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Thai Mussaman Beef Curry

The mussaman curry is the Thai version of the Muslim curries of northern India, made really special by the use of fish sauce, shrimp paste, lemongrass and palm sugar, but the element I find beguiling is the black cardamom, which gives the curry a delightfully smoky flavour.

By bbcfood · From Open Recipes · 28 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓

Thai Mussaman Beef Curry

Serves 6-8
Prep30 min

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1214Calories
68 gProtein
71 gFat
84 gCarbs

Counts 18 of 23 ingredients. The other 5 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 18 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Coconut1/2 cup shredded (40g)283
Beef100g cooked250
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Peanut1 oz (28g)161
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Shrimp100g cooked99
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Cardamom1 tsp ground (2g)6
Lemongrass1 tbsp (6g)5
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Sweet Basil5 leaves fresh (2.5g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Tamarindnot in our table0
Waternot in our table0
Coriandernot in our table0
Seednot in our table0
Macenot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By bbcfood. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  2. Coriander + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,866 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Tamarind + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together184 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  4. Cumin + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,103 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).

  5. Cumin + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,082 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tamarind, coriander, cumin, clove, cinnamon, shallot, garlic):

  1. Turmericfits better
  2. Cardamomfits better
  3. Gingerfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tamarind, coriander, cumin, clove, cinnamon, shallot, garlic. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.