Holidays and nuts. They seem to go together. Here at Hot Eddie’s we love nuts. And we love spicy, so what better way to combine the two than in a delicious roasted Curried Cashew recipe.

The cashew is not a true nut like almonds or walnuts. It is a seed that grows at the bottom of the cashew apple which isn’t a true fruit either, it is called an ‘accessory fruit’. The cashew is actually the fruit also called a drupe. The shells are toxic which is why you never see whole cashews in the shells. The cashew nut is inside the shell and is technically a seed. Fruit, nut or seed, they are delicious. Cashews also contain 10% starch, far more than a nut, so Indian and other southeast Asian cuisines use ground cashews for thickening soups and stews. Cashew trees originally native to Brazil, are an evergreen that now grows primarily in India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Viet Nam and the Ivory Coast. The cashew apple is delicious but has a very thin skin, so it doesn’t travel well. People eat it raw, cook it in curries, and even ferment the juice to distill into an alcoholic beverage.

Cashews are healthful, high in fiber and a good source of antioxidants and trace minerals. So roast up a batch and enjoy these sweet spicy little morsels.

 

Curried Cashews – Cooking time 30 minutes – Makes 2 cups

Preheat oven to 250º

2 cups whole raw cashews

3 Tablespoons peanut oil (can substitute safflower or sunflower oil)

2 cloves of garlic

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

1-2 Tablespoons curry powder ( adjust to your taste)

¼ teaspoon white pepper

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

 

Peel and crush the garlic. Leave them whole. Warm oil in a large frying pan and gently sauté the garlic for 2-3 minutes until it softens and starts to brown slightly.

 

 

Remove garlic from pan and set aside. You are just flavoring the oil. Remove from heat and add the soy sauce, curry powder, pepper and salt.

 

 

Stir to combine. Simmer for one minute to release the fragrance of the curry. It will be a thickish paste.

Add the nuts and stir over moderate heat until they are thoroughly coated.

 

 

Remove nuts from pan and spread on a cookie sheet lined with heavy brown paper. A grocery bag works perfectly. Scrape any curry that sticks to the bottom of the pan onto the nuts. I like to put the cooked garlic on the pan to roast too for a little snack.

 

 

Bake at 250º for 15-20 minute or until the nuts are lightly browned and crisp.

 

Let cool and store in a tightly covered jar.