The King’s Massaman Curry
with Toasted Cashews and Sweet Potato
In days of old, the ancient Thai King Rama II loved Massaman curry. So much so, that when composing a poem about a young lady who tickled his fancy he wrote “any man who has tasted (your) Massaman pines for you”. Such romance! All we can say is that it’s no wonder Thailand is known as the ‘land of the smile’ if this dish is available at every street corner! If you’ve got a spoonful of peanut butter in the cupboard then add it in as your secret ingredient!
Boxes and ingredients are packed in facilities that handles Peanut, Nuts, Sesame, Fish, Crustaceans, Milk, Egg, Mustard, Celery, Soya, Gluten and Sulphites. Due to the conflict in Ukraine, it has been necessary to substitute sunflower oil with rapeseed oil in some products without a label change. The FSA have advised that allergic reactions to rapeseed oil are rare.
/ serving 4 people
/ serving 4 people
1 unit(s)
Sweet Potato
1 punnet(s)
Chestnut Mushrooms
2 unit(s)
Garlic Clove
7 unit(s)
Chicken Thigh
2 cup(s)
Basmati Rice
2 tbsp
Cashew Nuts
(ContainsNuts)2 tbsp
Cornflour
2 tbsp
Massaman Style Curry Paste
400 milliliter(s)
Coconut Milk
1 unit(s)
Lime
Peel and chop your sweet potato into roughly 2cm chunks, roughly chop the mushrooms, peel and finely chop the garlic and cut each chicken thigh into six pieces. Remember to wash your hands and chopping board after handling the raw chicken.
Boil 700ml of water in a pot and add your rice with a pinch of salt. Cover with a tight lid and leave to cook for 10 mins on low before resting (off the heat) for 10 mins - don’t peek under the lid until 20 mins are up!
Toast your cashews in a non-stick frying pan on medium heat without any oil, until they have turned golden brown. Don’t take your eyes off them as nuts can burn very easily! Remove and keep to the side.
LH: Coat your chicken in the cornflour and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Put 2 tbsp of olive oil into your non-stick pan on high heat and get it really hot. Brown off the chicken on all sides for about 4 mins, then take out of the pan and keep to the side.
In the same pan (no need to wash!) turn the heat to medium and fry off your garlic for one minute in 2 tsp of olive oil. Add the curry paste and cook for another minute (until you can smell its fragrance) and then add a quarter of the coconut milk. Stir until you have a smooth liquid.
Stir in the rest of the coconut milk together with the sweet potato, mushrooms, chicken and the juice of half the lime. Let the mixture cook on medium-low heat for 15 mins until the sauce has thickened up and the potato is cooked through.
LH: Break up the cashews using either a pestle & mortar or alternatively the back of a spoon and a bit of brute force. Add half of the nuts to your curry sauce and keep the other half for garnish at the end.
Fluff up your rice using a fork and serve a helping of your curry on top with a sprinkle of cashew nuts. Garnish with a little grated lime zest (none of the white part please) and a few verses of poetry.