massaman curry

this curry is AMAZING; another one i can strike off the list of must haves at a thai restaurant-cos  i can DIM (that’s right- do it myself)!

this part could be made up in bulk and stored in an airtight container for another time (if you do this, use about 2 heaped teaspoons of powder in your recipe). buy the following ingredients pre-ground, or use a coffee grinder to grind to a powder:

3 bay leaves

2tsp turmeric powder

1tsp coriander seeds

1tsp cumin seeds

0.5tsp pepper

0.25tsp cardamom seeds
half a cinnamon stick

set aside and gather all other ingredients.

2Tbs coconut oil or other vegetable oil

1 small onion, finely sliced

1Tbs fresh ginger, finely grated

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 small red chilli, finely sliced, or 0.5tsp hot chilli powder

0.5c vegetable stock or water

0.5 stalk lemongrass, finely minced, or 2-3 Tbs frozen/dried lemongrass

0.25c unsalted dry-roasted peanuts (+ handful more to serve)

1tbs tamarind paste (lime or lemon juice can be used instead)

1tsp soy sauce

1Tbs palm sugar or brown sugar
400ml can coconut cream

200g tofu puffs, firm tofu or tvp chunks (i used frozen vegetarian beef chunks from an asian grocer- great! this place is awesome- lots of vegan and asian grocers stock their products if you can't get to footscrazy)

1-2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm thick chunks

1 small red capsicum, in 1cm slices

green veggies cut into 2cm pieces, eg bok choy, broccoli

heat a large saucepan (8L) over medium-high heat. heat oil and add onion, ginger, garlic, and chili, cook for 1 minute. add the stock/water plus the lemongrass, ground spices, peanuts, tamarind (or lemon/lime juice), soy sauce, and sugar. bring to a gentle boil.

add tofu, coconut cream and potatoes; add more water/stock if too thick. stir and bring back up to a boil. reduce heat to low. cook for 10 minutes, then add capsicum and green veggies (add bok choy 2 minutes before end). adjust seasoning (more soy sauce, sugar, tamarind, chilli or coconut cream to taste). top with coarsely chopped coriander and extra peanuts, or fried shallots, and serve with steamed jasmine rice and/or pan fried roti bread.