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. A quick read of this article can elevate your Thai cooking to a totally different level. Crafting the Perfect Bowl: The Art of Thai Flavor Balancing
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
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
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Alison Price
September 11, 2025
Hi would love to try this recipie, how would you amend the quantities for 4 people? 😀
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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