The first-ever recorded recipe for Massaman curry was "Chicken Massaman curry with bitter orange juice" spelled Matsaman (หมัดสมั่น) and written by Lady Plean Passakornrawong in 1889[8]
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, mutton, goat, or, less commonly so, pork.[9][10] 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.