Lamb meatball massaman
Serves: 6
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Ant Duncan
Lamb meatball massaman
Originally from Thailand, massaman curry blends ingredients from Malaysia, India and Iran. It’s usually made with beef, but lamb adds a lovely savouriness that works well with the dish’s subtle sweetness
Serves: 6
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (serving)
Calories
688Kcal
Fat
46gr
Saturates
23gr
Carbs
36gr
Sugars
13gr
Fibre
4gr
Protein
32gr
Salt
2.1gr
Sarah Akhurst
Our Food Director Sarah is a food obsessive, and spends most of her time scoping out the latest food trends, experimenting in her own kitchen, or making her family wait to eat while she photographs every dinner she makes for the 'gram! A complete Middle Eastern food junkie, she is never far from a good shawarma marinade, a pinch of Aleppo chilli or a sprig of dill
See more of Sarah Akhurst’s recipes
Sarah Akhurst
Our Food Director Sarah is a food obsessive, and spends most of her time scoping out the latest food trends, experimenting in her own kitchen, or making her family wait to eat while she photographs every dinner she makes for the 'gram! A complete Middle Eastern food junkie, she is never far from a good shawarma marinade, a pinch of Aleppo chilli or a sprig of dill
See more of Sarah Akhurst’s recipes
Ingredients
- 750g lamb mince
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 50ml coconut cream
- 2 onions, finely sliced
- 500g waxy potatoes, cut into chunky pieces
- 100g unsalted roasted peanuts
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp tamarind
- 30g dark brown soft sugar
- 1 x 400ml tin coconut milk
- 200ml lamb stock (made using ½ stock pot)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 bay leaves
- fresh coriander leaves
- steamed rice or warm roti, to serve
For the massaman curry paste
- 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- pinch of ground cloves
- 2 star anise
- 1 stick lemongrass, finely chopped
- 1 tsp galangal paste
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 1 tsp fish sauce
Step by step
To freeze
Leave the curry to cool completely and don’t garnish with coriander, then transfer to an airtight container to freeze. Remove from the freezer the night before you need it and allow to defrost in the fridge. Heat on the hob until piping hot, then garnish with coriander.
- For the massaman paste, dry fry the chilli flakes, ground coriander, cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, white pepper, cloves and star anise in a frying pan for a minute or so, until fragrant. Tip the mixture into a mini food processor. In the same frying pan, fry the lemongrass, galangal, shallot and garlic for 3-4 minutes, or until starting to soften. Add to the processor with the fish sauce and blitz to a paste.
- For the curry, shape the lamb mince into approximately 24 meatballs and set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a frying pan and fry the massaman paste for 4-5 minutes, until it’s a rich, dark brown colour. Stir in the coconut cream and continue to cook for a minute, then remove from the heat and set aside.
- Heat another tablespoon of the oil in a large, deep saucepan and fry the onions for 6-8 minutes, until soft. Add the massaman paste mixture and cook for 2 minutes, then add the potatoes, peanuts, fish sauce, tamarind and brown sugar, stirring to combine. Add the coconut milk, lamb stock, cinnamon stick and bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer gently for 40 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
- Meanwhile, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a frying pan and fry the meatballs until browned all over. Add these to the curry around 10 minutes before the end of cooking time and simmer until cooked through. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve with rice or roti.
