Massaman curry paste made from scratch and whipped up in just 5 minutes. First blend together the ingredients to make Thai red curry paste, before adding extra spices to create Thai yellow curry paste and then finally massaman paste. Save a bit of each as its made so you can have the whole collection of Thai pastes jarred up and ready to go. Next time you fancy a Thai curry you'll be spoilt for choice.
This recipe is used as the base to create the sauce for Massaman curry. Massaman paste is actually created from Thai red curry paste but with sweeter spices added like cardamom seeds and ground cinnamon. As a result Massaman curry is much sweeter and milder than its other Thai relatives; Thai red curry and Thai green curry.
Other milder options for a curry night in include fish biryani, and chicken tikka masala curry with homemade tikka masala paste. For more recipe ideas for a cosy night in have a look at my romantic dinner recipes post.
🥄 How to use paste in a curry
Curry paste is usually made by blending together raw ingredients such as fresh chillies, fresh herbs, shallots, garlic and spices. Therefore, when making curry the curry paste is usually added to the pan first in order to start the cooking process and the release the flavour from all the herbs and spices. For Massaman curry, around 2 tablespoon of Massaman curry paste will be enough to make a curry for four people.
🌶 Massaman vs red curry paste
Thai yellow curry paste 
Thai red curry paste Massaman curry paste
Thai red paste
Thai red curry paste is the base for making all other Thai curry pastes, apart from Thai green curry paste, which is stand alone and used for Thai green curry. From Thai red curry paste you can make Thai red curry or add further spices for Thai yellow curry paste or Massaman curry paste. In addition to this you can also use it to make Thai jungle curry, which is usually given extra heat by adding fresh chillies and dried chillies.
Thai yellow paste
Thai yellow curry paste is made by adding ground coriander, cumin, curry powder and black pepper to red paste. The result is a paste that is slightly milder in both flavour and colour. This paste can be used in Thai yellow curry and Chicken Panang curry.
Thai Massaman paste
Thai Massaman curry paste is made from the same ingredients as Thai red curry paste but with a few additions. First, coriander, cumin, curry powder and black pepper are added to make Thai yellow paste.
Then Massaman paste is made by adding curry powder, cinnamon and cardamom to the Thai yellow paste. Ingredients are separated below so you can stop at either the Thai red or Thai yellow stage and save some of the paste for making red or yellow curries before continuing to make the Massaman paste.
🥘 Ingredients
Thai red paste
- 3 large shallots finely chopped (or 6 small - 75g)
- 3 large red chillies finely chopped (50g)
- 2 tbsp garlic paste or 1 clove chopped fresh garlic
- 1 tbsp Thai galangal paste or freshly chopped ginger
- 1 tbsp chopped lemongrass or lemongrass paste
- 1 tbsp kaffir lime leaves or kaffir lime peel
- Splash of fish sauce
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tbsp oil
- Tap water if needed to loosen the mixture and help to blend.
Thai yellow paste
- 4 tablespoon Thai red paste (made from the above)
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- Black pepper
Massaman paste
- 2 tablespoon Thai yellow curry paste (made from the above)
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- Seeds from 2 cardamom pods
🔪 Step by step instructions
- Start by blending together the ingredients for Thai red paste. In a small blender add 3 large chopped shallots, 3 chopped red chillies, 1 finely chopped garlic clove or 2 tablespoon garlic paste, 1 tablespoon freshly chopped ginger or ginger paste, 1 tablespoon chopped lemongrass or lemongrass paste,1 tablespoon of kaffir lime leaves or kaffir lime peel, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp ground turmeric, and ½ tbsp oil. Blend until smooth adding tap water to loosen the mixture if required
- At this point, if you like, you can put aside half of the paste for making Thai red curry. Keep in an air tight jar and store in the fridge for 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Next use the rest of the red paste as a base for making Thai yellow curry paste. Take 4 tablespoon of the Thai red paste and place in a small bowl. To this add ½ teaspoon ground coriander, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon curry powder and some Black pepper. Stir together until fully combined.
- At this point, if you like, you can put aside half of the Thai yellow paste for making Thai yellow curry or Panang curry. Keep in an air tight jar and store in the fridge for 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Finally, use the rest of the Thai yellow curry paste as a base for making Massaman paste. Take 2 tablespoon Thai yellow curry paste and place in a small bowl. To this add 1 teaspoon curry powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder and the seed from 2 cardamom pods. TIP: use the flat side of knife to apply pressure to the cardamom pods and split them open. Discard the cardamom pod shells. Gently crush the cardamom seeds with the sharp edge of knife before adding to the paste mixture.
- If you aren't planning to use the paste in a curry immediately, transfer to an air tight jar and store in the fridge for 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge before use. To make massaman curry for 4 people you will need about 2 tablespoon of massaman curry paste.
💭 Recipe tips
Can you freeze this paste?: Yes, store in a jar or sealable container and keep in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up 3 months. Defrost thoroughly before use.
How much curry paste is needed in a curry?: Around 2 tablespoon of curry paste will be enough to make a curry for four. However, you can add slightly more or less depending on how strong you want the curry to be.
Is this recipe spicy?: Massaman paste, along with Thai yellow paste, is one of the mildest. Both red and green curry pastes are made with fresh chillies which provide the spice. As more spices are added to the red paste to make Massaman paste, the initial heat becomes diluted so providing a more gentle flavour.
Make in advance: Curry pastes are great made in advance as they store easily and can be used directly in whatever curry you are making as soon as you are ready to make it. I like to batch make mine and then split into small containers – each container has enough for one curry for 4 people. these can be stored in the fridge or freezer (see above) and then called upon when needed. Frozen paste can be microwaved for a minute or 2 and ready to use right away.
Blending paste: Use a small blender to blend together the paste. If the ingredients don’t blend together easily then add a bit of water or olive oil to help get it going.
Scaling this recipe: If you plan to save half of each paste as its made, the amount of useable paste available to make the next paste will halve each time. Times up the amount of ingredients to make more. Or if you don't want to save either the Thai red paste or Thai yellow paste but want it all to go into Massaman paste: Count out the number of table spoons of red curry paste you have made and then add the appropriate amount of Thai yellow spices and Massaman spices to this (knowing that the amounts listed above make 8 tablespoon of thai red paste and 4 tablespoon of Thai yellow paste).
Example: You have 8 tablespoon of Thai Red paste that you would like to turn into Massaman paste. To this add 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 2 teaspoon curry powder, few grinds of black pepper, 4 teaspoon curry powder, 4 teaspoon cinnamon powder and the crushed seeds from 8 cardamom pods.
📖 Other paste recipes
Let me know what you think of this Massaman paste recipe by leaving a comment and rating below! You can also save this recipe on pinterest: Or if you prefer you can pin the video!
📖 Recipe
📋 Massaman curry paste
Equipment
- Small blender or nutribullet
Ingredients
For Thai red paste:
- 3 large shallots finely chopped or 6 small - 75g
- 3 large red chillies finely chopped 50g
- 2 tbsp garlic paste or 1 clove chopped fresh garlic
- 1 tbsp Thai galangal paste or freshly chopped ginger
- 1 tbsp chopped lemongrass or lemongrass paste
- 1 tbsp kaffir lime leaves or kaffir lime peel
- Splash of fish sauce
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tbsp oil
- Tap water if needed to loosen the mixture and help to blend.
For Thai Yellow paste:
- 4 tablespoon Thai red paste made from the above
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- Black pepper
For Massaman curry paste:
- 2 tablespoon Thai yellow curry paste made from the above
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 2 cardamom pods
Instructions
To make Thai red paste :
- Start by blending together the ingredients to make Thai red paste. In a small blender add 3 large chopped shallots, 3 chopped red chillies, 1 finely chopped garlic clove or 2 tablespoon garlic paste, 1 tablespoon freshly chopped ginger or ginger paste, 1 tablespoon chopped lemongrass or lemongrass paste,1 tablespoon of kaffir lime leaves or kaffir lime peel, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp ground turmeric, and ½ tbsp oil. Blend until smooth adding tap water to loosen the mixture if required .
- At this point, if you like, you can put aside half of the paste for making Thai red curry. Keep in an air tight jar and store in the fridge for 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.
To make Thai yellow paste :
- Next use the rest of the Thai red paste as a base for making Thai yellow paste. Take 4 tablespoon of the red paste and place in a small bowl. To this add ½ teaspoon ground coriander, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon curry powder and some Black pepper. Stir together until fully combined.
- At this point, if you like, you can put aside half of the Thai yellow paste for making Thai yellow curry. Keep in an air tight jar and store in the fridge for 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.
To make Massaman curry paste :
- Finally, use the rest of the Thai yellow paste as a base for making Massaman paste. Take 2 tablespoon Thai yellow curry paste and place in a small bowl. To this add 1 teaspoon curry powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder and the seed from 2 cardamom pods.
- TIP: use the flat side of knife to apply pressure to the cardamom pods and split them open. Discard the cardamom pod shells. Gently crush the cardamom seeds with the sharp edge of knife before adding to the paste mixture.
Storing and using the massaman curry paste:
- If you aren't planning to use the paste in a curry immediately, transfer to an air tight jar and store in the fridge for 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge before use. To make massaman curry for 4 people you will need about 2 tablespoon of massaman curry paste.
Video
Nutrition
Notes
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