Massaman Curry Paste
36 min · 5 steps
Medium: 31–60 min or 7–12 steps
About this dish
A warmly spiced curry paste layering roasted dried chillies with cinnamon, cardamom and cloves — the base of a rich, slow-cooked massaman curry.
Allergy Info
None
Diet Info
Vegan
Ingredients
Fresh Produce
- Thai shallotspeeled and roughly chopped6
- Garlic clovespeeled8 cloves
- Galangalpeeled and thinly sliced20 g
- Lemongrass stalkstough outer layers removed, finely sliced2 stalks
Spices & Seasonings
- Dried Red Chilliessoaked in warm water for 10 minutes, drained10
- Coriander Seedstoasted1 tbsp
- Cumin Seedstoasted1 tsp
- Clovestoasted4
- Ground Cardamom0.5 tsp
- Ground cinnamon0.5 tsp
- White pepper1 tsp
- Salt1 tsp
Oils & Condiments
- Vegetable Oilto loosen the paste2 tbsp
Utensils
- Mortar and pestle
- Frying pan
- Chopping board
- Sharp knife
Method
Toast the coriander seeds, cumin seeds and cloves in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 3 minutes until fragrant, then tip into a mortar.
Grind the toasted spices with the ground cardamom, ground cinnamon, white pepper and salt to a fine powder.
Drain the soaked chillies and finely slice them with the shallots, garlic, galangal and lemongrass.
Add the chillies, shallots, garlic, galangal and lemongrass to the mortar in batches, pounding each addition to a paste before adding the next.
Pound in the ground spice mix and vegetable oil until the paste is smooth with no large pieces remaining.