Massaman Curry Paste

Start by prepping all your ingredients: Grill or roast the garlic and shallots with the skin on. Roast them until the skin is charred and the flesh is soft and cooked. It should take about 5-10 minutes depending on your roasting method (e.g. on the grill, using the oven, or in a dry hot skillet on the stovetop). When garlic and shallots are cooled, peel the skin.

Tear the chili stems off and remove the seeds. A massaman curry is more fragrant than spicy/hot. Cut or tear the chili into big pieces. Slice the galangal into thin pieces and julienne them. Slice lemongrass thinly. You only need about half of the stalk, about 6-7 inches. Use the part of the stalk closer to the root.

In a pan, over medium heat, toast the chilies and lemongrass until slightly brown. It should take about 2-3 minutes. Remove the roasted chili peppers and lemongrass. Add the rest of the spices, except for the garlic and shallots, and toast them by moving them around the pan. Roast them until they are fragrant, for about 2 minutes. Remove the spices from heat.

Now comes the workout for your biceps: pounding the spices together. Start with the chili peppers and salt. When your chili peppers are roughly ground, add the lemongrass. Pound until the lemongrass is roughly ground. Add all the other spices, except for roast garlic and shallots. Pound until well blended. Add the roasted garlic and shallots. Pound again until everything is mixed in and smooth. Add shrimp paste and pound to mix everything together.

Note: I started by putting all the ingredients (including the shallots and garlic) in a food processor to get them started and then I used the my mortar and pestle.