Spicy Sri Lankan Fried Cashews is a traditional Sri Lankan recipe for a snack of cashew nuts that are fried in coconut oil to toast and flavoured with curry leaves, garlic, turmeric, Kashmiri chilli powder and black pepper. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Sri Lankan version of: Spicy Sri Lankan Fried Cashews.
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My wife really loves cashew nuts and I'm always on the look-out for new recipes, particularly spicy ones. The leftovers usually disappear quickly as I like cashews in my trail mix. Any leftovers will keep in an air-tight jar for up to a week.
Ingredients:
250ml (1 cup) coconut oil
30 curry leaves
4 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
350g raw cashew nuts
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp red Kashmiri chilli powder
1 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
Salt to taste
Method:
Place a wok or large pan over medium high heat. When hot add the oil and heat until almost smoking. At this point stir in the curry leaves and let them sizzle in the hot oil for about 30 seconds. The curry leaves should look shiny and be a bit crispy.
Use a spider or slotted spoon to transfer the curry leaves to a plate with a slotted spoon and then add the garlic slivers to the same oil. Fry for about a minute or until the garlic is just beginning to brown. Transfer the garlic to the plate with the curry leaves.
Now add the cashews to the hot oil. Cook, stirring constantly so that the cashews brown evenly. In Sri Lanka, the cashews are deep fried so that they fry evenly. You use less oil with this recipe but watch them carefully but you could cook in a deep frier set to 180C if you wish.
Just before the cashews are finished cooking, stir in the ground turmeric.
Transfer the browned cashews to a bowl lined with a few paper towels to soak up any excess oil. Then add the fried curry leaves and garlic, followed by the black pepper and chilli powder. Season with salt to taste.
Be sure to stir the nuts well so that they are equally coated with the other ingredients. Pour into a serving bowl and serve hot. Though you can also serve these warm or at room temperature they do taste better when hot.
