How to Make Mango Thai Massaman Curry at Home.

Thai Massaman Curry with mango twist.

We know how much the world loves Thai cuisine, for its rich and tropical flavours it has to offer. One such recipe is that of the Thai Massaman curry. It is also named as one of the most famous dishes by CNNGo in 2011 in an article titled “World’s 50 most delicious foods”. I got to know about this recipe when I was surfing for interesting Thai recipes, as I was on a complete Thai food hangover!! I was searching for something apart from the green, red, and yellow Thai curries, basically anything other than the mainstream dishes that were already famous. I wanted to know more about Thai cuisine, and that is when I stumbled on this interesting Massaman Curry. The name Massaman is an adaptation of the term Mosalman from the Persian language, which roughly translates to Muslim curry. According to the Thai food experts, this dish originated in the 17^th century, and the first recorded recipe for the curry was in 1889. It is traditionally prepared with meat like beef/chicken/lamb. We can be creative and use any protein.
So, the first time I had the recipe, I felt a flavour rush on my palate. The aftertaste lingered for a long time, and I was stunned by the flavour balance that the curry had. It is sweet, spicy, and sour all at once, and it is also creamy and rich. So I started cooking this very often, and one day I had a unique and weird idea of using mangoes instead of the traditional tamarind in the recipe, which I eventually tried. It turned out to be the best altered version of the authentic recipe.  As I mentioned, it is authentically a meat-based curry, but I took creative liberty and changed the protein from meat to tofu. Since it is made from Tofu, even our vegan friends can also enjoy this crown jewel of the Thai curries.

Recipe:

Let us divide the recipe into 2 parts. First, let us prepare the Massaman curry paste.

For Paste
Dry spices:

• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2-3 whole cloves
• 1 tsp white or black peppercorns
• 2-inch stick cinnamon
• 2 cardamom pods
• A pinch of ground nutmeg (or scrape from whole nutmeg)

Aromatics:

• 4 dried red chilies (soaked in warm water, seeds removed for mildness)
• 2 small shallots
• 4-5 chopped garlic
• 1 tsp chopped galangal (or ginger if unavailable)
• 1 stalk lemongrass (white part only)
• 1 tsp miso paste (or shrimp for non-vegetarian version)
• 1 tsp zest of kaffir lime (or regular lime zest)
• 1 tbsp roasted peanuts (optional, traditional in Southern versions)

Now toast all the dry spices until aromatic and set aside to cool. Once cooled, blend the spices into a fine powder.
Now blend all the aromatics into a fine paste and add in the powdered dry spices. You store the curry paste for up to 1 week in the refrigerator, or portion it out and store it in the deep freezer. The aromatic quantities can be adjusted as per liking.

Now that we have the paste ready, let us dive into the actual recipe.

Ingredients:

• 300g firm tofu
• 1 cup full-fat Coconut milk
• ½ cup vegetable stock (Boil all the vegetable scraps, peels, with water and filter out any impurities)
• ½ raw Mango (peeled and finely grated)
• 1 ripe Mango (peeled and 1 half pureed and 1 half finely diced)
• 1 medium Potato, cubed
• ½ Red Onion, sliced
• 2 tbsp Massaman Curry Paste
• 2 tbsp Roasted Peanuts or Cashew nuts (Optional, but will give amazing nuttiness to the dish)
• 1 tbsp Soy sauce ( Use Fish sauce for Non-vegetarian version)
• ½ tsp sugar (Only if the ripe mango is not sweet enough)

Garnish:

• Thai Basil or Coriander
• Extra Mango cubes(Ripe)
• Crushed Peanuts
• Lime wedges

Let’s start cooking!!

Prep the mangoes:

• Peel and finely grate the Mango and set aside.
• Peel the ripened Mango and puree 1 half of the mango and finely dice the other half. It adds a bite to the curry.

Sauté the Curry Paste:

• In a deep pan, add half the quantity of full-fat coconut milk and cook it until it splits.
• Oil should separate from the milk.
• Now, add the Massaman curry paste and cook it until it is fragrant. This should take 2-3 minutes.

Cook Protein:

• Add the firm Tofu to the paste, and sauté until light golden brown and fully coated in paste.
• If you are cooking the Non- non-vegetarian version, this is the step where you add the meat and cook it up to 70% done.

Build the Sauce:

• Once the Tofu is cooked, add in the rest of the Coconut milk, stock, and finely grated Raw Mango.
• After the mixture starts bubbling, add in the potatoes and onions.
• Stir continuously so that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan to prevent burning.

Add Mango:

• Stir in the pureed ripe Mango.
• It gives body to the gravy and adds a natural fruity sweetness to the curry.
• It enhances the taste twofold.
• After adding everything, simmer it for a good 15-20 minutes until the protein is cooked and the potatoes are tender and cooked perfectly.
• For the non-vegetarian version, make sure that the meat is completely cooked at this stage.

Add seasoning & Final touches:

• After simmering and getting it into the desired consistency, add the seasonings.
• Add soy sauce and check the taste.
• If needed, add some more raw mango and let it cook for some more time.
• If the ripe mango is not sweet enough, then add a pinch of sugar for that sweetness.
• In the last 2 minutes before taking it off the heat, add in the ripe mango chunks and nuts.

Garnish the curry with herbs mentioned above, add some more mango and crushed nuts for that bite.

This curry is traditionally enjoyed with the famous Jasmine rice, but it pairs amazingly well with any flatbread of your choice, like naan, roti, pita bread, etc.

Summary:

Thai cuisine is arguably one of the best cuisines all over the world. It has given the world many amazing dishes over time. Now, this might not be the authentic Massaman curry, but it is a respectful adaptation of the original recipe. Enjoy the delicacy before the summer ends!!

Whipped up this sweet ‘n spicy delight? Don’t leave me hanging, spill the curry gossip in the feedback at feedback@buzzcrate.in