Mussaman Curry

Mussaman Curry

On a cold autumn evening there is nothing quite as satisfying as a home cooked curry. This is one of my favourites from southern Thailand. As the name suggests this curry is as more Malaysian than Thai, the name actually means Muslim curry.

This makes a delicious vegetarian dish or, if preferred you can add meat too, but the flavours are so rich it doesn't really need it.

For a really authentic Mussaman curry you should make your own curry past but I do use pre-mixed paste if time is short or I am feeling lazy. Surprising;y you can now find Mussaman curry paste as well as the more common Red and Green Thai curry pastes in several supermarkets.

To make the paste from scratch you will need 50g of finely chopped shallots, 3 bay leaves (fresh if available), 3 tablespoons of palm sugar, 3 tablespoons of Thai Fish sauce (Nam Plah), 10 small garlic cloves chopped roughly (I hope you like garlic), 6 small red chillies (deseeded) and chopped roughly, a few white peppercorns, 1 teaspoon of chopped Galangal (or ginger), 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves and a tablespoon of crushed chopped lemongrass (unless your lemongrass is fresh and moist use a jar). The Thai also add shrimp paste but I don't think it needs it as well as the fish sauce.

Dry fry the above ingredients until fragrant then pound with a pestle and mortar or blitz in a small blender or clean coffee grinder. You can make this paste a few days ahead if you like and keep refrigerated.


To make the curry, fry a roughly chopped large red onion or 3 diced shallots in a tablespoon of light oil. Heat the curry paste with 2 cups of coconut milk in a large pan or wok, for about 5 minutes, add the rest of the coconut milk and bring to the boil, simmer for around 10 minutes, stirring frequently. 

Then add 6 cardamom pods, 1 cinnamon stick, 200g of small potatoes peeled and quartered, 10 small peeled shallots or 3 egg shallots halved lengthways. To give that distinctive Mussaman flavour add 3 tablespoons of palm sugar, 3 tablespoons of fish sauce and 3 tablespoons of Tamarind paste. You can add chopped unsalted peanuts too but be careful that none of your guests have a nut allergy.


This is the basic curry but feel free to add small cubes of root vegetables such as carrot, swede or parsnips to supplement the dish. If adding meat such as chicken or beef season well with salt and pepper and coat in a little chilli oil. Cook thoroughly before adding to the dish and keep warm, add to the curry at the same time as the vegetables. 

Cook until the potatoes and vegetables are tender but not soft. You can allow this to cool and reheat later if you like as the flavours will continue to develop but if using meat make sure that the curry is heated through thoroughly before you serve it.




Serve with a timbale of Jasmin rice, some home made pickled ginger see
Pickling (available in a jar from your supermarket or deli) and a spicy lime and mango Chutney, or both.









Rinse the rice well until the water looks clear and add a pinch of salt. To make coconut rice simply cook the rice in a 50/50 mix of water and coconut milk.

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http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/homehygiene/Pages/food-leftovers-safety.aspx

Always be careful in the kitchen, we accept no responsibility for any accidents caused as a direct or indirect result of preparing any of these dishes. Children should not be allowed to handle sharp cooking implements without the supervision of an adult.