Serves 4
There are many different ideas as to how and
where this dish originated, but one popular
theory is that it was born in southern Thailand,
where there are many Muslims, hence the
name, which means Muslim curry. It has also
recently been voted by CNN as the world’s
most delicious food.
For the curry
1 tablespoon tamarind pulp
50ml (3 tablespoons) hot water
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1 batch massaman curry paste (at right)
2 teaspoons palm sugar
2 - 3 tablespoons gluten-free tamari, to taste
200g pineapple chunks in their own juice
80g (½ cup) dry-roasted peanuts
2 sweet potatoes, cut into chunks and
roasted
a handful of dried soy chunks (soaked in
water for 30 minutes) or marinated tofu pieces
10 small pickling onions or shallots (green
onions), optional
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a few leaves of fresh coriander (cilantro)
1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced
a handful of crispy fried shallots (green
onions) or crispy fried Thai shallots (optional)
short grain brown rice to serve
1 Soak the tamarind in the hot water
for 20 minutes, then pour everything
through a sieve into a small bowl, mashing
the tamarind through with a spoon.2 Put 4 tablespoons of the creamiest
part of the coconut milk in a dry
saucepan over a medium heat. Once
it’s hot, add the curry paste and cook
for 10 minutes on a low heat, stirring
occasionally. Add the palm sugar and
continue to cook until you see it
caramelising (about 5 - 10 minutes).
By now your house should smell like
a Bangkok street market!3 Add the rest of the coconut milk and
bring to the boil, adding the tamarind
water. Simmer for 15 minutes.4 Remove from the heat, then pour
through a sieve into a bowl to remove any
gritty bits. Pour back into the saucepan
and add the tamari and 4 tablespoons
pineapple juice from the can. Return to
the heat, bring to the boil again, add
the peanuts, sweet potatoes, pineapple
chunks, soy chunks and pickling onions
and slowly simmer for 20 minutes.5 Check the seasoning and add a little
more tamari if you feel it’s needed.
Garnish with red chilli, coriander and
crispy fried shallots and serve with
steamed short-grain brown rice.Massaman curry paste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil • 1 - 2 sticks
lemongrass, chopped • 5 garlic cloves,
chopped • 2 tablespoons peeled and chopped
galangal • 5 dried long red chillies, deseeded,
soaked in water and drained • 2 tablespoons
chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) root • 6
shallots (green onions), chopped • 2 garlic
cloves • 1 tablespoon coriander seeds • 6
black peppercorns • ½ cinnamon stick • 2
cardamom pods • 1 teaspoon ground cumin- ¼ nutmeg, freshly grated • a large pinch of
salt • 2 tablespoons roasted peanuts
1 Put the oil in a wok on full heat, add
the lemongrass, garlic, galangal, chillies,
coriander root, shallots and a splash of
water. Fry until golden, stirring occasionally
and adding a little more water if the pan
is getting dry. Once golden, transfer to
a blender.2 Add the cloves, coriander seeds,
peppercorns, cinnamon and cardamom
to the wok and toast for about 20
seconds - don’t let them smoke.3 Add to the blender, then warm the
cumin and nutmeg in the hot wok, off the
heat, for about 10 seconds. Add to the
blender with the salt and peanuts and
blend until smooth.Massaman curry
WHEAT-FREE
Voted
world’s
best
Gluten-free
Recipe credit to
The Fresh Vegan
Kitchen by David &
Charlotte Bailey
published by
Pavilion Books.
Image credit to
Haarala Hamilton.