Lamb Massaman

Lamb Massaman Curry

September 20, 2016 6 Comments

See also Beef Massaman. Roast Chicken Massaman Chicken Massaman
Lamb massaman curry is a truly luxurious dish. Lamb Shanks cooked in a massaman sauce become meltingly tender and the spices blend so harmoniously with the lamb it truly is a perfect match. This is an oven cooked dish requiring around 3 hours cooking time. If you are thinking of using a slow cooker, then please check out this link as the recipe would need to be adapted. This is not an everyday curry so personally, I would stick with the oven for best results.

For 2 lamb shanks I'm using one pouch of massaman paste, 1 can of coconut milk and around 200g of small potatoes.(For 3 lamb shanks add another 100g of potatoes). A small handful of peanuts, you can either shell them or if you only have salted peanuts you can rinse off the salt and leave to dry on kitchen towels. Of course if you have raw peanuts you can pan roast them for a few minutes. You will also need an onion if you want to garnish it as in the above picture. The pastes are complete but it is always a good idea to have a little lime juice to hand to adjust sweetness, if needed, to your personal taste at the end of cooking. You also adjust saltiness by adding a little more fish sauce or salt if required.

Make sure you’re using the “right” type of coconut milk as it will make or break this or any other coconut based curry. Quick guide here, Coconut Milk Summary or if you would like to see the difference between different brands of coconut milk the full article is here, Cooking Thai Curry with Coconut Milk.

Don't peel the potatoes. Just wash and rub dry. Halve them and cook in vegetable oil until nicely browned. Remove and set aside.

Fry the thinly sliced onion (if using) and drain and dry on kitchen paper.

Add the lamb shanks to the oil and cook on all sides until nicely browned.

Place lamb shanks in casserole and surround with the potatoes, some of the fried onion and peanuts.

Heat the massaman sauce in a pan and add the coconut milk and bring to a simmer.

Pour onto the lamb and potatoes.

Top up with water if needed until the meat and potatoes are covered.
Cover and cook for around 3 hours at 150C. Check on it around halfway to make sure the liquid is not evaporating too fast which can happen if the casserole lid is not a good fit. Some aluminium foil around the edge can create a tighter fit. At the end of cooking time check meat is tender, also that the potatoes are cooked correctly, if not then put back in oven for another 30 minutes. Stir the pan to mix in any oil that may have separated or skim off some oil if there is too much. Let the lamb rest in the covered casserole pot for 10 minutes before serving. Note, this can be cooked on the hob under a very low heat but you will have to check and stir from time to time to prevent sticking. I find that the oven works better for me.

Enjoy!

If you like this recipe please click the star rating or add a comment below! Kop Khun Kha, Nitsa.x

Lamb Massaman Curry

Rated 4.3 stars by 32 users

Cuisine

Thai

Servings

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

3 hours

Calories

670

Lamb massaman curry is a truly luxurious dish. Lamb Shanks cooked in a massaman sauce become meltingly tender and the spices blend so harmoniously with the lamb it truly is a perfect match. This is an oven cooked dish requiring around 3 hours cooking time. If you are thinking of using a slow cooker, then please check out this link as the recipe would need to be adapted. This is not an everyday curry so personally, I would stick with the oven for best results.

Ingredients

1 pouch My Thai Curry Massaman Curry Paste
3 lamb shanks
300 g small potatoes
A small handful of peanuts
1 onion
1 lime
400ml Coconut milk

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Directions

Wash and dry the potatoes, don’t peel them. Halve them and sauté in vegetable oil until they are browned remove from the pan and reserve.
Fry the thinly sliced onion and drain and dry on kitchen paper and reserve.
Dry fry the peanuts until nicely browned. Add these to the potatoes but reserve a small amount to be scattered onto the lamb before serving.
Add the lamb shanks to the pan and cook them on all sides turning until nicely browned.
Place the lamb shanks in a casserole dish, add the potatoes and half of the fried onion and most of the peanuts.
Heat the Massaman paste in a pan and add the coconut milk and bring to a simmer.
Pour the mixture onto the lamb and potatoes and top up with water if needed until the meat and potatoes are covered.
Cover and cook for around 3 Hours at 150°C. Halfway through, check to see that the liquid is not evaporating too fast which can happen if the casserole is not a good fit.
At the end of the cooking time check that the meat is tender, and the potatoes are cooked.
If there is too much oil separated, you can skim it off if you wish. Alternatively stir to incorporate into the sauce.
Taste the sauce and if you find it too sweet adjust with some freshly squeezed lime juice.
Let the lamb rest in the covered dish for around 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with the remaining fried onion and peanuts.
Serve with Thai Jasmine rice.

Recipe Note

As always using the “right” type of coconut milk is a game-changer. See here.

This recipe is based around medium-sized lamb shanks at about 350 g each. Cooking times remain the same for smaller or larger shanks because they are cooked in liquid instead of being roasted.

If you find yourself with too much sauce, then keep the lamb warm under foil and reduce the sauce in the pan. Similarly, you can add water to the sauce and heat it if too much has evaporated.

If you wish to scale the recipe up and don’t have a big enough casserole dish, then this can be cooked in a roasting tray tightly covered with foil.

This can be cooked ahead if you wish, or even the day before. To reheat, cover and heat in the oven at 160°C for around 30 minutes. Oven temperatures vary so check it is properly warmed up before serving.

Nutrition details do not include rice.

Nutrition

Serving Size Per person
Calories 670, Sugar 13.7 grams, Sodium 426 milligrams, Fat 44.1 grams, Saturated Fat 26.5 grams, Carbs 37.2 grams, Fiber 6 grams, Protein 32.5 grams, Cholesterol 74.7 milligrams

6 Responses

Alison Price

September 11, 2025

Hi would love to try this recipie, how would you amend the quantities for 4 people? 😀
———
mythaicurry replied:
You would need to add an extra lamb Shank of course and a few more potatoes, you could also have another can of coconut milk handy in case you feel you want to add more. If you check out the recipe notes at the bottom of the page there are also some tips for cooking this if the lamb Shanks are too large for a casserole dish. Hope that helps

Carolyn Cowell

April 09, 2023

Tried lots of different manufacturers and this is absolutely the best by far, tastes like you have made the sauce from scratch. Replaced the lamb with stewing steak and cooked in oven, fantastic!

Mark G

November 28, 2022

It’s good to give feedback.l’m a bit of a regular on these pastes.I think I’ve cooked with them all.Beware the Jungle curry!.Did massaman with roast potatoes yesterday, 2 sachets to 2 pounds of shin cooked in a slow cooker( not roasties, did them separately).Can’t recommend too much.I used to buy all the ingredients separately but the cost and time to source, was often prohibitley expensive.

Gina Dean

March 25, 2019

Thank you so much. I first experienced this Massaman Lamb Shank at a Giggling Squid restaurant and then at Patara in Soho, the latter being particularly heavy on the purse! Subsequent attempts to recreate this dish at home were a dismal failure, I tried making my own paste, not great and a lot of effort, supermarket pastes awful, really not something I was going to waste lamb in the moment I tasted them. Your paste was a revelation, I had no hesitation the moment I opened the packet and the end result was simply incredible. Going on to try the rest of the pastes I ordered but have to say you have a mountain to climb to beat this!

Nitsa Raymond

January 23, 2017

Hi Katrina,

I have permanent withdrawal symptoms for Bangkok so join the club! Can’t wait to get back in a couple of months time.
Anyway, I think Massaman would work great with your chicken following the Lamb shank recipe, will cook quite a bit quicker though so would check it after 45 mins or so.
Hope you enjoy it and let us know how it went!
Nitsa

Katrina

January 23, 2017

Hi! I’m so happy to have discovered you. I recently returned from Bangkok and have withdrawal for their curries! And now that I found you I promptly bought all of your curry pastes. :)
Quick question. I have half a chicken (bones in) which I’d love to turn into one of your beautiful curries. Can I use it with the Massaman paste instead of lamb? Or, can I follow these instructions but use your yellow curry paste instead?

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