Skinnymixer’s Slow Cooked Massaman Lamb Shanks features in the Chef Specials of the SkinnyAsia 2 cookbook.

This isn’t your average Massaman Curry.

Our Slow Cooked Massaman Lamb Shanks earned a 10/10 from the testing team, and it’s not hard to see why. Lamb shanks are cooked low and slow until beautifully tender in a rich, creamy Massaman curry sauce with baby potatoes and onion.

And rather than reaching for a jar of curry paste, we make our Massaman paste completely from scratch.

Chilli, shallot, garlic, ginger, lemongrass and coriander are blended with warming spices, then combined with creamy coconut, tamarind, fish sauce and a little sweetness to create that characteristic balance of rich, savoury, sweet and tangy flavours.

Make it in the oven or slow cooker, or use lamb shank meat and let your Thermo cooker’s Slow Cook function do the work.

Methods: Oven + Slow Cooker + Thermo Slow Cook
Curry paste: Made completely from scratch

What is Massaman Curry?

Massaman is a rich Thai curry known for its combination of aromatic Thai ingredients and warming dried spices.

Our homemade paste combines ingredients such as chilli, lemongrass, ginger, coriander and shrimp paste with cumin, coriander, cinnamon and cardamom.

The curry sauce then gets its characteristic balance of flavours from coconut milk and cream, tamarind, fish sauce and brown or coconut sugar.

It’s creamy and deeply flavoured, with a lovely tang from the tamarind rather than being all about chilli heat.

Make the Massaman Curry Paste From Scratch

Making your own curry paste might sound like a lot of work, but the Thermo cooker or blender does most of the hard work for you.

Our Massaman paste includes:

Garlic
Dried and fresh red chilli
Shallot
Fresh ginger
Lemongrass
Coriander stems and roots
Roasted shrimp paste
Coriander
Cumin
Cinnamon
White pepper
Green Cardamom Pods

The paste is blended until smooth and then cooked before the remaining curry ingredients are added, helping develop those beautiful aromatic flavours.

No jar of curry paste required.

If you would like to use shop bought curry paste

If you would prefer to use shop-bought curry paste, do not try and match the weight of the fresh paste in the recipe. I recommend checking your curry paste jar or tin to see how much to use for the amount of meat/serves in the recipe.

Why Lamb Shanks Work So Well in Massaman Curry

Massaman is made for slow cooking, and so are lamb shanks.

After browning the shanks, they’re surrounded with baby potatoes and onion, covered in the Massaman curry sauce and slowly cooked until tender.

The long cooking time gives the lamb plenty of time to soften while adding its flavour to the sauce.

Once cooked, you can serve the shanks whole with plenty of sauce spooned over the top or remove the meat from the bones and stir it back through the curry.

Oven, Slow Cooker or Thermo Slow Cook?

We’ve given you three ways to cook this one.

OVEN
Cook the lamb shanks covered in a Dutch oven for approximately 3 hours at 160°C fan-forced, or until beautifully tender.

SLOW COOKER
Cook the lamb shanks on low for 8–10 hours. Perfect for getting dinner started in the morning and leaving it to slowly cook throughout the day.

THERMO SLOW COOK FUNCTION
Use boneless lamb shank meat rather than whole shanks. The curry, lamb, potatoes, onion and makrut lime leaves are cooked together using Slow Cook mode, with specific instructions included for TM6 and TM7.

Don’t Worry if the Sauce Looks Split

You may notice some fat separating from the sauce after several hours of slow cooking.

Don’t panic.

Lamb shanks naturally release fat as they cook. Once the lamb is tender, carefully remove the shanks and spoon off as much excess fat as you can.

The sauce is then finished with the cornflour mixture while still hot to bring everything together and give it a lovely consistency.

What Does Massaman Curry Taste Like?

Massaman isn’t simply a hot curry.

It’s rich, creamy, savoury, slightly sweet and tangy, with warming spices running through the coconut-based sauce.

Tamarind brings acidity, fish sauce adds savoury saltiness and the sugar balances the sauce.

We’ve used both fresh and dried chilli in the paste, but there are plenty of other flavours competing for attention here too.

Dietary & Recipe Variations

LOW CARB
Use compliant sauces and sweetener, omit the potato and add cauliflower towards the end of cooking. Use the suggested alternative thickener.

SUPER SKINNY
Skip the oil when browning the lamb and replace the coconut cream with light coconut milk.

PALEO
Use compliant sauces and replace the potato with sweet potato if desired. We’ve also included an alternative to cornflour.

VEGETARIAN
We’ve even included a whole roasted cauliflower variation. The Massaman sauce is cooked first before being used to baste the cauliflower, with alternatives to the shrimp paste and fish sauce included.

LOW FODMAP
Use garlic-infused olive oil instead of garlic, the green part of spring onion instead of shallot and omit the brown onion. We’ve also included alternatives for the coconut cream and Stock Concentrate.

HALVED / DOUBLED
If halving, keep the full quantity of sauce. For a double batch, prepare the sauce in two batches.

What to Serve with Massaman Lamb Shanks

Serve the lamb shanks whole or shred the tender meat from the bones and stir it through the curry.

Spoon everything over steamed rice or cauliflower rice, making sure you get plenty of that Massaman sauce and some of the tender potatoes in each bowl.

Finish with:

Roasted peanuts
Fresh coriander
Thinly sliced red chilli

And make sure there’s enough sauce to spoon over the rice.

Get the Recipe

The complete Slow Cooked Massaman Lamb Shanks recipe, including homemade Massaman Curry Paste, oven, slow cooker and Thermo Slow Cook methods, dietary variations and serving suggestions, is available in SkinnyAsia 2.

From the Testing Team

Tara L. – Oh My Goodness!!!! This was incredible. It had this subtle peanut flavour, it had spice but not too much. the meat just fell off the bone. the sauce was the perfect thickness. We absolutely LOVED this dish. I followed instructions exactly and cooked conventional for 3 hours on 160 degrees. Served with roti. 10/10
Susan R. – Such tender lamb in a beautifully creamy sauce. We loved it. I did the oven method.
Julie H. – Now this packs a punch Cooked yesterday and had it today for dinner. Winner Winner for us. I took the meat of the bone. The flavours are spot on
Sarah M. – Holy amazeballs! IN LOVE Cooked for the 3hrs in oven at 160° & it was perfect
Veronica B. – the flavours are incredible, I hate coriander and was so worried that was all I was going to taste, however the over all flavours come together perfectly, yummmmm!! Soooooo worth the wait!!
Angie G. – Dinner tasted absolutely delicious These are the best lamb shanks ever!! Definitely restaurant quality and more Cooked for 3 hrs in the oven at 160c, the shanks were perfectly cooked. The meat was tasty, soft and falling of the bone. The sauce was creamy, tasty, not overly spicy and just right. Looking forward to having the leftovers tomorrow night. Yumm
Alisha D. – Delicious The sauce is very rich i may thin it out a little with the left overs and see how it goes!! Served with rice, coriander, some peanuts i got in Bali and chilli
Monique A.– This was SEN-FREAKIN-SATIONAL!!!!
Betty W. – Made low sodium – half shrimp paste, no salt, half stock concentrate, half fish sauce, half brown sugar. Enjoyed by all. I added about 4-5 more potatoes. Kids would’ve been happy with even more so next time I’ll just overload.
Jodi H. – Omg soooo good!! Used lamb shanks cooked in the pressure cooker for 50 mins, meat was falling off the bone. Tons of sauce, next time will do 6 shanks!

Some other Thermomix Curry recipes you might love:

Want to know more about SkinnyAsia 2 cookbook?

SkinnyAsia 2 is a collection of Thermomix & Conventional cooking recipes. All of our cookbooks have a strong focus on Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Nut-free, Egg Free, Low Carb, Paleo, Vegetarian and Low FODMAP.

We cover a wide range of dietary variations in the cookbook – LC: Low Carb, GF: Gluten-free, DF: Dairy-free, LM: Low Fodmap, SS: Super Skinny, V: Vegetarian

FAQs

Can I make Massaman Lamb Shanks in the slow cooker?

Yes. Arrange the browned lamb shanks with the potatoes and onion in your slow cooker, pour over the homemade Massaman sauce and add the makrut lime leaves. Cook on low for 8–10 hours, or until the lamb is beautifully tender.

Can I make Massaman Lamb Shanks using the Thermo Slow Cook function?

Yes, but you’ll need to use boneless lamb shank meat rather than whole lamb shanks. We’ve included specific Slow Cook instructions for both the TM6 and TM7 in SkinnyAsia 2.

SkinnyAsia2: Slow Cooked Massaman Lamb Shanks