Cashew Chicken Curry

A chicken curry reminiscent of London’s curbside curry take-away, one of my very favorite things to go-crazy for in London. (It's been too-too long!) Cashew Chicken Curry is surprisingly healthy and oh-so satisfying. Best of all? This one-pot meal is made with pantry ingredients! Check, you just might have everything you need on hand this very minute!

Real Food, Fresh & Flexible. Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special. Weight Watchers Friendly. Naturally Gluten Free. High Protein. Great for Meal Prep.

~ Skip Straight to the Recipe ~

Every Job Has Its Hazards.

Teachers risk burn-out. Sales folks brave cold calls. Lawyers swallow scorn. Moms and Dads suffer car-pool cut-offs. Even coal-mine canaries have been pink-slipped by technology.

Food writing has its own kitchen quicksand.

You fear that beady eyes and coarse whiskers will appear on the family, friends and neighbors so frequently enlisted as guinea pigs.

You slavishly follow the camera-before-consumption rule, so only leftovers are eaten while actually hot.

You become obsessive-compulsive about roasting chickens with unexpected ingredients (I dunno, how ‘bout Jim Beam?) and vegetables from okra to cabbage and spices from oregano to curry.

Curry? Yes, curried chicken was last year’s food obsession, thanks to an inspirational starter recipe. This Cashew Chicken Curry is the dozenth version and darned close to the curbside take-aways that make London the curry capital of the world.

As for next year, anyone for lamb? You know, lamb curry?

True Story.

Once upon a time, Kitchen Parade was published in small-town weekly newspapers, including my hometown paper, the Webster-Kirkwood Times.

One day my neighbor reported that when he and his wife were at the grocery getting ingredients for Cashew Chicken Curry, someone else was also pulling cashews from the shelf. In a flash, the two sets of shoppers realized they were planning the same supper – because both were holding the same recipe, both clipped from the same local newspaper!

Happy Dance!

COMPLIMENTS!

• "... So good!" ~ Meryl
• "It is SOO GOOD!!" ~ Rass
• "... so yummy...one of the best curries I have ever had!!" ~ Pixie
• "The flavors perfectly complemented each other with no one taste overpowering the other. " ~ Lynessa
• "[my dad] ... really liked it!" ~ Anonymous
• "... fantastic!" ~ Carolyn

BEST RECIPES!

• Cashew Chicken Curry Made the List!
• Best Recipes of 2006
• Ready to start cooking? Here's your recipe!

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Just updated! First published way back in 2006.

CASHEW CHICKEN CURRY

Hands-on time: 35 minutes
Time-to-table: 90 minutes
Makes 11 cups

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 – 3 tablespoons curry powder (see ALANNA’s TIPS)
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 pound chicken thighs or breasts, cut in bite-size pieces (see TIPS)
• 29 ounces canned diced tomato
• 1 pound carrots, diced
• 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

JUST BEFORE SERVING
• 1/4 cup ground cashews
• 1 cup nonfat yogurt
• 1/2 cup light coconut milk
• 8 ounces frozen peas

• Additional fresh cilantro, for garnish

Melt the butter in a Dutch oven on medium high. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook until soft. Stir in the spices and cook briefly. Add the meat in batches, cooking each one through. Add the tomatoes, carrots, mushrooms and cilantro and bring to a boil.

Cover, reduce heat to maintain a slow simmer and cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Stop here if you’re cooking ahead.)

JUST BEFORE SERVING Stir in the remaining ingredients and heat through but do not boil, about 5 minutes.

To serve, sprinkle with fresh cilantro and serve over rice.

ALANNA's TIPS Number one tip! Don't limit this recipe to chicken. It's great with beef, too! If your family is new to curry or you cook for someone who finds "spicy" foods sweat-invoking, start off with the smaller amounts of curry powder, cumin and cayenne. That said, don’t be too fearful of the larger amounts for the heat is moderated when the curry is served atop bland rice. Chicken thighs are more flavorful than breasts but only 10% higher in fat. They're my choice, almost every time! A big container of cashews is pricey, especially if you're really only interested in using the 1/4 cup needed for Chicken Curry. Two ideas. First, scoop out only the cashews you need in the bulk aisle. Second, look for small snack packs of cashews near the grocery store checkout, even in the nut section at c-stores. In a pinch, peanut butter can be substituted for ground cashews. Non-fat yogurt and light coconut milk reduce the calories in this dish, so much flavor for so few calories! But the full-fat versions work too, the dish just becomes slightly richer. Either way, so good! Curries improve overnight so don’t hesitate to make ahead or plan for leftovers. I usually serve Cashew Chicken Curry with Oven-Baked Brown Rice. The timing works out perfectly: put the rice in the oven, when it's done, the curry will be too!

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Cup: 158 Calories; 5g Tot Fat; 2g Sat Fat; 36mg Cholesterol; 15g Carb; 4g Fiber; 271mg Sodium; 7g Sugar; 14g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS (Freestyle & myWW assume chicken breasts) Old Points 3 & PointsPlus 4 & SmartPoints 5 & Freestyle 2 & myWW green 3 & blue 2 & purple 2 This recipe has been "Alanna-sized" with reductions in fat and portion size and additions of fiber-rich vegetables.

Adapted from Gourmet Magazine, people really love this recipe! Sniff, we miss Gourmet!

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Wintry Comfort Food

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(helping home cooks save money on groceries)

~ chicken recipes ~
~ tomato recipes ~
~ carrot recipes ~
~ mushroom recipes ~
~ cashew recipes ~
~ yogurt recipes ~
~ coconut milk ~
~ pea recipes ~

~ All Recipes, By Ingredient ~
~ How to Save Money on Groceries ~

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

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