This Massaman Beef Curry is a stunningly rich, fragrant Thai classic that offers a much healthier, refined-sugar-free alternative to sugar-filled takeaway. It is an incredibly comforting dish boasting a beautiful balance of sweet and sour rather than intense heat, featuring melt-in-your-mouth beef and tender potatoes simmered in a deeply aromatic, spiced coconut cream sauce.
What ingredients you will need
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medjool dates
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tamarind paste
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brown onion
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massaman curry paste
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coconut cream
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gravy beef
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kaffir lime leaves
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fresh lemongrass
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salt
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cinnamon stick
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bay leaves
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green cardamom pods
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fish sauce
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waxy or sweet potato
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Thai basil leaves
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roasted, unsalted peanuts to serve
Tips & Dietary Needs
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Protein swap – Chicken Variation: Cook as per recipe, swapping the gravy beef for cubed chicken breast added in the last 10 minutes of cooking time.
- Coconut Cream Tip – Ayam brand coconut cream is highly recommended for its thick consistency. If you choose to use an alternative brand of coconut cream, you may need to top the curry up with a splash of water during cooking as other brands contain less water content and can catch.
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Low carb – Low Carb Variation: Omit the potato.
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Go vegetarian – Vegetarian Variation: Replace the fish sauce with soy sauce, cook as per recipe, and add additional vegetables such as carrot and cauliflower towards the end of cooking.
Massaman Beef Curry
Ingredients
Paste ingredients
- 5 long red chillis - deseeded and chopped roughly
- 2 stalk lemongrass - white only, around 8 cm or 3" each, chopped roughly
- 7 cloves garlic - unpeeled
- 5 shallots - unpeeled and halved (small brown ones)
- 2 whole cloves
- 5 whole green cardamom pods
- ½ stick cinnamon - or ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 pinch mace - or nutmeg
- 80 g oil of choice
- 5 coriander roots and stems
- 20 g fresh galangal - sliced into coins (or ginger)
- 2 whole kaffir lime leaves
- ½ tsp salt
Curry ingredients
- 4 medjool dates - deseeded
- 25 g tamarind purée
- 120 g brown onion - peeled and halved
- 60 g skinnymixer's Massaman Curry Paste
- 2 x 270ml | 9.2 fl oz tins Ayam coconut cream
- 800 g gravy beef - cubed large
- 4 kaffir lime leaves
- 1 stalk lemongrass - white only, whole
- 1/2 tbsp vegetable stock concentrate
- 400 g waxy potatoes - peeled and 3 cm or 1.2" dice
- 1 stick cinnamon stick
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 cardamom pods - bruised
- 25 g fish sauce - or soy sauce, tamari, liquid aminos
- 1 small handful thai basil leaves - chopped roughly
- 1 handful roasted - unsalted peanuts (for serving) [optional]
Instructions
Paste directions
- Preheat oven to 180°C or 350°F. Add chillies, lemongrass, unpeeled garlic cloves and shallots onto a baking tray. Bake 10 min or until garlic and shallots are soft. Peel when finished.
- Meanwhile, add whole cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, cumin seeds,coriander seeds and mace to mixer bowl. Dry fry 5 min/100°C or 212°F/speed 1/MC off.
- Mill 1 min/speed 8/MC on.
- Add oil, roasted garlic, chilli, shallots, lemongrass, coriander roots and stems, galangal, lime leaves and salt. Pulverise for 30 sec/speed 9/MC on. Scrape bowl down, add 30 g or 1 oz water and repeat only the pulverising (not the water content) 30 sec/speed 7/MC on twice.
- Remove to a sterilised jar or portion into 60 g or 2.1 oz lots.
Curry directions
- Without washing the bowl from making the curry paste, add dates and tamarind to mixer bowl. Chop 2 sec/speed 9/MC on. Scrape bowl down and repeat once.
- Add onion to mixer bowl. Chop 3 sec/speed 6/MC on. Scrape bowl down.
- Add massaman curry paste and 100 g or 3.5 oz coconut cream to mixer bowl. Cook 5 min/100°C or 212°F/speed 2/MC off.
- Add beef, remaining coconut cream, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, vegetable stock concentrate, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, cardamom pods and fish sauce to mixer bowl. Cook 60 min/100°C or 212°F/slowest speed/reverse/MC on.
- Check seasoning and adjust to taste. Cook 20 min/100°C or 212°F/slowest speed/reverse/MC off.
- Add potato to mixer bowl. Cook 20 min/100°C or 212°F/slowest speed/reverse/MC off. Tip: Put simmering basket on top of the mixer to avoid food splatter!
- Remove whole spices, stir through thai basil leaves and garnish with a few strands of thinly sliced kaffir lime leaves and peanuts.
Notes
Nutrition
How to Cook
Bake the fresh paste aromatics in the oven until soft, then dry-fry and mill the whole spices before pulverising everything together into a vibrant paste. Chop the dates, tamarind, and onion to create the flavour base.
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Conventional: Sauté the onion and Massaman curry paste in a fraction of the coconut cream until fragrant. Add the cubed gravy beef, remaining coconut cream, salt, and whole herbs/spices. Simmer gently on low heat, then add the diced potatoes and simmer for an additional 20 minutes until the beef is meltingly tender and the potatoes are soft.
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Slow Cooker: Follow the initial steps to fry off your paste and aromatics, then make the sauce. Transfer the mixture to a slow cooker along with the beef. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, stirring the potatoes in for the final 1 to 2 hours of cooking.
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Dump Bag Prep: Combine the raw cubed beef and sauce into a large freezer-safe zip-top bag. Freeze flat. When ready to use, thaw completely in the fridge overnight before adding to your cooker and fresh potatoes later in the cook.
How to Serve
Serve hot over a bed of steamed rice or alongside your favourite low-carb alternatives, topped with a generous sprinkle of chopped Thai basil leaves, thinly sliced kaffir lime leaves, and crunchy roasted peanuts.
Storage & Meal Prep
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Fridge: store in the fridge for up to 3 days (it tastes even better the next day as the flavors need 24 hours to truly develop and mature!).
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Freezer: freeze cooked for up to 3 months.
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Freezer Dump Bag (Uncooked): store in the freezer for 3-6 months. Thaw completely before cooking.
Please remember to leave feedback on my blog if you cook this recipe 🙂