Massaman beef curry

A rich, mellow Thai curry with Persian and Indian influences, warmly spiced with cinnamon and star anise, with meltingly tender beef, soft potatoes and roasted peanuts. One of the gentlest Thai curries, so good for families.

Ingredients

• 15 ml Vegetable oil
• 700 g Stewing beef, cut into large chunks
• 100 g Massaman curry paste
• 400 ml Coconut milk
• 1 Cinnamon sticks
• 2 g Star anise, 2 stars
• 1 Onions, cut into chunky wedges
• 500 g Potatoes, waxy, cut into large chunks
• 15 ml Fish sauce
• 15 g Tamarind paste
• 15 g Soft brown sugar
• 60 g Roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
• 300 g Jasmine rice
• 1 Limes, cut into wedges

Method

1. Heat the oil in a heavy casserole and brown the beef in batches over a high heat. Lift out onto a plate.
2. Lower the heat, add the curry paste and a couple of spoonfuls of the thick top of the coconut milk, and fry, stirring, until fragrant and the oil splits out.
3. Return the beef with the rest of the coconut milk, 400ml water, the cinnamon and star anise. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook gently.
4. Add the onion and potatoes, and simmer uncovered until the potatoes and beef are both tender and the sauce has thickened.
5. Stir in the fish sauce, tamarind and sugar. Taste: it should be rich, a little sweet and a little sour. Remove the cinnamon and star anise.
6. While the potatoes cook, rinse the rice and cook in salted water. Drain and keep covered.
7. Serve the curry with rice and lime wedges, and the chopped peanuts in a bowl for scattering at the table.