Thai Massamman Curry with Chicken
Massamman curry, is so
close to the Indian curries...that without the faint yet vivid smell of the
lemongrass and galangal, you can easily pass this curry with an Indian tag.
Historically created by the Muslim Indian settlers of Thailand, Massamman curry
is rich, spicy and over the top flavourful.
Step by step process:
Pour half of the coconut milk into the pan. |
Simmer until the oil separates. |
Add the massamman curry paste. |
Cook until the oil separates. |
Add the chicken. |
Sear the chicken pieces until they change their colour. |
Add fish sauce. |
Add palm sugar. |
Add the remaining coconut milk, bay leaves and tamarind water. |
Add water, peanuts, halved potatoes and sliced onions. |
Cook covered until the chicken and the potatoes become fork tender. |
P.S : You can make a thin curry, which is the traditional way. But I like to simmer a little more to have a thicker gravy.
Thai Massamman Curry with
Chicken
Serves 4
Ingredients:
750gm of chicken on bone
1 onion – sliced
2 medium potatoes – peeled
and halved
2 tbsp massamman curry
paste
1 can of thick coconut
milk
Salt
2 bay leaves
A handful of skinned
roasted peanuts
1 tbsp tamarind water
2 tsp palm sugar or more
if required
1 tbsp fish sauce
Massamman Curry:
2 small shallots
¼ cup of chopped
lemongrass (white parts only)
1 small cinnamon stick
4 green cardamoms
6 garlic cloves – roughly chopped
1 inch ginger – roughly chopped
1 star anise
2 dry red chillies
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
1 black cardamom
5-7 whole black
peppercorns
Method:
Make the Massamman Curry
Paste:
Dry roast the cumin seeds,
coriander seeds, black cardamom, star anise, green cardamoms, cinnamon stick,
black peppercorns for 2 minutes on low flame.
Grind them in a mortar and
pestle to a fine powder.
Dry roast the chopped
shallots, garlic, ginger and lemongrass until the onions become translucent. It
will take about 2-3 minutes on low to medium flame.
Grind them to a paste
using a mortar and pestle.
Then slowly add the spice
powder and slowly grind until you have a nice thick paste.
Make the curry:
Take half of the coconut
cream into the wok and simmer on medium flame until you see the coconut milk
starts to become thick and disintegrate. The oils will start to separate.
Add 2 tbsp of the
massamman curry paste and sauté for about 2 minutes or until the oil starts to separate
from the curry.
Add the chicken pieces and
stir to coat the pieces well with the curry paste.
Cook until the chicken
pieces change their colour.
Now add the rest of the
coconut milk.
Add the peanuts, bay
leaves, 2 cups of water, palm sugar, fish sauce and tamarind water.
Do not add these
ingredients too much. Taste and adjust them to create a balance of the sour,
sweet, spice and salt.
Cover and cook for about
an hour or 45 minutes, until the chicken becomes fork tender.
Comments
Post a Comment