In 2011, CNNGo ranked massaman curry as the number one most delicious food in an article titled "World's 50 most delicious foods".[3] However, by a reader's survey, it ranked number ten.[4] It remained at number one in the official, updated 2018 version.[5]
Description
Due to its Muslim roots and therefore Islamic dietary laws, this curry is most commonly made with chicken, but there are also variations on this dish using duck, beef, venison, mutton, goat, or rarely, pork.[6][7] As pork is haram (forbidden) in Islam, this last variant is not eaten by observant Thai Muslims. Vegetarians and vegans have created their own versions of this dish, such as using tofu and substituting any shrimp paste or fish sauce used.
The name massaman is a corruption of the term mosalman, an archaic word derived from Persian, meaning "Muslim". Hence, many earlier writers from the mid-19th century called the dish "Mussulman curry".[13][14][15]
The curry is extolled in the poem Kap He Chom Khrueang Khao Wan from the end of the 18th century, attributed to Prince Itsarasunthon of Siam (now Thailand), the later King Rama II (1767-1824). It is dedicated to a lady who is thought to be Princess Bunrot, the later Queen Sri Suriyendra, wife of King Rama II. The second stanza of the poem reads:
Massaman, a curry made by my beloved, is fragrant of cumin and strong spices.
Any man who has swallowed the curry is bound to long for her.
The first-ever recorded recipe for massaman curry by Lady Plean Passakornrawong in 1889: "Chicken Massaman curry with bitter orange juice", with Massaman spelled Matsaman (หมัดสมั่น).[20] By 2002 it was being included in Australian recipe books as "Musaman beef curry"[21]
Carter, Terence (13 November 2014). "A Recipe for Saraman Curry or Cari Saramann – a Cambodian curry". Grantourismo Travels. Retrieved 25 October 2019. The similarity between Cambodia's Saraman curry and Thailand's Massaman curry (also written as Mussaman curry) lies in the base curry paste with just a few ingredients setting the Saraman curry apart.
Cummings, Joe (2000). World Food: Thailand. Melbourne, Australia: Lonely Planet. p.79. Chili peppers from the Americas were introduced to the region by the Spanish and Portuguese during the 16th and 17th century
The Magazine of Domestic Economy, Volume 5, p.63 (Google eBook), W.S. Orr & Company, 1840, accessed 2014-08-17: "A Mussulman Curry is made in the same way..."
bowl food: the new comfort food for people on the move 2002 Murdoch books Ed K Gasparini pp293
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