Kaju Maluwa, Sri Lankan Cashew Curry
Kaju maluwa, cashew curry, is a Sri Lankan celebration dish, mild and rich, where soaked cashews simmer until they turn as tender as fresh peas. It is normally built on coconut milk, but here the cashews do double duty: most stay whole as the body of the curry, while a handful are blended into the cream that thickens the gravy, so the dish keeps all its richness with no coconut at all. Whole spices, cinnamon, cardamom, and clove, perfume the base alongside curry leaf and pandan. Simmer the cashews properly soft, keep the heat gentle once the cream goes in, and serve it as a small, rich side against a bright sambol.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups Raw cashews, soaked 2 hours
- 3/4 cup Frozen peas
- 1 whole Yellow onions, diced
- 3 cloves Garlic, minced
- 15 Curry leaves
- 1 whole Pandan leaf, torn
- 1 inch Ceylon cinnamon
- 3 pods Green cardamom, bruised
- 2 Cloves
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric
- 3/4 tsp pure chile powder
- 1/4 tsp Black peppercorns, ground
Method
- Drain the soaked cashews. Set 1 cup aside whole and blend the remaining 0.25 cup with 1 cup (240 ml) water into a smooth cream. The whole cashews are the vegetable of the curry, plump and tender, while the blended ones become the gravy that would normally be coconut milk, which is the swap that lets this rich dish skip the coconut.
- In a pot over medium heat, cook the onion, garlic, curry leaves, torn pandan, cinnamon, bruised cardamom, and cloves with a few tablespoons of water until the onion is soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Sweating the whole spices with the onion is what perfumes the base.
- Stir in the turmeric, chile powder, and ground black pepper and cook for 1 minute, so the ground spices lose their raw edge.
- Add the whole soaked cashews and 0.5 cup (120 ml) water, cover, and simmer gently for 15 minutes, until the cashews are soft enough to crush against the roof of your mouth. Cashews turn tender and creamy only through a real simmer, so do not rush this.
- Stir in the cashew cream and the peas and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes more, until the gravy thickens and coats the cashews. Keep the heat low once the cream is in so it stays smooth and does not split.
- Fish out the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods before serving. Serve as a rich side with rice and a sharp sambol, whose acidity cuts the richness the way salt otherwise would.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 260 calories, 8 g protein, 4 g fiber, 40 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
