Theme: Spice
Recipe: Sri Lankan Chicken and Cashew Curry
Cookbook: Curry in a Hurry
From around the age of ten to eighteen, I played clarinet. For the majority of these years, I was a member of a clarinet ensemble that would rehearse every second Friday night. Over the course of those almost-eight years, I transitioned from being one of the youngest members (which entailed a tendency to get attacks of the giggles on a regular, and likely very irritating, basis) to one of the most established and mature (hah! I still display a remarkable tendency to get the giggles…) clarinet players in the group.
What never changed, however, was my mother’s unfailing kindness in ensuring I had a hot dinner and, if I was lucky, dessert waiting for me when I arrived home at 9pm, tired from the rehearsal but also hyped up on the tea-with-four-billion-sugars that I would drink with my friends during the rehearsal break.
For some reason, the dish most intertwined in my mind with those late clarinet-playing nights is mum’s green curry chicken. I remember the strong smell of coconut enveloping me as I walked in the front door, and I remember the rich sauce soaking into basmati rice as I chatted to mum about my ability to fit eight spoonfuls of sugar into one tiny disposable polysterene cup of tea.
The recipe you see pictured above (and below), which I cooked with the Cookbook Challenge Spice theme in mind, is not a green curry chicken. It is, however, a chicken curry recipe that involves spices and coconut milk, and is best served over rice, so it’s almost the same thing. Right?
More importantly, this Sri Lankan Chicken and Cashew Curry is what I made for my parents upon their return from three weeks in Japan, so that they wouldn’t have to worry about cooking while they readjusted to the Aussie time zone and normal life. Sometimes what goes around comes around, in the best possible way.
In other words, this post is a way for me to say thank you to my parents for unfailingly supporting (and feeding) me in all my musical endeavours. They still do.
Sri Lankan Chicken and Cashew Curry
From Curry in a Hurry
Serves 4
See the other Cookbook Challenge Spice recipes here
- 1 tb coriander seeds
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 8 curry leaves, or 2 bay leaves
- 3 tb vegetable oil
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup raw cashews
- 4 – 5 chicken thigh fillets (could easily be made vegan by substituting tofu/tempeh/seitan/extra vegetables)
- 1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
- 1/2 tsp crushed garlic
- 1/2 tsp crushed ginger
- 1/2 tsp crushed chilli
- 1 whole clove
- 2 green cardamom pods
- 1 small cinnamon stick
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- Put the coriander, cumin, fennel and curry leaves in a medium frying pan or wok, without oil. Place over medium heat, shaking the pan frequently, until the spices are browns and aromatic (about 2 1/2 minutes). Pour into a spice grinder (Hannah’s note – I used a mortar and pestle, old-school style) and grind to a fine powder.
- Add the oil to the pan and fry the cashews until golden brown. Removed with a slotted spoon and set aside. Cut the chicken into 2cm cubes and brown, in batches, in the same oil until golden brown and partially cooked (about 3 minutes). Remove.
- Brown the onion over med-high heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the garlic, ginger, and chilli, and cook for 30 seconds. Next add the clove, cardamom, cinnamon, and ground spices (Hannah’s note: the original recipe didn’t say when to add the ground spices, so this is just where I thought it made sense to add them!) and cook briefly.
- Stir in the coconut milk and salt. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer for 1-2 minutes, then return chicken and cashews to pan and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Serve over rice, preferably accompanied by hyperactive chatter from a family member.
Question Time: Did your parents have a special dish they’d cook for you to support extra-curricular activities? (Wow. That’s a rather specific question…)
Wow that is a long time to be part of an ensemble – and a long time for your mum to always be providing meals late – and it must have added up to a lot of sugars in hot drinks! (I am really more amazed because I don’t remember drinking hot drinks when I lived at home with my folks)
And I love the name of the cookbook
I should probably ‘fess up that most of the time, the hot meals were reheated leftovers from the family’s dinner, but hey, that didn’t detract from the tastiness! How interesting that you didn’t drink hot drinks as a child! My parents have been tea and coffee pushers all my life. In fact, the reason I succumbed back into the world of coffee last year was because my dad was upset that I always said no when he offered!
I can almost taste that curry – YUM!
My mom was awesome growing up. I’d always wake up late and she would bring coffee and homemade bread up to me while i was getting ready. Miss those days now!
Thanks Laura! Oh wow, homemade bread? Your mum is definitely a keeper!
Looks delicious. Its amazing how food brings back memories, its so powerful
Now I know why that book was lying around this afternoon … how nice that you have a good memory! I certainly have a good memory of that curry when we got home from our trip.
Many good memories, ma
And we shall create another this Wednesday afternoon! 
I also played the clarinet, but only for a few years and I was never very good. I wish my mom made curry for me as a kid, but she was a fantastic cook even if she didn’t make anything too daring.
I’m sure you were an absolute maestro
Me and the boy don’t do chicken but we’re thinking that the recipe will work for fish or seafood or tofu.
Absolutely! I actually meant to put ideas for vegan/non-meat subs in; have amended it now
I love that you have a story behind your love for curry. This is so sweet. It’s kind of like how my family always had pizza nights on Friday and I’ve carried that over into my marriage. I love it. Love those traditions.
Family + food traditions are the absolute best! Unfortunately we rarely ever ate pizza, as wheat, dairy, tomato, ham, bacon, beef, and more allergies made pizza an impossibility!
What a wonderful mother to make sure you were nourished. She sounds like my mother-in-law…she never wants anyone to go hungry.
That cashew curry looks so good and would be so easy to make vegan. THanks for sharing.
I’ve actually amended the recipe to say that the chicken could easily be subbed for vegan options
My mother is indeed magnificent, just as your mother-in-law clearly is!
Nothing specific, but my mom made sure my brother and I always had a hot dinner that she usually brought to our extra curricular activities
Variety is the spice of life!
Looks lovely!
My parents never rewarded my extra-curricular activities with food. I always was very autonomous in that regard, and would do what I wanted to do anyway. Most things I did for myself, however, so I wasn’t part of a group (I sang in the church choir, though, and later played in the school big band, but that was it). Doing what I liked was reward enough for itself.
I got a bit like that towards the end, to be honest! I liked cooking and often preferred to make my own thing beforehand, but still was grateful for the nights when mum took over
Oh Kath, you are quite the lone wolf aren’t you! And clearly as awe-inspiring and magnificent as a silvery wolf too 
Ha…one summer vacation my brother and I were enrolled in the worst karate class ever. My mum would promise both of us tender coconut water on our way home if we went to the class everyday, since both of us had zero motivation to go for it. Now that I look back, I am glad we went to that class
Bahaha! Bribery can work wonders when it comes to awful school holiday programs, can’t it? Coconut water, though, how lucky! It’s really hard for me to find coconut water here
This looks delicious! And nice mum-memories are just the best
Oddly enough, i never did ANY sort of extracurricular activity as a kid….because i was INSANELY shy. Yep, believe it or not :p but i do have lovely memories of mum making me hot, oozey-gooey grilled cheese on toast when i got home from school 
oh, and a cup of tea of course, with the obligatory 17 spoonfuls of sugar 
I’m so very, very glad you’re making up for past shyness now, my dear Lizzi!
Oozey-gooey grilled cheese on toast… I almost wish I hadn’t just eaten four thousand spoonfuls of Barney Butter, so that I had tummy space for such a creation…
P.S. Would you still be interested in maybe seeing HP on Sunday?
OH MY GOSH HARRY POTTER i am sooooooooo exciiiiiiteddddddd
ALOHOMORA! Expelliarmus! Nox! Confringo!
3:30pm Sunday for me… wheeee!!!!
That looks so good it is melting my heart.. or maybe that just my stomach talking… Crazy crazy…
I too remember hot food after a long tired day out with my Madam Mummy.. *sigh* the good ol’ days…
Teehee, I should’ve pinged you on twitter for this recipe like you did me with your persimmon dessert!
P.S. Hey, at least you’ve still got someone to come home to who cooks for you
Aww this is delicious karma isn’t it! Aren’t you nice looking after them. I don’t know a single person that isn’t wrecked after a long flight and the last thing they want is to cook a meal for themselves!
Delicious karma is the best sort of karma, I think
And I truly do hope I helped my parents after this trip of theirs! First the airfried salmon croquettes, then chicken curry… I just feel bad I didn’t also make them dessert!
Mmm, this curry looks delicious! I love the combination of chicken and cashews in anything. My parents didn’t really support my extra-curricular activities through food, but rather through the power of persuasion (it didn’t really work out terribly well, I suspect I had a short attention span as a child). But I remember one morning when I had to go to an outdoor school sports competition and it was raining, cold and miserable and the teachers waited for an hour before they let us leave. When I got home, half frozen, I was greeted by the smell of my father’s goulash at the door…. and all was well again! So yes, I guess goulash is my family’s signature meal!
What a brilliant memory! Something hearty and warming like goulash would be perfect after a cold and miserable day of sports
And don’t you worry, there was plenty of nagging from my mum as well as food incentives when it came to piano and clarinet practice at home 
No, they just gave me Maccas after piano lessons!
But mmmm, that chicken curry looks amazing! I’d endure 10 billion horrible piano lessons for a plate of that, yum!
I sometimes got Maccas’ chips after gymnastics practice, but only when it was my best friend’s mum picking us up
This looks so warm and comforting! Yummm. I don’t recall getting a particular dish for after extracurricular activities, but I was always fed well.
Fed well is all that matters in the end
Beautiful dish…love all kinds of curry dishes!
Ok – I now have a big craving for curry!
Yummo bestie. Me likey. Just ate a very unappetizing bowl of chicken salad, this looks Sooooooo much better. Let’s make something heartier than soup, soup is boring.
I know your craving, but I always feel starving at the end of it.
Boo! Bake yourself some bread then! *giggles* We shall converse and sort something out
Hope your week is starting off more nicely than the last!
Haha my mum use to sing to me every morning to wake me up and brought me toast in bed……until I was about 18 lol – such an only child
Haha! What a gorgeous story! I wish your mum had taught my mum that ploy… when I was a teenager, my mum would wake me up by pulling my bedsheets off!
cashew curry sounds FABULOUS!! i love cashew anything…. my guilty indulgence lol.
Since when are cashews guilty? Crazy lady!
Ooooooh…I will definitely make this!!! My husband wants to try it too! It looks wonderful, and it’s spiced just the way we would love! And the chicken and cashews together sounds amazing! Bookmarking this one to try! I can’t wait!
Thank you so much for your enthusiasm, Sheila! And that of your husband too
Do let me know what you think if you try it!
I was such an annoyance to my mum, I think I disliked most everything she made while I was growing up. I just wasn’t much of a fan of meal time, or food in general. But she faithfully packed me lunch everyday through age 18, which I think is mighty impressive!
Was planning to have curry tonight. Another oddity – I don’t think I had any sort of curry ever while growing up. Oh well, I’m making up for it now:)
Phwoar, she packed lunch until you were 18? What a mum! I think I stopped wanting Mum to pack my lunch in Year 7
I think curry often is something one comes to later in life. However, because of mum’s allergies, curries were common in my house growing up
I love any forms of curry and cook green curry all the time. This one looks very tasty with all those spices in there.
Oh golly, I’m so sorry Susan, somehow I missed this comment of yours! Thank you for commenting; I love a good green curry too
This looks absolutely delicious! I am bookmarking the recipe.
Thank you Bridget! Oh how I love it when I get a comment on an older recipe that I’ve forgotten about myself