Massaman Curry Paste

Massaman curry is a traditional Thai dish usually made with beef, lamb or chicken.  It's got a slight tangy flavour that differs from other curries, usually from the fish sauce and tamarind flavouring. I love the scent of lemongrass and keffir leaves so I thought I'd turn this into a vegan dish with tofu and lots of vegetables.

The first step is to make the paste. You can always get store made paste, make sure however they are vegan. A lot have fish sauce as an ingredient. Maesri does a really good range of curry pastes that are vegan if you are short on the ingredients. However I love making everything from scratch, the fresh ingredients makes this paste divine.

It's quite simple to make, as long as you have all the ingredients it's a simple whiz up in the blender. I usually double the ingredients and make a large jar (roughly 2 cups) and then store the leftover in the fridge or freezer until the next time I crave curry! I'll post up the curry recipe shortly as well.

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Massaman Curry Paste


1/2 cup roasted peanuts
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup tamari
1/4 onion
2 cloves garlic
juice of 2 limes
1 1/2 tsp lime rind
3 inch piece of ginger
3-4 keffir lime leaves
2 dried chilli (depending on taste)
1 stalk lemongrass
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cardamom
1/8 tsp pepper

1. Combine all the ingredients for paste in a blender and blend on high speed until it turns into a smooth paste.


* This should make up roughly a cup. It is best to let it sit in fridge for a couple of hours, just to let it set and the flavours integrate.