This is pure and simple comfort food. The kind of dish that fills your kitchen with warm and spicy aromas as it simmers on the stove and that make children, mine at least, and all, more than once, call down the stairs to ask what smells so good!
Unlike Indian curries that use powder spices, Thai curries are based on a thick, moist, intense blends of aromatic herbs and spices known as a curry pastes. In general all curry pastes contain similar ingredients: lemon grass, hot chilis, garlic, galangal, shallots, kaffir lime, cilantro roots and shrimp paste. Massaman curry is a hybrid of the two, blending the aromatic Thai mixture of grounded herbs and aromatics with cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and nutmeg – the warm, fragrant and sweet spices associated with Indian cuisine. Massaman curry pastes generally contain a long list of ingredients, but they are not difficult to make. If you want to have a go at making your own, Click here for a recipe for Massaman curry paste . But, never fear, there are plenty of good store brands available if you are not quite ready to make your own.
This is a great dish to make ahead as the flavours only get better. It can be made in advanced and kept in the fridge for a couple of days before reheating and serving or freeze it for up to two months. Be sure to defrost it thoroughly before reheating.
This curry recipe was adapted from a recipe in Bill Granger’s Holiday cookbook, but inspired by the cold, grey January weather.
Ingredients
- Serves 6
- Curry Sauce
- 3 tablespoons Massaman curry paste
- 2 tablespoons sunflower or grapeseed oil
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- 1 can whole tomatoes (or use 4 vine ripe tomatoes, chopped)
- 200 ml (7 fl oz) coconut milk
- 200 ml (7 fl oz) chicken stock or water
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- Meatballs
- 750 g (1.6 lbs ) ground pork (or a combination of ground pork and veal)
- 1 onion finely chopped or grated
- 1 tablespoon sunflower or grapeseed oil, plus more for the pan
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 55 g (2/3rds cup) fresh breadcrumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or to taste)
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- A good handful of fresh, chopped coriander (cilantro)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- To serve
- Juice of 1 lime
- 3-4 tablespoons cashew nuts, lightly toasted and roughly chopped
- Freshly chopped coriander (cilantro)
Instructions
- Begin with the curry sauce: Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring for 3 to 4 minutes until fragrant. Add the ginger. Continue cooking and stirring another 2-3 minutes. Add the canned whole tomatoes , along with the juice and continue cooking and stirring, another couple of minutes, breaking up the tomatoes with your spoon, until everything is blended. Add the coconut milk and stock or water and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat, add the brown sugar and simmer for 10 minutes on low heat, then turn off the heat and set aside.
- Make the meatballs: Preheat the oven to 220 °C (425 °F) Oil a large roasting pan and put aside.
- Heat the oil in a small frying pan over medium heat, add the onions and and cook until soft, about 4-5 minutes. Let cool then put in a large mixing bowl with all the other meatball ingredients. Mix well with your hands. Shape the meat into small balls, slightly smaller than golf balls. Put the meatballs into the prepared roasting pan and roll around to coat with the oil. Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden.
- When the meatballs have finished cooking in the oven, remove and add to the curry sauce, stirring carefully to coat. Simmer the meatballs in the sauce for 15 to 20 minutes.
- To finish, add a squeeze of lime juice and sprinkle with coriander and chopped cashews. Serve with plain boiled rice.
3.1
https://www.charlottepuckette.com/recipes/main-dish-meatpoultry/pork-meatballs-with-massaman-curry-sauce/
