Ingredients
| MASSAMAN CURRY PASTE | |
| 1 tablespoon coriander seeds | |
| 1 teaspoon cumin seeds | |
| 4 green cardamom pods | |
| 3 cloves | |
| 5 dried red chillies | |
| ½ teaspoon salt | |
| 4 large shallots | |
| 4 cloves garlic | |
| 3cm-piece ginger, peeled, thickly sliced | |
| 1 tablespoon chopped coriander root | |
| ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon | |
| 1 teaspoon shrimp paste | |
| 3 tablespoons coconut milk | |
| FOR THE CURRY | |
| 1 tablespoon coconut, peanut or plain oil | |
| 1.2kg well-trimmed beef brisket | |
| Massaman curry paste (see recipe) or 5 tablespoons ready-made paste | |
| 1 can (400ml) coconut milk (less the 3 tablespoons if making your own paste) | |
| 1 cup beef stock | |
| 3 stalks lemongrass | |
| 1 bay leaf | |
| 16 small new potatoes, halved | |
| 1 under-ripe green mango, peeled | |
| coriander and finely sliced makrut lime leaves, to serve |
I am not a fruit-in-savoury-dishes person at all, but I loved the addition of tropical fruit to a fragrant massaman curry. I had a fabulous one with young durian and a mango version with a perfect sweet/sour/spice balance.
View the recipe collection here
Instructions
| 1. | MASSAMAN CURRY PASTE |
| 2. | Heat a frying pan to medium hot and dry fry the coriander, cumin, cardamom pods, cloves and chillies for about 30 seconds until fragrant. |
| 3. | Crush the cardamom pods, remove the seeds and discard the pods. |
| 4. | Grind the spices to a powder with the salt. |
| 5. | Add the shallots, garlic and ginger to the pan and char for about 10 minutes, removing pieces that get too dark. |
| 6. | Put the spices and shallot mix into a blender with the coriander root, cinnamon, shrimp paste and coconut milk and blend to a paste. |
| 7. | CURRY |
| 8. | Heat the oven to 160°C. |
| 9. | Heat the oil in a heavy, ovenproof casserole over a high heat and brown the brisket for about 5 minutes each side until nicely browned. Remove from the pot and set aside. |
| 10. | Turn the heat to low and add the curry paste to the pot, stirring constantly for 10 minutes until it browns and the oil is separating – you may need to turn the heat back up, but you don’t want it too hot to start. |
| 11. | Add the remaining coconut milk. Measure out 1 cup of water and use it to rinse the can and any remaining curry paste in the blender, then add to the pot. |
| 12. | Add the stock, lemongrass and bay leaf along with the browned brisket, pushing down to submerge it. Cover and cook in the oven for 3 hours, turning once until tender. |
| 13. | While the beef cooks, put the potatoes in a pot and cover with water. |
| 14. | Bring to the boil and then simmer for 5 minutes until just starting to become tender, but not fully cooked. Drain and set aside. |
| 15. | When the beef is done, remove from the sauce, cut into chunks and set aside. |
| 16. | Add the potatoes to the sauce and return to the oven for 10 minutes until tender then stir the beef back in. |
| 17. | At this point you can cool and refrigerate it for up to three days. |
| 18. | When ready to serve, gently heat on medium. Chop the mango into 2cm chunks and stir in. |
| 19. | Top with coriander and makrut lime leaves and serve with rice. |
Recipes & food styling Fiona Smith / Photography Aaron McLean / Styling Jess Hemmings