The kidney-shaped nut that grows outside its fruit on a tropical tree — buttery, mild and sweet — roasted for eating and ground into the creamy gravies of Indian cooking and the sauces of Brazil and Southeast Asia.
Where it comes from
The cashew is native to north-east Brazil, and the Portuguese carried it to Goa, Mozambique and beyond in the sixteenth century; India, Vietnam, Ivory Coast and Nigeria now grow most of it, with Vietnam the largest processor. The nut hangs beneath a fleshy false fruit, the cashew apple, which is eaten and juiced in Brazil and Goa and fermented into the Goan spirit feni. The shell around the nut contains a caustic oil related to poison ivy, which is why cashews are always sold shelled and why shelling is a skilled, hazardous job done largely by hand.
It is the creamy nut. Roasted and salted it is a snack across the world; ground raw and soaked it makes a smooth, rich paste that thickens the gravies of Mughal and Hyderabadi cooking — korma, shahi paneer, malai kofta — and, in the last decades, stands in for dairy in vegan cream, cheese and sauces because its mildness and fat take on any flavour. In Southeast Asia it is stir-fried with chicken and chilli; in Brazil, cooked into stews and sweets.
Varieties
- Whole cashew (W180, W240, W320) — Graded by size — the number is nuts per pound; W180 is the largest and dearest, W320 the common size.
- Broken cashew (splits, pieces) — Cheaper, and just as good for grinding into pastes and gravies.
- Raw cashew — Shelled and steamed (never truly raw, because of the shell oil); pale, soft, for pastes and cream.
- Roasted salted cashew — For eating; too salty and dark for most cooking.
- Cashew apple — The yellow or red false fruit; juiced in Brazil and Goa, and distilled into feni.
In the kitchen
For a gravy or a cream, soak raw cashews in hot water for twenty minutes, then blend with a little water until completely smooth; the paste thickens and enriches a korma or a pasta sauce without any dairy. Toasted in a dry pan or fried briefly in ghee, whole cashews garnish a biryani or a pilau and go into the Kerala and Goan vegetable dishes.
Stir-fried with chicken, dried chilli and soy for Sichuan-style or Thai cashew chicken, adding the nuts near the end so they stay crisp. Cashew butter is mild and sweet on bread. Cashews scorch easily; toast on medium heat and keep them moving.
Choosing and keeping
Raw cashews should be pale ivory and sweet-smelling; grey, spotted or sharp-smelling nuts are old. They keep a few months sealed in a cool cupboard and longer in the fridge or freezer. Roasted cashews keep less well once opened.
Broken cashews from Indian grocers are the economical choice for grinding. Cashews labelled raw have still been heat-treated to remove the shell oil and are safe.
Dishes with cashew
Sumo de cajufresh juice pressed from cashew apples during the harvestUkraineKyiv cakehazelnut meringue layers with chocolate buttercreamTanzaniaKonyagiClear sugarcane spirit in a square bottle, drunk with soda and limeNepalSikarniStrained yoghurt whipped with sugar, cardamom, saffron and chopped nuts
ThandaiCold milk ground with almonds, fennel, poppy seed, pepper and rose
Diri ak djon djonRice blackened with native djon djon mushroomsMyanmarDanbaukBurmese biryani of chicken and rice, festive favourite
Iraqi biryanirice with vermicelli, raisins, nuts, peas and fried chicken, tossed at the tableCashew is tagged on 29 dishes from 19 countries in the atlas. These notes are written from general knowledge and carry no per-fact citation — see About.