Massaman Curry Paste

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This Massaman Curry paste is a wonderfully rich but relatively mild curry paste that is easy to make at home.

Homemade curry pastes are so much fresher and so much tastier than store bought pastes. And you are control of the heat!!!!

This Massaman blend is packed with flavor and uses easy to find grocery store ingredients!

What is massaman curry?

Massaman curry is a Thai curry, but unlike most other Thai dishes it contains ingredients not associated with Thai cooking (cumin, cinnamon, cardamon, fennel etc). It is packed with flavor but isn’t known as a spicy curry.

Food historians think that the curry was created when Persian spice merchants introduced these different spices into Thailand. And some people believe that at one point the curry was called Mussulman curry, where Mussulman translates to Muslim Man, adding credence to the theory that the spices and original dish are Persian (Iranian) in origins.

That is one of the reasons that you will rarely see a pork massaman curry. Pork is a forbidden meat within Islam, so it would not be used in this dish. Traditionally massaman curries are made with chicken, and I have a slightly different massaman chicken recipe here on Sprinkles and Sprouts. I roasted the chicken whole with the curry paste! Look at the beautiful crust!!!

Ingredients in massaman curry paste

The ingredient list for this seems long, but please don’t be scared away. Everything can be bought in the supermarket. And if you are a regular curry maker then most of the ingredients are store cupboard ingredients.

For this massaman curry paste you will need:

• Dried red chillies
• Kaffir lime leaf (dried or fresh)
• Shallots
• Garlic
• Fresh ginger
• Lemongrass
• Oil (vegetable/sunflower/canola)
• Coriander seeds*
• Cumin seeds*
• Fennel seeds*
• Cardamon pods*
• Nutmeg
• Ground cinnamon
• Ground cloves
• Turmeric
• Ground white pepper
• Brown sugar/palm sugar
• Cilantro with roots
• Salt
• Thai shrimp paste

*If you can only buy ground spices, then you can still make this curry paste, you just need to miss a couple of steps 😀

How to make massaman curry paste

To make the curry paste the chilies, shallots, garlic and ginger are roasted in the oven to bring out the oils and give them a wonderful nutty flavor.

The whole spices are dry fried in a hot pan, so they become toasty and start smelling amazing. (Note: If you can’t find whole spices then you can make this with already ground spices. I have included quantities for that in the recipe notes)

These spices are then ground to a powder and along with the roasted vegetables mixed in a food processor (or pestle and mortar) with the other spices and aromats unit a thick paste is achieved.

How long will homemade curry paste last?

This curry paste will keep for about a month in the refrigerator or in the freezer for a year.

If you freeze tablespoon dollops on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Then when they are frozen transfer them to a ziplock bag. That way the curry paste is all measured out for you and you can just grab as many tablespoons as you need and leave the rest in the freezer.

Enjoy x

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5 from 4 votes

RECIPE – Massaman Curry Paste

This Massaman Curry paste is a wonderfully rich but relatively mild curry paste that is easy to make at home. Homemade curry pastes are so much fresher and so much tastier than store bought pastes. And you are control of the heat!!!! This Massaman blend is packed with flavor and uses easy to find grocery store ingredients!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time25 mins

Course: Spice Blend

Cuisine: Thai

Servings: 6

Calories: 78kcal

Author: Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts

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Ingredients

• 5-10 dried red chillies (see note 1)
• 1 kaffir lime leaf (dried or fresh)
• 2 large shallots
• 11 garlic cloves
• 1 inch piece fresh ginger
• 2 stalk lemongrass
• 1 tsp vegeatble oil (or sunflower/canola/peanut)
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds (See note 2)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds (See note 2)
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds (See note 2)
• 3 cardamon pods (See note 2)
• 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tsp brown sugar/palm sugar
• small bunch cilantro/coriander – with roots
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil (or sunflower/canola/peanut)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp Thai shrimp paste

Instructions

• Pre-heat oven to 350°F/170ºC/.
• Fill a small bowl with warm water and soak the dried chillies and lime leaf for 15 minutes.
• Drain them and gently pat dry.
• Peel the shallots, garlic and ginger, then cut the shallots into 4 pieces, slice the ginger into 6 disks and leave the garlic cloves whole.
• Finely slice the white part of the lemongrass, discarding the really woody green end.
• Place the soaked chillies, shallots, ginger, garlic and lemongrass on a baking sheet , drizzle with a teaspoon of oil and roast the for about 7 minutes. Once roasted set aside to cool slightly.
• Meanwhile, add the coriander, cumin, fennel seeds and cardamom pods to a small dry frying pan. (see note 2)
• Toast the spices over a medium heat for about 2 minutes until they are fragrant. Set aside to cool.
• Once cool, gently crush the cardamon pods, tipping the seeds into a pestle and mortor (or spice gringer) and discard the pods. Add the other toasted spices and grind.
• Then add the nutmeg, cinnamon, ground cloves, turmeric, white pepper and brown sugar/palm sugar and move about to combine, breaking up the sugar as you go.
• Place the toasted ground spices, roasted aromatics (shallots garlic etc) into a food processor along with the soaked lime leaf, fresh cilantro (including the roots and stems), the 1 tbsp of oil and the salt. Blitz until you have a course paste.
• Add in the shrimp paste and blitz until smooth.
• The paste will keep for a month in the fridge or in the freezer for a year.

Notes

1. 5 chilies will give you a very mild curry paste, 10 will give it a bit of a kick, but still mild compared to most Thai curries.
2. You can use pre-ground spices here. You’ll need to reduce the quantity:
   • 3/4 tbsp ground coriander
   • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
   • 1/2 tsp ground fennel
   • 1/4 tsp round cardamon

Nutrition

Calories: 78kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 484mg | Potassium: 211mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 355IU | Vitamin C: 56.7mg | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 1.6mg

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