The mellowest of all the Thai curries, and perhaps the most misunderstood. Massaman curry is not a kitchen-sink dish and doesn’t need to be fancied up into anything more complex than meat and potatoes in a mild, creamy sauce. What it lacks in heat – it has none – it makes up for in its spectacular depth of flavour.

In this spirit, my take on massaman is streamlined to the point of laziness. While beef is traditional, I prefer the sweetness of lamb at its most tender in the form of shanks. You cook the meat first, and for a long time. The potatoes, unpeeled to help keep their shape, go in towards the end, and you season with a balanced trinity of Asian flavours very late in the game.

I often break the cooking up over two nights: one for the meat, followed by a day in the fridge where the flavour develops more deeply, and finish with the potatoes and seasoning the next night.