Massaman Lamb Curry with Veggies is a lovely warming Thai Curry with Peanut butter-coconut sauce. This would go with all sorts of vegetables, to make a nutritionally balanced meal. I have chosen aubergine, red peppers, and butternut squash, to underline the creamy and sweet notes of this easy dish. Using lamb rump instead of a more typical stewing cut means, you can cut down the cooking time to about 50 minutes instead of the typical 2h.
Why You will Love This
Using Thai Red Curry paste to give this Massaman Lamb Curry with Veggies really punchy flavours is your easy way to a quick and delicious weeknight dinner that you can whip up in about an hour.
Tastes Even Better the Next Day
As curries go, they tend to get better when the flavours had a chance to meld and get to know each other. This one is no exception. Make a large pot and have nutritious meals for several days.
Flexible
Massaman Lamb Curry is as flexible as it gets, as you can basically throw in any meat or veggies you have around or love. It takes particularly well to slow cooking cuts that can slowly simmer in the fragrant curry spices. So instead of the boneless rump steak I went for here, you could use lamb shanks and simply bake them in the oven in the sauce at 180C/ 350F for about 3h, with the first 2h covered and the last uncovered.
Check this delicious recipe from Nagi for more details.
For vegetables use whatever you have in your fridge. I love sweet red bell pepper and squash in particular, but sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, or even green beans are all great choices. Experiment and make it your own.
Vary Calories through the liquid
You can use broth, light or full fat coconut milk or a combination of them to create exactly the sauce you like or that fits your macros.
Serve with Rice or without
I chose to serve my Massaman Lamb Curry with Veggies with cauliflower rice today, but you could for example include potatoes in the vegetables and would have your nutritious carbs cooked in one pot with the rest of the ingredients. Or of course simply serve with very classic cooked basmati.
The Ingredients
Lamb – I used rump here, as it is tender even when cooked relatively short, which suited my idea of making a quick cook Massaman Lamb Curry with Veggies instead of the typical rather slow cooked ones.
If you don’t mind letting it simmer longer, use lamb shoulder pieces or lamb shanks, which will get fall apart tender after cooking them for about 1.5h. This is also a more budget option, but at the same time higher calories, since shoulder is a fattier cut, which will melt into your sauce.
Vegetables – While I used aubergine for the meaty flavour-absorbing qualities, butternut squash for sweetness, red peppers for colour and crunch and spinach for the important greens, you can use any combination of veggies you enjoy.
Other great choices are carrots, sweet potatoes, kale, butter beans, chickpeas or anything else that profits from cooking for a bit in a stew pot. Just make sure to cut them into roughly the same size, so they cook all around the same time.
Spices – I love using the classic trinity of ginger, garlic and onion (or spring onions), since they help build that typical base flavour for curry. If you are in a bit of a hurry, use pre-chopped ginger and garlic from a jar in the Asian section of your supermarket. It’s one of my favourite busy weekday cheats, to have dinner ready quicker.
Curry paste – If you haven’t used red curry paste before, you might think it’s the hottest variety of them, but actually it is milder than green curry paste. So feel free to swap, if you like more of a spicy punch to your curry. You can also vary the heat by using less or more. I’m not a big fan of spicy food, so the amount given here is for pretty moderate heat. I usually start with 1 tbsp if I’m using a paste brand I didn’t try before and add more after tasting. It’s fine to add it towards the end and not fry it.
While the frying the paste will bring out more nuances, it can be tricky to judge the amount of spiciness at that stage. So taste towards the end and balance your flavours by adding more of anything you feel it needs.
Sauce – I used full fat coconut milk, but low fat or a mix of coconut milk and broth works well too. You can customize the level of creaminess you enjoy. Higher fat will also temper the heat. So if you accidentally added too much curry paste (I sure have done it before) simply add one more can of coconut milk, and it should taste great again.
Peanut butter – I really love the flavour of peanut butter and lamb together, but if you are allergic to peanuts, any other nut butter will do fine. Almond or cashew would be good choices for example. If you are generally allergic to nuts, you can leave them out and use for example cream or sun butter. Not authentic, but then…the important part is flavour, isn’t it?
Toppings – You can go wild here with toppings. I have given just a few in the recipe to pick from, herbs, lime, or coconut chips being my choices. Other great ones are a lovely cooling Greek yoghurt, to balance the heat, creamy avocado, any type of toasted nuts or seeds, herbs, maybe some extra sliced chilies if you enjoy even more spice or a drizzle of chili crisp.
What to serve this with – I had my Massaman Lamb Curry with Veggies 2 days with cauliflower rice and the other 2 days with basmati. Both were delicious. It’s also very satisfying with a hunk of fresh crusty bread to soak up the fragrant, creamy sauce or just on it’s own.
Process
Start making your Massaman Lamb Curry with Veggies by gently frying your chopped onions on medium heat in a large pot until translucent. Add garlic and ginger and fry until soft. Remove from the pan.
Add a little more oil and turn the heat to medium high. Once the oil is hot, add your lamb cubes and fry until nicely browned on all sides. You may have to do this in 2 batches, to not crowd your pot. Remove from the pot, season with salt and pepper and rest with the onions, garlic, and ginger.
See the brown bits at the bottom? That’s where all the flavour is!
Reduce the heat to medium and use a little more oil if needed, to gently fry your curry paste, releasing the flavours. Stir in peanut butter, coconut milk and remaining spices, bringing everything to a boil, scraping off any brown bits from the bottom of the pan, to integrate the delicious flavours into your sauce.
Carefully, to not hit yourself with hot fluid, lower the aubergine and squash pieces into the sauce. Add back the meat, onions, garlic, and ginger and gently simmer for about 20minutes or until the squash is tender. Throw in the peppers and spinach and heat through. You want the peppers hot with a bit of bite, but not mushy. The spinach will just wilt into the sauce.
Give everything a taste and balance the flavour to your liking by adding more salt, coconut aminos/soy sauce, maple syrup or tamarind, until it tastes lovely and balanced to you.
Optionally garnish with herbs or nuts of your choice.
Serve over rice, cauliflower rice or simply with a nice chunk of crusty bread for mopping up the fragrant sauce of your Massaman Lamb Curry with Veggies.
How To Store
I froze a few portions of this Massaman Lamb Curry with Veggies for busy days when I need food quickly. It reheats beautifully either in the microwave or on the hob.
If you plan to eat it throughout the week, it keeps well in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Let me know what you think!
Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please share and comment. It helps me a lot.
If you enjoyed this, you might also like:
Another way to use Red Curry Paste
Vegan Tom Kha Soup
More Asian inspired recipes:
Asian Bowl with Cauliflower and Tofu
Chinese Duck Pancake Salad with Plum Dressing
Quick Massaman Lamb Curry with Veggies
Ingredients
- 1 lb lamb rump Cut into 1in cubes. Or cut of your choice. Check details above on how to cook shanks or shoulder
- 1 aubergine chopped into 1in chunks
- 2 red peppers chopped into 1in chunks
- 1 butternut squash deseeded and chopped into 1in chunks. You can leave the peel on, it will soften
- 4 cups baby spinach washed, roughly chopped if you have large leaves
- 1 onion finely chopped. I used red but white or shallots will work too
- 2 tbsp minced ginger
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1-3 tbsp red curry paste
- 2 cans coconut milk full fat, or light. Replace with part vegetable broth for a lighter curry
- 1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- 2 tbsp tamarind paste
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos or soy sauce
- 3 tbsp olive oil for frying
- Salt to taste
To Serve, optional:
- Fresh coriander or mint
- Toasted and salted peanuts
- Toasted Coconut chips
- Cauliflower or basmati rice
- Lime juice
Instructions
Prepare Ingredients:
- Chop all vegetables and set aside.
- Cut the lamb into 1-inch cubes if not already done.
Sauté Aromatics:
- In a large pot, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.
- Add chopped onions and sauté until translucent.
- Stir in minced ginger and garlic, cooking until fragrant.
- Remove the onion mixture from the pot and set aside.
Brown the Lamb:
- In the same pot, add another tablespoon of olive oil if needed and increase heat to medium-high.
- Add the lamb cubes and brown them on all sides, working in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding the pot.
- Once browned, remove the lamb from the pot, season with salt and pepper and set aside with the onion mixture.
Prepare the Curry Sauce:
- Reduce the heat to medium and add a little more olive oil if required.
- Stir in the red curry paste and cook briefly to release its flavours.
- Add the peanut butter, coconut milk, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, tamarind paste, maple syrup, and coconut aminos or soy sauce, stirring until well combined.
Simmer the Curry:
- Carefully add the aubergine and butternut squash pieces into the sauce, followed by the browned lamb, onions, garlic, and ginger.
- Gently simmer the curry for about 20 minutes or until the squash is tender, stirring occasionally.
Add Remaining Vegetables:
- Once the squash is tender, add the chopped red peppers and baby spinach to the pot.
- Heat through until the peppers are hot but still have a bit of bite, and the spinach wilts into the sauce.
Adjust Seasoning:
- Taste the curry and adjust the seasoning according to your preference by adding more salt, coconut aminos/soy sauce, maple syrup, or tamarind paste if needed.
Serve:
- Optionally garnish with fresh coriander or mint, toasted and salted peanuts, or toasted coconut chips.
- Serve the Massaman Lamb Curry with Veggies over rice, cauliflower rice, or with crusty bread for mopping up the flavourful sauce.
- Squeeze lime juice over the curry before serving for an extra burst of flavour if desired.
- Enjoy your delicious Massaman Lamb Curry with Veggies!
Notes
If you plan to eat it throughout the week, it keeps well in the fridge for up to 4 days.
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