich aromatic sauce rich in Thai flavors.
What is Massaman curry paste made of?
Massaman curry is a rich, stew-like mild Thai curry. The base of the sauce is usually made using coconut cream, cumin, coriander, lemongrass, and other Thai aromatics.
Recipe
Thai Massaman Curry
Ingredients
For the Massaman paste:
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- 2 tablespoon lemongrass paste
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger (peeled, grated )
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 8 black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
For the main dish:
- 1 lb potatoes (peeled and quartered)
- 8 baby onions (peeled & left whole)
- 4 Lamb Shanks
- leaves small bunch fresh cilantro/coriander (stalks & finely chopped & separated)
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger (finely grated)
- 28 ounces coconut cream (2 14oz/425g cans)
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 3 leaves dried kaffir lime
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 f/150 c
For the Massaman paste:
- Fry the onion, garlic, lemongrass, ginger, cumin, coriander, ground cloves and peppercorns in a dry frying pan for until fragrant (4-5 minutes).
- Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool.
- Blend the spices in a food processor, then add the anchovy paste, sugar and oil and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- For The Curry
- Heat a large non-stick frying pan and brown the meat until golden brown set aside in a large oven safe dish with the potatoes & onions.
- Add the massaman paste, cilantro/coriander stalks and ginger to the frying pan, then fry for a few minutes until fragrant.
- Stir in the coconut milk and bring to a boil.
- Season with the lime & lemon juice, and fish sauce, add the lime leaves, then pour the sauce over the meat, onion and potatoes, cover and bake for 2 hours.
- Serve on rice sprinkled with the chopped cilantro/coriander leaves.
Tips
- The secret cooking perfect Thai curries is to use plenty of aromatics, like onion, ginger, and garlic.
- Choose full-fat coconut cream (thick if you can find it) for amazing richness.
- Finishing with just a little bit of rice vinegar and sugar adds brightness and elevates the flavor.
- Feel free to change up the meat to whatever braising meat you like best.
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