Miles Collins

Perfect for the cold nights…

Here’s a winter warmer for ya! A fragrant beef curry slow cooked in spices with an equal nod to both India and Thailand….
This is one I knocked up whilst thinking about mussaman curries, most probably my favourite Thai curry. I’ve had some fantastic variations of mussaman on my travels, they are most commonly made with beef but I’ve eaten both chicken and duck variations, some contained chunks of pineapple but always potato and always very aromatic.

Beef Mussaman is most commonly associated with the muslim population of the south of Thailand and its origins go back to the sixteenth century. As with any recipe which has ‘travelled’ its structure will have invariably changed through time but the original flavour notes remain; cardamon, cloves, cassia bark and cumin. I didn’t stick to a recipe ( I rarely do) but made a spice mix using the flavours which I wanted to taste in my curry. I prefer a dish which is fragrant hot rather than chilli hot, I never like any one ingredient to dominate all of the others, I don’t see the point.

I knew I wanted something which took the ingredients of a classic garam masala and combined it with the cooking methods of Thai cuisine so here’s a rough guide to my spice paste. (note..I was making it for thirty people and never measured it or wrote it down)

Mussaman Spice Paste Recipe

2 red onion chopped
2 dried red chillies soaked in hot water
3 crushed garlic cloves
1 tbsp chopped coriander root
1 tbsp chopped ginger (use galangal if you can get fresh)
2 tbsp chopped lemongrass

Chop all together and fry in a pan until smelling fragrant.

1 tbsp each of blanched peanuts and coriander seeds, three or four cloves, a teaspoon or so of cumin seeds, five or six cardamom pods and a sheath of cassia bark or cinnamon are then roasted and ground together. Add this to the spice paste above.

Take a couple of tablespoons of coconut cream and gently ‘crack’ it in a pan until it splits, smells great but looks awful. Stir in a healthy spoonful of the spice mix and cook until the raw ingredients begin to smell as though they are cooked and fragrant. Add diced stewing beef and combine well. Throw in a cinnamon stick and some more blanched and roasted peanuts for good measure. Cover with the coconut milk and a cup of tamarind water if you have it and cook slowly until the beef is almost tender. Peel a potato or two and cook into chunks, add to the broth and cook until the potatoes are done. Season to taste with fish sauce and palm sugar. Finish with chopped fresh coriander/cilantro.

Beef Mussaman