Sri Lankan curry with Cashew nuts and Peas

It hasn’t taken long for the Sri Lankan curry to become one of our most popular sauces. It is quite similar to the Keralan curry and shares many similar spices and ingredients. The main differences are the addition of tamarind and coconut and that the majority of the spices are well toasted before being ground. We’ve tried this recipe a few times now, it’s a regular quick curry for when we don’t have time to faff around with prep.

It’s very simple, you just need the curry, a bag of cashew nuts and some peas. We nearly always have these in the cupboard/freezer. Other than that you can get exotic with a dash of kewra water or by using fresh pandan leaves, if you’re lucky enough to have a good Asian shop nearby.

Plain boiled rice will be great with this curry. But we had a citrussy lemon rice. Just put some lemon wedges and juice in the pan while the rice is cooking.

This recipe should be enough for 4 people, it really depends how hungry you are!

What you need

1 pouch Spicymonkey Sri Lankan curry

Approx 250g cashew nuts

3 – 4 handfuls of peas

1 pandan leaf or 1 tbsp kewra water (optional)

a few coriander leaves (optional)

What to do

Pour the curry sauce into the pan. Bring to the boil and then put the raw cashew nuts in. Simmer for around 20 minutes until the nuts have softened. You may need to add a little water to prevent the curry from drying.

Add the peas, and if using, add the pandan leaf (sliced) or kewra water. Leave to simmer for a further 10 minutes.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve with lemon rice or naan bread and then enjoy the creamy, rich, deliciously crunchy curry!

You can find the Sri Lankan curry here: –

Sri Lankan curry sauce (medium)