Kaju Maluwa Tips: How to Make the Creamiest Cashew Curry

Kaju maluwa, the creamy Sri Lankan cashew curry, needs only a handful of ingredients, but each step matters. Cook the cashews too little, and they are hard. Cook them too long, and they fall apart. Boil the thick coconut milk too hard, and the gravy splits. These tips will help you get a silky gravy and tender whole cashews every time. For the basic recipe, see 5 easy cashew recipes, and for the whole range of kaju dishes, read cashews in Sri Lankan cooking.

Use plain, whole cashews, because they hold their shape while they simmer. Roasted or seasoned cashews are made for snacking and will change the flavour of the gravy. Our Cooking Cashew is plain, and is made for exactly this. Whole kernels look better in the bowl, and give you the soft, creamy bite that the curry is known for. Pieces work well if you want to blend them into the gravy, as we explain in what cashew pieces are used for.

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 are tender but not falling apart. Test one by pressing it with a spoon: it should give easily but still hold together. The turmeric colours the cashews gold and flavours them from the inside. Drain most of the water before you add the other ingredients.

Add the sliced onion, slit green chillies, garlic, curry leaves, a piece of pandan (rampe), a small cinnamon stick and a little unroasted curry powder to the cashews, with the thin coconut milk. Simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes, until the gravy thickens a little. Slit chillies give flavour with controlled heat, and you can leave the seeds in or out depending on how hot you like it. Go lightly with the curry powder, because the dish is meant to be mild and creamy and not fiery.

Coconut milk is the heart of the gravy, and the way you handle it decides the texture. If you can, keep the thick milk, the first pressing, separate from the thin milk, the second pressing. The thin milk goes in early to cook with the spices. The thick milk goes in at the very end, because it is rich and splits when heated hard. If you only have one kind of coconut milk, add it in two stages, with half early and half at the end.

Stir in the thick coconut milk and warm it gently for 3 to 5 minutes. Do not let it boil hard once it goes in, or it can split and turn oily and grainy. Keep the heat low, stir slowly, and take the pot off the heat as soon as the gravy is hot. If it does start to split, take it off the heat and stir in a spoonful of cool coconut milk or water to bring it back together.

Taste the curry at the end and adjust the salt. A squeeze of lime juice brightens the whole dish and balances the richness, and it is a classic finish. Add it off the heat, and a little at a time, tasting as you go. Serve the curry with white rice and dhal, and add a papadam or a simple vegetable dish for a full Sri Lankan meal.

If the gravy is too thin, simmer it uncovered for a few more minutes before adding the thick milk, or blend a few cooked cashews with a little gravy and stir them back in. If it is too thick, loosen it with a splash of warm water or thin coconut milk. If it tastes flat, it probably needs salt or lime. If the cashews are hard, they needed longer in the first simmer, so keep cooking them before you add the coconut milk next time.

If you are reheating leftovers, warm them gently over a low heat with a splash of water, because a hard boil can split the gravy. Keep leftovers in the fridge and eat them within a day or two, and always check that cooked food is hot all the way through before you serve it.

Some cooks add green peas, a few chunks of potato, or sliced green beans, which turn the curry into a heartier dish. A little cashew cream, as in cashew cream, can make the gravy extra silky. If you are cooking for someone who avoids dairy, kaju maluwa is naturally dairy-free. As with all cashew dishes, take care with allergies, as in tree nut allergy and cashews. Cooking Cashew comes in 250g, 500g and 1kg packs, and you can see today's prices on our price guide.