Cashew Cream: A Dairy-Free Secret for Curries and Desserts

Cashew cream is simply soaked cashews blended with just enough water to make a thick, smooth cream. It has a mild, slightly sweet taste, so it works in both savoury and sweet cooking. In Sri Lankan kitchens, a paste of ground cashews has long been used to thicken and enrich gravies.

Soak 1 cup of plain cashews in water for 4 hours, or cover with just-boiled water for 15 minutes. Drain them, then blend with about 1/2 cup of fresh water and a pinch of salt until completely smooth. Add a spoonful more water at a time if it's too thick. It keeps in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.

Stir a few spoonfuls into a vegetable, chicken or fish curry near the end of cooking. It thickens the gravy and softens the heat, and it's a good way to cut back on coconut milk, or to make a dish creamy without dairy. Don't boil it hard once added. Our kaju curry recipe shows a classic use of cashews in the gravy.

Sweeten it with a little honey, treacle or sugar and serve it with fresh fruit like mango or papaya, as a dairy-free alternative to cream. It also makes a good base for puddings, and a swirl on top of porridge or a fruit bowl.

Thin it with a little lemon juice and garlic for a creamy salad dressing, or use it as the base of a pasta sauce. Cashew cream also works as a base for dairy-free dips. See cashew pesto for another creamy use.

A gritty cream usually means the cashews need to soak longer or blend longer. Soak them for the full time, drain well, and blend for a couple of minutes, scraping down the sides, adding water only a spoonful at a time. If it is still not smooth, pass it through a fine sieve. If the cream is too thin, you added too much water, so blend in a few more soaked cashews. If it is too thick, loosen it with a little water.

In a curry, a cream that splits or looks curdled has usually been boiled too hard. Add it at the end, over a low heat, and stir gently.

For desserts, flavour the cream with a little vanilla, cardamom or lemon juice, and sweeten it with honey, treacle or sugar to taste. For savoury cooking, keep it plain with a pinch of salt, or add garlic and pepper for a sauce. Make a small batch first, and taste it, since cashews vary a little from one pack to the next.

Keep cashew cream in a clean, covered jar in the fridge for three to four days. For longer storage, freeze it in an ice cube tray and move the cubes into a bag, so you can drop one or two into a curry or a sauce as you need them. Thaw it in the fridge or stir it straight into a hot pan, and whisk it if it separates a little as it thaws.

Plain, unsalted, unroasted cashews blend the creamiest. Our Cooking Cashew and Cashew Powder are both made for this. And if you want to try the milk version, see how to make cashew milk.