Given yesterday’s news that nuts are tied to lower risk of cancer and heart disease, I thought I’d share this cashew curry recipe which I made recently as part of an Indian feast for my friend Sam’s birthday a couple weekends ago. The recipe is adapted from Reza Mahammad’s “Cashews in a Rich Coconut Sauce” from Rice, Spice and All Things Nice
- 29% reduced risk of heart disease
- 11% reduced risk of cancer
- 20% reduced risk of death
The results applied to all nuts, even peanuts, which are actually a legume, not a nut (in fact, I’d be willing to bet that people who eat legumes regularly experience the same benefits as nut fiends).
Here’s a few other nutty recipes I like:
- 200g raw cashews, soaked overnight
- 50ml vegetable oil
- 1 large onion
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1in piece of fresh ginger, grated
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground fennel
- 200ml coconut milk (1/2 can)
- 1 tsp sugar
- salt
- 2 green chillies, slit lengthwise
- Cut the onion into quarters. Blend 3/4 of the onion in a food processor. Finely dice the remaining onion.
- Rinse the cashews in cold water and drain.
- Heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Add the diced onion and fry on low heat for 10-15 minutes until it turns translucent and soft (do not allow it to brown!).
- Add the garlic, ginger, blended onion, turmeric and fennel. Pour in 500ml of water and stir well to incorporate.
- Add the cashews to the pan, return to the boil, lower the heat, cover, then cook slowly for 2-3 hours until the cashews are tender to the touch (stir the pot as little as you can during this time).
- When the cashews are soft, add the coconut milk, sugar, salt and chillies, then cook for another 30 minutes on a low heat.
- Serve hot.
Soaking nuts was a revelation for me when Nimo first taught me this with almonds in a rice dessert she made. They expand and develop a wonderful chewy texture….. I love this, will have to convert metric to American … 🙂
Oh wow, I’ve never heard of a nut curry before–and it cooks for 2-3 hours? Crazy! Looks good though, time for an Indian feast!
There’s something so comforting in a curry especially on a cold and grey day like today. The nuts add so much too. Beautiful photo too.
Thanks for sharing.
Amie
Lovely and simple. Can’t get into the idea of a curry with only cashews. I grind them up with ginger, garlic, spices and then add to coconut milk and add fish, veg etc. Might give this a go though. I always have them in the house now.