An easy cashew curry featuring cashews and potatoes cooked in a creamy, spicy coconut sauce.
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A delicious cashew curry with local ingredients
This Goan style cashew curry is made with whole cashews cooked to a delectable, toothsome tenderness. If you love cashews and Indian food, particularly Goan food with such flavorful offerings as vegetable vindaloo, chestnut xacuti and feijoada, you will go nuts for this curry! 🙂
I use cashews in my north Indian recipes as a substitute for cream, in recipes like vegetable biryani for extra protein and texture, and in vegan Indian desserts. But cashews first entered Indian cuisine through Goa, a former Portuguese colony on India's south-west coast. The story goes that Portuguese traders brought cashew trees to Goa from Brazil in the 16th century and the nut immediately made itself at home on Goa's fertile soil.
Centuries later the state continues to take pride in its cashews and Goans use both the nut, and the quirky but beautiful upside-down fruit it is attached to, called a cashew apple, in their cuisine and in Goa's popular liquor, feni. Cashews are commercially cultivated across dozens of orchards in Goa but one of my fondest childhood memories is walking along a small rural path in Salcete with my aunt and brother and picking cashew apples off trees growing in the wild.
One of the tastiest cashew dishes I ever recall eating in Goa was a cashew curry just like this one, made with fresh cashew nuts, called bibbe (pronounced "bib-bay"). My aunt would soak the nuts in water to get the brown skins off, revealing tender cashew nuts that had amazing flavor and a uniquely tender texture. But most of us don't live in Goa and raw cashew nuts - the unsalted kind you buy in a bag at the grocery store or online - are perfectly good to use in this recipe.
Nuts are great in curries (try this peanut curry) because they add texture and a creamy, neutral flavor. They are also healthy, with loads of fiber and protein, among other nutrients. In this curry, the cashews become plump and juicy when cooked and are perfectly complemented by the creamy potatoes. Because Goa is a coastal state, coconut, which also grows abundantly here, is an integral ingredient in this cashew curry recipe. In Goa most cooks would use freshly grated coconut but I use coconut milk for ease and convenience with no compromise on the deliciousness.
-Vaishali
Recipe card
Goan Cashew Curry (Kaju Masala)
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 2 teaspoon avocado oil or any neutral oil (divided)
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 3 cloves
- 4 green cardamom pods
- 1 black cardamom pods (optional)
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 large onion (finely diced, divided)
- 2 large tomatoes (finely diced, divided)
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 heaping tsp ginger garlic paste
- 2 large potatoes (cut into ½-inch cubes)
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder (or cayenne or paprika, if desiring less heat)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 2 sprigs curry leaves (optional)
- 2 tablespoon cilantro (chopped)
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Soak the cashews in warm water for 30 minutes. Strain out all water before using the cashews.
- In a wide saucepan or Dutch oven heat a teaspoon of oil over medium heat. Add coriander seeds, cumin seeds, bay leaves, green cardamom pods, optional brown cardamom pod, cloves and bay leaves. Saute for a couple of minutes until the spices are very aromatic.
- Add half the onions, saute for a few minutes until they begin to brown, then add half the tomatoes. Cook the tomatoes until they are very soft. Remove everything to a plate and let it cool to room temperature. Add 1 cup water and blend to a smooth paste. Set the paste aside.
- In the same pan, heat a teaspoon of oil. Add mustard seeds and, when they sputter and crackle, add the remaining onions and a bit of salt. Saute the onions until translucent.
- Add ginger garlic paste, stir it in for a minute, then add the remaining tomatoes and saute until soft and pulpy.
- Stir in the potatoes. Add turmeric, Kashmiri chilli powder or cayenne and garam masala. Mix well.
- Add the blended masala paste to the pot, then add the cashews and mix. Add up to another cup of water to thin the sauce if it's too thick.
- Cover and cook the curry for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Stir in the herbs: the optional curry leaves and cilantro.
- Add the coconut milk to the pot, mix and bring the curry to a boil. Lower heat and let the curry simmer for 10 minutes. Add salt to taste. Garnish with more cilantro, if you wish, before serving.
Notes
- Cashews: Whole cashews or cashew halves are best for a nice presentation at the dinner table. If you only have cashew pieces those will taste just as good.
- Onions: Red onions are always best for Indian recipes because they are spicier, but yellow or white onions will work as well!
- Potatoes: Use waxy potatoes like red potatoes or yellow potatoes. Starchy potatoes will break down in the curry and will spoil both the texture and presentation of the recipe.
- Curry leaves: I made these optional because it's not always easy to source these outside India. Curry leaves add a wonderful spiciness and their flavor pairs beautifully with coconut milk, making them a valued addition to Goan recipes.
- Coconut milk: Use canned, full-fat coconut milk. Avoid using "light" coconut milk or the coconut beverage sold in cartons. If you are worried about storing the remaining coconut milk (the cans are usually 14 oz and you need just a cup for this recipe) I have a tip for you: store the remaining coconut milk in the freezer, in a freezer-safe container. Coconut milk lasts for weeks when stored this way without losing its freshness.
- Store cashew curry in the fridge for up to five days or freeze for up to four months. To reheat, thaw the curry and reheat in a microwave or on the stovetop. Add a bit more water and salt if needed.
Nutrition Information
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How to make cashew curry
Soak the cashews in warm water for 30 minutes. Strain out all water before using.
In a wide saucepan or Dutch oven heat a teaspoon of oil over medium heat. Add coriander seeds, cumin seeds, bay leaves, green cardamom pods, brown cardamom pod, cloves and bay leaves. Saute for a couple of minutes until the spices are very aromatic.
Add half the onions, saute for a few minutes until they begin to brown, then add half the tomatoes.
Cook the tomatoes until they are very soft. Remove everything to a plate and let it cool to room temperature. Add 1 cup water and blend to a smooth paste. Set aside.
In the same pan, heat a teaspoon of oil. Add mustard seeds and, when they sputter and crackle, add the remaining onions and a bit of salt. Saute the onions until translucent.
Add ginger garlic paste, stir it in for a minute, then add the remaining tomatoes and saute until soft and pulpy.
Stir in the potatoes.
Add turmeric, Kashmiri chilli powder or cayenne and garam masala. Mix well.
Add the blended masala paste to the pot, then add the cashews and mix. Add up to another cup of water to thin the sauce if it's too thick.
Cover and cook the curry for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Stir in the herbs: curry leaves and cilantro.
Add the coconut milk to the pot, mix and bring the curry to a boil.
Lower heat and let the curry simmer for 10 minutes. Add salt to taste. Garnish with cilantro before serving.
Time-saving tip
Chop the onions and the tomatoes all together, then use half for the masala paste and the other half for the curry. If you chop the potatoes in advance, keep them immersed in water so they don't turn brown on you!
Cashew Curry FAQs
You can use jackfruit seeds in this recipe. They are not a widely available ingredient here in the U.S. but you can buy them online. Like cashews they are creamy and delicious and work very well in this recipe. You can also try this jackfruit curry, made with canned jackfruit.
In Goa, this cashew curry would be served with a mountain of freshly steamed rice. Enjoy the curry with basmati rice or jeera rice for the most authentic experience.
Flatbreads like roti or chapati are not eaten as widely in Goan homes as they are in other parts of India, but this cashew curry is quite perfect to scoop up with roti or vegan naan.
A simple tomato onion salad like kachumber (called "koshimbir) is served with spicy foods in Goa. You can also serve a cooling vegan cucumber raita.
Skip potatoes in the recipe, which will bring down the net carbs in this recipe to just 12 grams. You can also add a low-carb veggielike zucchini or green beans.
Denise says
Can I switch out red potatoes to sweet potatoes + how should I adjust recipe/cooking time ? BTW - I love your recipes.
Vaishali Honawar says
Hi Denise, just cook until the sweet potatoes are tender, they would be great in this curry!
Bob in Tennessee says
Hi Vaishali! It's my first time to cook with curry leaves, kashmiri chili powder, and the 2 different kinds of cardamom and I can't believe how amazing my house smells!!! I followed the recipe and had the same question as Julie about blending the bay leaves, cloves, and cardamom with the onions & tomatoes so to be safe I removed them. After reading your answer to her question, next time I will definitely blend them in the masala paste for the additional flavor! The only other thing I noticed is that the potatoes have taken much longer to cook through than the recipe suggests. Perhaps that's because my dice was not small enough, I'm not sure. Next time, I will use yellow skin potatoes (rather than the brown ones I used today) and to make a very small dice. Thank you for all the hard work you do with teaching us about this amazing cuisine!
Linda says
The cashews in the dish are heavenly! They add a sweet respite from the spiciness. Their texture is lovely. All the flavors blend beautifully
Next time I will cut down on the Kashmiri chilli powder. This is only the second time that I've used it in a recipe. The first dish I made didn't call for much, so I didn't realize that it packs such a punch.
How much garam masala should be used? You mention it in the directions and in the list of powdered spices, but not in the ingredients list.
Vaishali says
Awesome! So glad you loved it. I do love that texture too. Soon about the garam masala, added now!
Mathura says
Made this for dinner last night. I had all ingredients and served it with rice. Easy to make and husband and kids polished it off. So yummy!
Vaishali says
Hi Mathura, so happy you and your family loved it!
Julie Bolton says
Your recipe looks delightful and I'd like to make it. I have a question about blending the spices, half of the tomatoes and onion and a cup of water. I'm I supposed to blend all the whole spices together, for example, the bay leaves, cardamom pods and cloves? I'm sorry if this seems like such an obvious question but I'm used to making things and removing the whole spices or just not eating them in the finished dish. Thank you!
Vaishali says
Hi Julie, yes, the bay leaves, cardamom and cloves will be ground along with the onions and tomatoes --they add amazing flavor.