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🇹🇭 Curry · Thailand
Massaman Curry
Thai curry with Persian inflection: beef braised long with cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and peanuts.
Persian-inflected depth
Cinnamon, cardamom, cumin — Muslim-trader heritage in a Thai pot
Bloom the cream first
Crack the oil from the coconut before the paste hits
90-minute low simmer
Beef soft but still holds shape; stir every 20
Better tomorrow
Tastes deeper overnight — the leftovers are the prize
Ingredients 6 servings
- 4 tbsp Massaman curry paste (Mae Ploy is reliable)
- 1 kg beef shin or chuck, cut into 5 cm cubes
- 800 ml full-fat coconut milk
- 200 ml coconut cream
- 500 g waxy potatoes (Charlotte or Yukon Gold), peeled and cut into 4 cm chunks
- 2 small onions, peeled and quartered
- 100 g roasted unsalted peanuts (a few crushed for garnish)
- Whole spices: 5 cardamom pods, 1 cinnamon stick, 4 cloves, 1 star anise, 1 bay leaf
- 3 tbsp tamarind paste (or juice of 1 lime as a back-up)
- 3 tbsp palm sugar
- 3 tbsp Thai fish sauce
- 4 kaffir lime leaves, torn
- Jasmine rice to serve
How to make it
- 1Spoon the coconut cream into a heavy pot over medium heat and let it cook for 5 minutes, stirring, until the oil separates and the cream looks glossy and slightly grainy.
- 2Add the Massaman paste and the whole spices and fry for 3 minutes — the paste will darken and the kitchen should smell of cinnamon, cardamom and roasted cumin; this early bloom of the spices is what gives Massaman its Persian-inflected depth.
- 3Add the beef and turn it in the paste until every piece is dark red, pour in the coconut milk, tamarind paste and kaffir lime leaves, bring to a bare simmer and braise gently with the lid ajar for an hour and a half, stirring every 20 minutes — the beef is ready when it gives easily to a spoon but still holds its shape.
- 4Slide in the potatoes, onions and peanuts and continue cooking uncovered for another 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender and the gravy has thickened to a glossy rich brown; stir in the fish sauce and palm sugar at the end, balancing the salt-sweet-sour triangle until it tastes deep and round, neither too sweet nor too sharp.
- 5Rest off the heat for 10 minutes, then serve in shallow bowls with jasmine rice, scattered with a few crushed peanuts on top — Massaman is the Thai curry that gains depth overnight, and any leftovers taste better the next day.
Nutritional info
per serving (~350 g)
Calories 680 kcal
Protein 36 g
Carbs 38 g
Fat 42 g
Fiber 6 g
Estimated nutritional values.
Pairs perfectly with
🍚 Thai jasmine rice
🌿 Fresh Thai basil and coriander
🌶️ Birds-eye chillies in fish sauce
🍋 Lime wedges
