Beef massaman curry

Another curry for you all today but this time, it's Thai. This beef massaman curry is one of my favourites: tender morsels of beef and meltingly soft potato chunks in a mild yet beautifully aromatic coconut milk curry. Served over a bed of sticky rice and scattered with chopped peanuts and coriander, this is the ultimate comfort meal. You have to try this.

This isn't a difficult or complicated dish, especially if you're using a shop-bought Massaman curry paste, but it does need a couple of hours to bubble away on the hob to get the beef good and tender. Make this a weekend treat so you can really enjoy the process (mindfulness is the trend, after all) and the tantalising way the scent of the spices fills the house. Really, the only hard part is the waiting because it smells so darn good while it's simmering. Richa kept asking me how much longer it would take and, I have to admit, I stirred and taste-tested more than I really needed to.

Some of these ingredients will require a trip to a supermarket or Asian store, but it's worth it in order to get a more authentic flavour profile. If you can't get a hold of the ready-made curry paste and are willing to take the extra step, here's a good-looking recipe from ThaiTable to make the paste at home. Varying accounts ascribe this Southern Thai curry to Persian, Malay and Indian influences, and there's something very familiar about its taste.  I think it has to do with the dry-roasted and ground spices like cardamom, coriander, cumin, nutmeg and mace in the paste, made Thai with the addition of lemongrass, galangal and shrimp paste (just leave this out if you're allergic), and especially with the delightfully umami dash of fish sauce. Om nom nom.

Some notes: I sautéed the diced beef with a little ginger and garlic while browning, just to seal those flavours into the meat. You don't have to add the ginger and garlic, I just love what it brings here. I also added one bird's eye chilli because this is a very mild curry, but feel free to leave it out or add another, as you like. My recipe only uses 200ml coconut milk along with 250ml coconut cream, which results in a slightly drier, more concentrated curry after two hours of simmering. If you'd like more gravy, baby, add another 200ml of coconut milk and follow my notes below.

Beef massaman curry

Serves 3.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons oil (vegetable or groundnut)
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped or grated ginger
• 4 tablespoons massaman curry paste
• 450g diced beef
• 250ml coconut cream
• 200-400ml coconut milk
• 1 large potato, cut into bite-sized cubes (about 2 cups)
• 1 cup peeled and quartered shallots OR 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, whole
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 3 cardamom pods
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 dried cassia leaves or Indian bay leaves*
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 bird's eye chilli, finely diced (optional)
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons tamarind paste
• coriander and more peanuts, finely chopped, to serve

METHOD

Sprinkle the diced beef with a generous pinch or two of salt. Heat one tablespoon of oil in a large pan over high heat. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté for about a minute before adding the beef. Fry for about 3-4 minutes, stirring and flipping occasionally, until brown all over. Remove from pan and set aside.

Reduce the heat to medium-low, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil, and sauté onions for about 5 minutes or until translucent. Turn heat up to medium, add the curry paste and fry for another 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until fragrant.

Stir in 2 tablespoons of the coconut cream and simmer for another 2 minutes, until the oil separates. Add the rest of the ingredients along with 100ml water and bring to a boil.

Cover and simmer on very low heat for 2 - 2 1/4 hours or until the beef is tender. Uncover and simmer for a few more minutes, especially if you've added extra coconut milk, until the curry reduces a little.

Serve with sticky or jasmine rice and sprinkle with coriander and finely chopped peanuts. Enjoy.

Notes: Dried Indian bay leaves taste completely different to the fresh Western bay leaves more commonly found in the UK. If you can't find the dried Indian variety, just leave it out. I did, however, find this from the Natco brand in a large Sainsbury's.