Vegetarian Thai Massaman Curry Recipe
Blogging Marathon# 48: Week 4/ Day 2
Theme: 1 Cuisine -- 3 Dishes
Dish: Thai Massamun Curry
After the refreshing first course of yesterday's Green Papaya Salad, I have a spicy, sweet and tangy Thai Massamun curry today. This curry is very aromatic and flavorful and uses a variety of Indian herbs and spices. I thought the curry tasted a lot of tangy, sweet South Indian pulusu.
If you have the curry paste already prepared and ready to go, then this dish does not take long to make. This curry is also very versatile and can be customized to ones likes and dislikes. I added some tofu puffs that I had in the freezer to amp up the protein, but regular tofu or soy chunks can also be used instead.
The most important ingredient of the curry, apart from the curry paste itself, is tamarind. That is what distinguishes Massamun curry from the other Thai curries. The other usual ingredients like coconut milk, coconut cream, soy sauce and palm sugar are all in this dish. This is a very hearty and delicious curry that goes well with steamed Jasmine rice.
Ingredients: Serves 3~4
- Baby Potatoes - 6~8, peeled
- Pearl onions - ½cup, peeled
- Carrots - 2 medium, peeled and diced into ¼" cubes
- Tofu puffs - ½cup, chopped (or use firm or extra firm tofu instead)
- Massamun Curry paste - ¼cup (homemade or store bought)
- Coconut Cream - ½cup, divided
- Coconut Milk - 1½cups
- Roasted Peanuts - ¼cup
- Tamarind paste - 2tbsp
- Light Soy sauce - 2tbsp or more to taste
- Palm sugar - 2tbsp
- Cardamom seeds - 2
- Bay leaf - 1
- Cinnamon stick - 1" piece
Method:
Heat ¼cup of coconut cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the curry paste and cook 3~5 minutes or until fragrant.
Add all the rest of the ingredients, except for the remaining ¼cup of coconut cream, and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer covered for 10~15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
Remove from heat and top with the reserved ¼cup of coconut cream. Serve with steamed rice.