Massaman is the Thai curry for people who think they do not like Thai curry. It is mellow rather than fiery, rich with coconut milk and scented with the warm dried spices of the old trade routes, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, star anise and cumin, alongside the lemongrass, galangal and chili of the Thai kitchen. The name is an old corruption of a Persian word for Muslim, and nineteenth century writers in English called it Mussulman curry. Where exactly it was born is still debated: some historians place it at the cosmopolitan royal court of Ayutthaya in the seventeenth century, where Persian merchants were influential; others see it as a dish of the Muslim south, shaped by Malay and Indian cooking.

Its literary credentials are hard to beat. Around 1800, Prince Itsarasunthon, later King Rama II, wrote a poem in praise of the food of the royal household, and massaman is in it, fragrant with cumin and strong spices. More than two centuries later, a CNN readers' poll in 2011 named it the most delicious food in the world. Few dishes have had reviews from a king and the internet and come out well in both.

This version starts with a homemade paste of roasted aromatics and toasted spices, which is the difference between a good massaman and a memorable one, but a good shop bought massaman paste will do on a busy race weekend. Either way, the beef needs time, and the curry is better still the next day.

The massaman paste

Ingredients

• 8 large dried red chilies
• 6 shallots
• 10 garlic cloves
• 1 lemongrass stalk
• 1 inch (2.5 cm) piece galangal
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 4 cloves
• 1 star anise
• 1 inch (2.5 cm) piece cinnamon stick
• 4 cardamom pods
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon (5 g) shrimp paste

Method

1. Snip the dried chilies into short pieces with scissors and put them in the small bowl. Pour over just enough boiling water to cover and leave them for 15 minutes.
2. Heat the heavy frying pan over medium heat with nothing in it. Add the unpeeled shallots and garlic, the lemongrass, the galangal and the foil packet of shrimp paste. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, turning everything often. Take out the shrimp paste after 2 minutes and the lemongrass and galangal after about 4. Let the shallots and garlic cool, then peel them.
3. In the small dry pan over medium low heat, toast the coriander, cumin, cloves, star anise and cinnamon for 2 to 3 minutes, shaking the pan, then add the cardamom seeds for the last 30 seconds. Tip them onto a plate to cool, then grind them to a fine powder with the nutmeg.
4. Drain the chilies, keeping the soaking water. Put the chilies, peeled shallots and garlic, lemongrass, galangal, shrimp paste, ground spices and salt in the blender with 3 tablespoons of the soaking water. Blend for 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down often, adding a little more water only if the blades stop turning.

The beef

Ingredients

• 2 lb (900 g) beef chuck or shin
• 2 cans (13.5 fl oz / 400 ml each) full fat coconut milk
• 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 cardamom pods
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon fine salt

Method

1. Open the cans without shaking them. Spoon the thick white cream from the top of both cans into a bowl, about 1 cup (240 ml) in all, and set it aside for frying the paste. Keep the thinner milk underneath separately.
2. Put the beef in the large pot with the thin coconut milk, the water, the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, bay leaves and salt. Bring it slowly to a boil over medium heat, then turn the heat to low.
3. Partly cover the pot and simmer gently for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring now and then and skimming off any grey foam. Add a splash of hot water if the liquid drops below the meat.

Finishing the curry

Ingredients

• 1 cup (240 ml) coconut cream
• all massaman paste
• 1 lb (450 g) waxy potatoes
• 1 large onion
• 1/2 cup (75 g) roasted unsalted peanuts
• 3 tablespoons (40 g) palm sugar
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) fish sauce
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) tamarind water

Method

1. About 40 minutes before the beef is ready, heat the coconut cream in the heavy frying pan over medium heat, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the massaman paste and fry it, stirring and scraping constantly, for 6 to 8 minutes.
2. Scrape the fried paste into the pot of beef and stir well. Rinse the frying pan with a ladle of the curry liquid and pour that back in too.
3. Add the potatoes, onion and peanuts. Simmer uncovered over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring gently from time to time so the potatoes do not catch on the bottom.
4. Stir in the palm sugar, fish sauce and tamarind water and simmer for 2 minutes more. Taste it. Massaman should be gently sweet first, then salty, with a soft sour finish. Add more fish sauce for salt, palm sugar for sweetness or tamarind for brightness, a teaspoon at a time.

Jasmine rice

Ingredients

• 2 cups (400 g) jasmine rice
• 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) water

Method

1. Rinse the rice in a sieve under cold running water, swirling it with your hand, until the water runs nearly clear. Put it in the saucepan with the water and bring to a boil, then cover, turn the heat to its lowest and cook for 15 minutes.
2. Take the pan off the heat and leave it covered for 10 minutes, then fluff the rice gently with a fork.

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