A few days ago we made wonderfully fragrant curry powders and curry pastes from scratch before cooking with these wonderful and delicious creations.
This Sri Lankan Cashew Nut Curry was then made with lots of love & with a fragrant & game-changing Sri Lankan curry powder (recipe below). Our gorgeous Ava has fallen in love with this dish & so have the rest of us. It was so lovely to welcome her home from camp last Friday with a warm bowlful of this.
It is important to note that you need to start this recipe a few hours ahead of time as the cashews do need soaking. Nuts contain phytic acid. Phytic acid is also found in grains and legumes, which we also need to soak before cooking and enjoyment. The soaking breaks down the phytic acid so it can be adequately absorbed in our bodies. Nuts also have high amounts of enzymes inhibitors. Soaking nuts can neutralize the enzymes allowing for proper digestion and stopping bloating.
Generally, the harder the nut, the longer the soaking time – around 8 hours. Nuts like cashews and pine nuts with a softer shell soak for 2 to 4 hours. Discard any floaters during soaking time.
This Sri Lankan Cashew Nut Curry just so happens to be both vegetarian & vegan friendly too. I hope you love it as much as our family does.
Don’t forget to rate the recipe, if you’d be so kind, below. Just click on the stars to do so.
Nellie
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Sri Lankan Cashew Nut Curry
Sri Lankan Cashew nut curry
Equipment
- 1 Mortar & Pestle
- 1 Heavy based pot or pan
- Cooking bowls
- Cooking spoons & spatula
Ingredients
- 400 g cashew nuts soaked overnight
- 2 tablespoons of coconut oil or olive oil
- 1 small brown onion finely diced
- 3 cloves of garlic crushed with a crusher or finely diced
- 1 cinnamon quill
- 10 curry leaves
- 1 green chilli de-seeded and finely diced
- 3-4 teaspoons of Sri Lankan curry powder see recipe below
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- A small pinch Aleppo chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar
- A good pinch of sea salt
- 400 ml coconut milk
- 50 g green peas
Sri Lankan curry powder
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 1 cinnamon quill crumbled
- ½ teaspoon cloves
- ½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon cardamom seeds from about 10 pods
- 3 dried Kashmiri chillies optional or use 1 teaspoon dried Kashmiri chilli powder
Instructions
- Place the cashew nuts in a bowl cover with double their volume of water. Add a teaspoon of salt & mix to dissolve. Leave the cashews for 2 to 4 hours.
- To make the curry powder, heat a small frying pan over medium heat. Add spices and stir for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant and then add the chillies, if using. Transfer to a mortar and pestle or spice grinder and grind to a fine powder.
- Heat oil in a heavy-based pan. Add the onions. Cook for 5 minutes or until translucent and fragrant. Add the crushed garlic & stir while cooking for a further 60 seconds. Add cinnamon quill, curry leaves and green chilli and cook for an additional minute or two.
- Add the drained cashews and fry for 1 minute. Add the curry powder, turmeric, Aleppo chilli and caster sugar. Add the sea salt and coconut milk. Stir to combine.
- Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. The cashews should be firm but not crunchy. Add the peas and cook for a further 10 minutes. Add a small amount of water, if you find that it is needed during the cooking time.