Make your own homemade massaman curry paste. Control the ingredients used, the heat and spices.
Keto Massaman Curry Paste in a wood bowl

With an ever growing love of all things curry I jump from India to Thailand and everywhere in between for inspiration. A keto curry recipe is quite simply just reducing a little of the carbs where possible.

Keep reading for a little more help choosing the best low carb ingredients or keto substitutes. This is NOT a spicy curry. However, if you want it spicy then you can dial up the heat!

The Ingredients

A keto massaman curry paste has a lot of spices. A massaman is traditionally a toasted spice paste and that is exactly how I love all spices to be used.

Let’s look at the spices included.

Coriander seeds, cumin seeds, brown cardamon seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, peppercorns and cloves. Other versions can contain anise or mace. 

Chillies. I choose to use guajillos but for a spicier heat use thai chillies, or any of the super-hots (as us chilli-heads call them). The chillies are dried and re-hydrated. Leave the seeds in for a spicier version or deseed after soaking.

Lemongrass, garlic, coriander stalks and shallots. Don’t be afraid to use lemongrass or garlic out of a tube, I do! Yes I buy them in the fridge section in with the vegies and Woolworths. I am lazy and I cook a lot so I do find this a great way to have them minced and ready to use at a moments notice. Shallots can be substituted with onion.

Keto Massaman Curry Paste in a wood bowl

How to Make It

I have included both a Thermomix® Massaman Curry Paste recipe and a conventional variety using a food processor.

Seriously though, you can use a mortar and pestle and pound your ingredients into a paste. I find something cathartic about pounding my own keto marinades and pastes with a mortar and pestle.

Firstly, soak the chillies. Rehydrate your choice of chillies by covering them with boiling water. After an hour or two, simply remove any excess seeds.

Secondly, you do need to toast the spices. This is done over medium heat in a dry skillet or frypan.

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Fry until the delicious aroma of these spices fills your nose and the room. Then remove and allow to cool.

Lastly, pound or blitz all the ingredients into a paste. You may need to pulse or turbo and scrape and repeat until you have a smooth keto massaman curry paste.

Keto Massaman Curry Paste in a wood bowl

How To Use Massaman Paste

This paste is delicious with beef, chicken, goat, pork or protein of choice. I have even caught Dave eating it in a coconut sauce on fresh Low Carb Bread.

I have a very tasty Keto Massaman Chicken Curry recipe that everyone can enjoy.

This low carb curry paste mix makes 8 serves. If you dont think you will use it over the next month, then freeze it.

Simply spoon it into 1 tbsp silicone moulds or ice cube trays and freeze. Then transfer to a ziplock bag. You can store this up to 1 year. Such a time saver!

More Recipes To Try

  1. Keto Thai Red Curry Paste
  2. Mad Creations Keto Thai Laksa Paste
  3. Green Curry Paste | Keto | LCHF
  4. Sugar Free Sweet and Sour Sauce
  5. Easy Homemade Tandoori Paste

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Keto Massaman Curry Paste in a wood bowl

Homemade Massaman Curry Paste

Make your own homemade massaman curry paste. Control the ingredients used, the heat and spices.
4.98 from 45 votes!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 3 minutes
Total Time: 8 minutes
Course: Pastes and Marinades
Cuisine: Thai Keto
Diet: Diabetic, Gluten Free
Recipe Category: Low Carb
Calories: 51kcal
Author: Megan Ellam
Servings: 8 serves
Tap or hover over number to scale ingredients
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Equipment

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Ingredients 

  • 1 tbsp (1 tbsp) coriander seeds
  • 3 tsp (3 tsp) cumin seeds
  • 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) cardamom seeds
  • 1/2 (1/2) cinnamon quill
  • 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) nutmeg freshly grated
  • 1 tsp (1 tsp) black peppercorns
  • 6 (6) cloves
  • 4-6 (4-6) dried long red chillies broken up and soaked in hot water for 2 hours
  • 1 tbsp (1 tbsp) lemongrass finely minced
  • 45 g (0.3 cups) (1/3 cup) roasted peanuts plus extra to serve
  • 4 (4) large red shallots coarsely chopped
  • 4 cloves (4 cloves) garlic coarsely chopped
  • 3 (3) coriander stalks the leaves can be used in the curry dish for flavour and garnish

Instructions

CONVENTIONAL METHOD

  • Toast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cardamom seeds, cinnamon quill, nutmeg, peppercorns and cloves in a dry frypan or skillet, over medium heat until fragrant. Remove and cool for a few minutes before making paste.
  • Deseed chillies and place into a food processor. Add toasted spices and remaining ingredients. Pulse until mix forms a smooth paste.

THERMAL METHOD

  • Toast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cardamom seeds, cinnamon quill, nutmeg, peppercorns and cloves 3 minutes/100℃/reverse stir. Allow to cool for a few minutes before making paste.
  • Deseed chillies and place into bowl with spices and remaining ingredients. Mix 1 minute/speed 7. Scrape and repeat as necessary.

Notes

  1. Store paste in airtight jar for up to 1 month.
  2. Spoon mix into ice cube tray and freeze. Remove from ice cube tray and transfer to ziplock bag and store in freezer for up to 1 year.
  3. Ground spices can be substituted for whole seeds.
  4. Use approximately 1 tbsp per 2 person serve or as curry recipe requires.

Your Own Notes

Nutrition

Serving: 1serve | Calories: 51kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 5mg | Potassium: 119mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 10IU | Vitamin C: 1.6mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1.1mg | Net Carbs: 3g
Tried this recipe?Mention @meganellam or tag #madcreations!

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8 responses to “Massaman Curry Paste Recipe”

  1. Adele

    5 stars
    The mixture was very dry so Thermomix kept stopping.I had to add water to complete.Did I!miss something?

    1. Megan Mad Creations Hub

      Hi Adele, did you soak the chillies until they were soft? Another thing to make sure is that you use only the soft inner centre of the lemongrass (or paste) and not the woody bits. You will need however like most pastes to stop and scrape down the sides as the recipe mentions but a paste will form once the spices have been minced.

  2. Agnieszka

    5 stars
    This turned out so muich better than store bought massaman paste! Absolutely delicious!

    1. Megan Mad Creations Hub

      Yay! That is so awesome to hear.

  3. Jean

    5 stars
    this keto version didnt disappoint, so full of flavors and spices

    1. Megan Mad Creations Hub

      Yay! Happy to help

  4. Makhaya

    5 stars
    Absolutely loved this recipe! So much flavor, and loved that I could make it from scratch! Thanks for sharing.

    1. Megan Mad Creations Hub

      You are very welcome Makhaya

4.98 from 45 votes (41 ratings without comment)

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