5 Easy Cashew Recipes to Cook at Home, Sri Lankan Style

Cashews do different jobs depending on how they're prepared. For anything that simmers, like a curry or a milk, plain cashews work best, and our Cooking Cashew is made for exactly that. For anything that should stay crunchy, like a stir-fry or a garnish, use roasted cashews and add them at the very end. For sweets, cashew powder saves you the grinding.

Each recipe below serves about four people unless it says otherwise. Quantities are a starting point, so taste and adjust as you go.

Kaju maluwa is a Sri Lankan classic that appears at weddings and Sunday lunches alike, and it's one of the simplest curries to make. You need 200g plain cashews, 1 sliced onion, 2 slit green chillies, 2 cloves of garlic, a small sprig of curry leaves, a piece of pandan (rampe), a small cinnamon stick, 1 teaspoon of unroasted curry powder, ½ teaspoon of turmeric, salt, and about 1½ cups of coconut milk, with the thick milk kept separate from the thin if you can.

Put the cashews in a pot with enough water to cover them, add the turmeric and a pinch of salt, and simmer for 10 to 20 minutes until they're tender but not falling apart. Drain most of the water, then add the onion, chillies, garlic, curry leaves, pandan, cinnamon, curry powder and thin coconut milk. Simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes until the gravy thickens a little.

Stir in the thick coconut milk and warm it gently for 3 to 5 minutes. Don't let it boil hard once the thick milk goes in, or it can split. Taste for salt, add a squeeze of lime if you like, and serve with rice and dhal.

Devilled dishes are a favourite with a cold drink, and cashews take to the sweet, sour and spicy sauce very well. You need 200g roasted cashews, 1 tablespoon of oil, 1 onion cut into wedges, 1 capsicum cut into squares, 2 green chillies, 3 cloves of garlic, 1 teaspoon of grated ginger, 1 teaspoon of chilli flakes, 1 tablespoon of tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of vinegar, ½ teaspoon of sugar and a chopped spring onion to finish.

Heat the oil in a wok on high heat and stir-fry the onion and capsicum for about 2 minutes, so they stay crisp. Add the garlic, ginger, green chillies and chilli flakes for 30 seconds, then the tomato sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and a splash of water. Let it bubble for a minute until it turns glossy.

Take the pan off the heat, toss in the cashews for 20 to 30 seconds and scatter the spring onion on top. Serve straight away, because the cashews soften the longer they sit in the sauce. If you want the flavour without the cooking, our ready-made Deviled Cashew gives you the same style straight from the pack.

Fried rice is the easiest way to turn leftover rice into a proper meal, and cashews give it a crunch that peas and carrots can't. Use about 3 cups of cooked rice that has been chilled, ideally from the day before, because fresh rice turns mushy in the wok. You also need 2 eggs, 1 tablespoon of oil, 1 small diced carrot, a handful of sliced beans or leeks, 2 chopped spring onions, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, black pepper and ½ cup of roughly chopped roasted cashews.

Scramble the eggs in the hot oil and set them aside. Stir-fry the garlic, carrot and beans for 2 to 3 minutes, add the rice and press it into the pan so it browns a little, then season with the soy sauce and pepper. Fold the eggs back in with the spring onion, and add the cashews last, with the heat off.

If your cashews are already salted, go lightly with the soy sauce. You can also swap the egg for chicken, prawns or cubes of fried tofu without changing anything else.

Cashew milk is the easiest nut milk to make at home, because cashews are soft enough to blend smooth without needing to be strained. Soak 1 cup (about 150g) of plain cashews in water for 4 hours, or cover them with just-boiled water for 15 minutes if you're in a hurry. Drain them, then blend with 3 cups of fresh water and a pinch of salt for a minute or two until completely smooth.

A spoonful of honey or kithul treacle makes it a little sweet for drinking or stirring into tea. For a thicker, creamier version, use 2 cups of water instead of 3 and treat it as a cream for porridge, desserts or curry gravies. It keeps in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, so give the jar a shake before you pour.

In a hurry, whisking a few tablespoons of cashew powder into a cup of warm water gets you a quick, rougher version with no soaking. Start with 3 to 4 tablespoons and adjust to taste.

Cashew aluwa is a traditional Sri Lankan sweet and a staple of New Year tables. It only needs a few ingredients: 250g cashew powder, 200g sugar, 100ml water, ½ teaspoon of cardamom powder and 1 tablespoon of ghee (optional), plus a little oil or ghee to grease the tray.

Boil the sugar and water over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes until it thickens into a syrup. To test it, drop a little into a glass of cold water, and it should hold together as a soft ball between your fingers. Turn the heat down low, add the cashew powder and cardamom, and stir continuously for 5 to 8 minutes until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan in one soft mass.

Spread it onto a greased tray or a banana leaf about 1.5cm thick, flatten the top with a greased spatula, and leave it to cool for 15 to 20 minutes before cutting it into diamonds. Stored in an airtight container, it keeps for about a week, and it makes a thoughtful addition to a gift box or hamper.

Buy plain cashews for cooking and roasted ones for snacking, and keep both in an airtight container away from heat and light. Our guide to storing roasted cashews covers how long they stay fresh, and 5 ways to use roasted cashews has more ideas if you want to keep experimenting. When you're ready to cook, you can shop our cashews online and have them delivered anywhere in Sri Lanka.

If you enjoyed this, you might also like our guides to what devilled cashews are and raw vs roasted cashews.