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Instant Pot Cashew Curry

Instant Pot Cashew Curry

Deliciously soft-cashew curry made without a fuss in the Instant Pot.
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Prep Time:8 hours
Cook Time:30 minutes
Total Time:8 hours 30 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Sri Lankan
Servings: 8 servings

Equipment

  • 1 Instant Pot 6 quart

Ingredients

  • 16 oz un-roasted, un-salted whole cashews (raw cashew nuts)
  • 2 shallots (or medium white onion)
  • 1/2 inch piece of ginger
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 serrano pepper (or Indian long green chili)
  • 1 sprig curry leaves
  • 1 tsp heaping spoon of curry powder (Sri Lankan Curry Powder is basically 50% ground cumin and 50% ground coriander)
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup green peas (frozen ones work great)
  • 1 cup coconut milk

Instructions

  • Soak the cashews overnight or about 8 hours in a large bowl of water where they can be completely submerged and have room to plump up a little to about one and a half times their size.
  • Drain and rise the cashews.
  • Peel and dice the shallots. Peel and finely chop the garlic and ginger. Chop the serrano/green chili into a few chunks so they are easy to avoid while eating. You can chop the green chili finely if you prefer the dish to be spicier.
  • Into your Instant Pot - add all the ingredients except the green peas. The drained cashews, shallots, garlic, ginger, chopped green chili, curry leaves, chili powder, and salt.
  • Add water about 1.5 cups to just about submerge the cashews, but no more. Lock the lid in place. Choose the Multi-grain setting for 14 minutes. Mine is a 6 quart pot, a larger pot with different settings may need a little tweaking on the time.
  • When the Instant Pot finishes the cooking-time and gets to the natural release portion, turn it off so it releases pressure rapidly. After about 5 to 10 minutes when no steam releases from the valve it's safe to open.
  • Take out a cashew nut and squash it with your finger. It should break into pieces but not become cashew-paste. That's the perfect texture for this curry.
  • Turn on the Instant Pot to sauté setting and let excess liquid evaporate. Add coconut milk, salt to taste and the green peas. Cook until it thickens to the consistency you like.
  • Serve warm or freeze in portions for later. Once frozen, let them defrost first. A quick microwave or stove-top warm-up and they are good to serve.