Cashew Cream Beef Curry
Cashew Cream is used here to replace the traditional yogurt or heavy cream added to finish the curry sauce. Much less temperamental when adding to a hot sauce, this cream substitute adds a velvety mouthfeel and nutty flavour that pairs perfectly with the curry spices, spinach and beef.
I’ve also used an instant pot to ensure the beef comes out extra tender, but the recipe can be followed with chicken pieces or tofu by following the same recipe steps for marinating, then pan frying the protein in butter and contining by adding the remaining curry ingredients. To finish the curry just add the thick cashew cream once everything else is combined and simmering. You can also add alternative steamed vegetables or thawed frozen veg.
Built from the base of Murgh Makhani (Butter Chicken), this recipe is very flexible. While Beef is quite uncommon in most curry recipes, it’s used here for convenience and cost saving to meet our family’s dietary requirements. When I make this just for myself I do normally use chicken and cook using the pan method mentioned above. The extra step to pressure cook the beef gives a rich and luxuious finished texture with meaty chunks that just melt in your mouth.
For an easy curry recipe without using pre-made sauce bases, this is a great recipe to start branching out with. If you’re looking for more main meal inspiration, check out our main meals page here.
Cashew Cream Beef Curry
Measure out the raw cashews, cover with room temperature water and leave to soak at room temperature for 3hrs. If you prefer to soak overnight, cover and refrigerate.
Combine all the marinade ingredients in a glass bowl, then add your protein and coat well. Cover and refrigerate for 3hrs or overnight.
Set your pressure cooker to the Sautee function. Once preheated, melt the butter and sear the marinated protein pieces.
Add any remaining marinade, tomato puree, spinach & salt. Stir to combine everything and set to cook on high pressure for 30mins with natural release.
Drain the soaked cashews and add to the cup of a high speed blender with 1/2 cup fresh water. Blend until thick, creamy and smooth. Season to taste with stock powder or salt.
Once the pressure cooker has finished releasing, open the lid and stir in the thick cashew cream.
Serve with Rice, naan bread, or rice alternative.
Ingredients
Directions
Measure out the raw cashews, cover with room temperature water and leave to soak at room temperature for 3hrs. If you prefer to soak overnight, cover and refrigerate.
Combine all the marinade ingredients in a glass bowl, then add your protein and coat well. Cover and refrigerate for 3hrs or overnight.
Set your pressure cooker to the Sautee function. Once preheated, melt the butter and sear the marinated protein pieces.
Add any remaining marinade, tomato puree, spinach & salt. Stir to combine everything and set to cook on high pressure for 30mins with natural release.
Drain the soaked cashews and add to the cup of a high speed blender with 1/2 cup fresh water. Blend until thick, creamy and smooth. Season to taste with stock powder or salt.
Once the pressure cooker has finished releasing, open the lid and stir in the thick cashew cream.
Serve with Rice, naan bread, or rice alternative.
Notes
Recipe Notes
This is a warm blend of indian spices and varies between brands and regions. I don’t particularly like the Masterfoods brand blend in Australia. This blend includes: Fennel, Cinnamon, Cardamom, Caraway, Black pepper and Clove. I prefer to use the Hoyt’s brand, which includes: Coriander, Cinnamon, Cumin, Nutmeg, Cloves and Cardamon.
If you wish to substitute for single spices in this recipe, use:
– 1/2 tsp Ground Coriander Seed
– 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
– 1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
– 1/4tsp Ground Nutmeg
– 1/4tsp Ground Cardamom
This curry is full or aromatic spices, but can be made “spicy” in heat depending on how you choose to use chilli. For a mild flavour you can use 1tsp chilli paste or hot sauce. For a more moderate to hot spice you can use 1/2 – 1tsp chilli powder. If using cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp will have noticeable heat.
For an extra mild version, replace the 1/2tsp of chilli powder with ground black pepper.
You can substitute Olive Oil or Ghee for the butter in this recipe. This is most important if you’re chosing to pan fry the marinated pieces.
If you are using the pressure cooker, you can exclude the added fat all together and also skip the step of browning the marinated meat.
Due to the high moisture content, you aren’t going to get a sear or crust from this step anyway and the results aren’t significantly different if you just dump everything into the pressure cooker and go.
Key Ingredients
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