Masaman Curry Mashed Potatoes

It's not uncommon to find potatoes in Masaman Curry. I don't prefer it, but sometimes it works. Any time I've attempted to make this particular curry with potatoes included, the starch turns the dish sort of gummy and therefore pretty much ruined.

I thought for a change that I could fully own the starch by incorporating curry into it, and not the other way around. The result was surprisingly good.

You'll need:

• A couple shallots
• Vegetable oil
• About 4 cups of potatoes
• 1 can masaman curry paste
• 1 can coconut milk
• fish sauce
• Half a stick of butter
• salt and pepper to taste
• Chopped cilantro to finish

Fried Shallots

Slice the shallots into thin pieces. Heat oil over med-low. You don't want to get the oil too hot. It will fry the shallots too quickly and potentially burn them.

Cook the shallots in the oil for about 20 min at med-low. The shallots will bubble but not aggressively like frying. Once they turn brown, remove and reserve the oil. Shallot oil is great for cooking just about anything with.

The Potatoes

Bring pot of water to boil. Peel and cut potatoes up to cubes. Boil until fork tender.

While potatoes are boiling, put a couple tablespoons of the shallot oil into a pan over high heat. Once the oil is hot, fry the curry paste for a few minutes. Oil separation is a good thing. Then add half of the coconut milk and stir to cook for about 5 minutes. Again, oil separation is a good thing. Turn off heat and set aside.

Drain and mash potatoes. Add butter and stir until it is absorbed into potatoes. Then add curry/coconut milk mixture into the potatoes and stir. Add fish sauce, salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with fried shallots, chopped cilantro and a drizzle of the remaining coconut milk.