Is it worth the hassle to make our own or ready-made ones aren’t far from the original? Let’s make Massaman curry to try!

Is it worth to walk that extra mile to create a dish or to make similar is good enough?

Homemade or ready-made?

It seems that good enough is plenty for many, judging by the amount of fast food available in the shops with subpar quality and even worse taste.

If anyone has ever had the misfortune to try shop-sold tortillas and compare them with some homemade ones, may feel the weight these two simple food options burdened.

Sure, we won’t notice the difference in dishes that are packed with sugar, salt and fat as those things will overwhelm our senses so everything will taste the same. But dishes that rely on subtle differences in flavor and texture are worlds apart when bought in shops and made in a real kitchen.

Why is ready-made food better?

Unfortunately, many of us are not just introduced, but bred and grow on such low-quality sensor inducing food which makes it almost impossible to find joy in high quality dishes without making a substantial effort.

It’s not like high quality food is boring but low-quality food is engineered to be nothing else but constant joy and pleasure. Similarly, as in real life, we have to bear the downs to enjoy the ups without constantly being drunk or popping in happy pills, in real food, we have to accept some of the imperfections for a bit of joy.

One of such difficulties, apart from finding time to make our own, is that sometimes we have to figure out where to get some special ingredients too.

What is Massaman curry?

Luckily, in the 21^st century if we have some difficulty to find something, ordering it is always just a tap away, unlike a couple of decades ago when moving spices across borders could take months.

Massaman curry is an Arab influenced curry. The name itself comes from the word mosalman which is the old Persian word for Muslim.

So basically, Massaman curry simply means Muslim curry. Not like Muslims were really into curry but it’s a reference to spices used in the curry which were brought into Thailand by Arab traders.

What’s in Massaman curry?

Traditional Thai curry ingredients are chili peppers, coriander, lemongrass, galangal, white pepper, shrimp paste, shallot, and garlic. These were combined with the new species from Persia and the Indian subcontinent like cardamon, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, cumin, bay leaves, nutmeg mace, and potato.

Why Massaman curry?

The resulting curry made into the World’s 50 most delicious food in 2011 and doesn’t seem to move anywhere from there.

Recreating the dish in its original glory can be a bit of a challenge as we have to source the ingredients from various cuisines, meaning tha at least we need to find an Asian shop. Sure, we can simply use whatever spices we find in our favorite grocery store if we are willing to take the sauce a couple of notches lower in intensity or depth.

Is Massaman curry worth it?

The problem is with a sloppily recreated recipe is very similar to a badly tailored suit or dress. Those, who don’t know better, may not notice but anyone else who has seen better, just simile at them with a hint of pity at the curling end of their mouth.

It doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t start making Massaman curry if we don’t have all the ingredients, as we may as well enjoy the dish but giving the dish what it needs is a well worthy investment. At least on the short term.

Ingredients

Curry paste

6 pieces / 50g Dried chili (Mild)
4 pieces / 50g Shallot
5 cloves / 15g Garlic
2¼” / 15g Galangal (ginger+lime)
6 tablespoons / 100ml Water
½ teaspoon Cloves (ground)
¾ teaspoon Cumin (ground)
⅛ teaspoon Nutmeg (ground)
¾ teaspoon Coriander (ground)
½ teaspoon Cardamon (ground)
½ teaspoon Cinnamon (ground)

Curry sauce

4 tablespoons / 60ml Cooking oil
1 piece Cinnamon stick
1 piece Star anise
1 teaspoon Tamarind paste (Vinegar)
1 tablespoon Fish sauce (optional)

How to make Massaman Curry

Curry paste

In a very lightly oiled medium hot skillet, sear the shallot, garlic, galangal and chili peppers. We need some nice golden brown color for added flavor. Discard pepper seeds and stem then pour the vegetables into a food processor.
In a mortar or spice grinder work on the whole cloves, cumin, nutmeg, coriander, cardamon and cinnamon until ground. The finer it is the better it becomes, don’t leave big pieces lying around.
In a medium hot dry skillet toast the ground spices about 30 – 60 seconds until they got fragrant. Mind not to burn them! Add them into the food processor too.
Make paste from the spices and herbs.

Curry sauce

Heat oil to medium and cook the curry paste until thick and fragrant, about 3 minutes.
Add coconut milk, star anise, cinnamon stick, tamarind, fish or shrimp sauce and water.
Cook the flavors together and reduce the sauce into desired thickness, about 2 minutes.
Add meat and serve.