Mussaman curry

[rjs1]

I've got some cubes of lamb, some potatoes and some home made crunchy peanut butter from Ghana, plus the usual spice suspects. I want to try to make a dish I had a few years ago called something like Mussaman curry, but haven't been able to find a receipe. Can anyone help, please?

[Adam Balic]

I've got some cubes of lamb, some potatoes and some home made crunchy peanut butter from Ghana, plus the usual spice suspects.  I want to try to make a dish I had a few years ago called something like Mussaman curry, but haven't been able to find a receipe.  Can anyone help, please?

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rjs1 - here is a link to Mamster and Pim's Thai cooking eGCI. Guess what recipe is first.

eGCI Thai food

Edited September 15, 2004 by Adam Balic (log)

[rjs1]

rjs1 - here is a link to Mamster and Pim's Thai cooking eGCI. Guess what recipe is first.

eGCI Thai food

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Ah, that might explain why my Indian friends had never heard of it. Many thanks.

[Adam Balic]

Ah, that might explain why my Indian friends had never heard of it.  Many thanks.

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I believe (could be wrong here) that 'Mussaman' means Muslim and refers to the use of spices dried spices in the dish.

[MobyP]

Adam - you need to change the link from .com to .org - otherwise the photos don't come up.

[Adam Balic]

Zap. Is done.

[snowangel]

If the thought (and gathering the ingredients) for making your own paste, don't hesitate to use canned paste. I usually get Maesri, but May Ploy is very good, as well. The 14 oz. tubs cost $1.69 at my local Asian market and last practically forever (and I don't even refridgerate them).

[ExtraMSG]

There's also this very useful article by mamster as well:

http://egullet.com/index.cgi?pg=ARTICLE-mamster030303

[takomabaker]

As fate would have it, I was just on a British site seeking a recipe for Carrot Halwa and I found a treasure trove of curry recipes, both Indian and Thai. I still had the page open on my desktop when I read this post.

http://curryhouse.co.uk/catw/thailand.htm

[mamster]

snowangel, normally I like Mae Ploy and Maesri pastes, but I find their Massaman paste doesn't measure up to the reds and greens. At the very least, if you use the commercial paste, pound in some garlic and shallots and whatever other fresh stuff you have around.

Pim's recipe is incredible, and the more closely you hew to it, the better the curry will be, but I have to admit that when I make it, I simplify. First, I can rarely find cilantro with roots on except in the summer, so I use stems. I've never been able to get kaffir limes in Seattle, so I use regular lime zest. Cardamom leaves I can never find, so I leave them out. Finally, I don't like whole peanuts or shallots in my finished curry, so I pound a few peanuts in with the paste. I do, however, like potatoes, so I throw some of those in, usually Yukon Golds.

rjs1, hope your curry turns out great.

[snowangel]

Mamster, I will try Pim's recipe as soon as the weather bodes curry (currently, we're in sweet corn season). Yes, I do doctor purchased curry paste.

Your post reminds me of how glad I am to live in an area of the country that has one of the highest per cap populations of Hmong. Even at the local big supermarket, I can get cilantro with roots. I have easy access to just about everything. It is wonderful.

Kaffir lime leaves? Not a problem if you have a

It springs, summers and falls outside, winters indoors. I know I'll never get a fruit, but that's not why I have it. It was a gift from a very thoughtful friend.

Massaman. Yum. As much as I hate to see this season of the best bounty (tomatoes, basil, sweet corn to die for), 'tis getting to be time for indoors cooking.

Edited to add: that other plant in the pot with my lime tree is a volunteer petunia. It, today, bloomed, shocking pink. The color contrast is quite beautiful. That's my rhubarb behind the plant. Doesn't it look wonderful. It's "heirloom" as in one of the two things I wanted from my grandmother's house when she died. The other was an Xmas cactus. A slip was given to her on her wedding day from her grandmother's plant.

Edited September 18, 2004 by snowangel (log)