Recipe

Chickpea Cashew Curry

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Photo by JoyManning

This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Recipe for Beans
Chef
JoyManning's Notes:
One of my New Year's resolutions is to make one vegan dinner a week. I kicked the project off early--this unbelievably dairy free yet creamy curry was a good start!

Serves 6 to 8

3 whole star anise Ask a question about this ingredient

3 cinnamon sticks Ask a question about this ingredient

1 teaspoon whole cloves Ask a question about this ingredient

1 teaspoon mustard seeds Ask a question about this ingredient

5 cardamom pods Ask a question about this ingredient

15 peppercorns Ask a question about this ingredient

1/4 cup vegetable oil Ask a question about this ingredient

3 large onions, quartered and thinly sliced Ask a question about this ingredient

1 tablespoon curry powder Ask a question about this ingredient

1 teaspoon salt, divided Ask a question about this ingredient

1 teaspoon sugar Ask a question about this ingredient

1/2 cup whole raw cashews, soaked in cold water overnight and drained Ask a question about this ingredient

1 jalapeno, seeds and all, chopped Ask a question about this ingredient

1 teaspoon garam masala Ask a question about this ingredient

3 tablespoons tomato paste Ask a question about this ingredient

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger Ask a question about this ingredient

2 garlic cloves, minced Ask a question about this ingredient

3 cups cooked or canned chickpeas (if you make them from dried, and I think you should, reserve the cooking liquid.) Ask a question about this ingredient

Pour the oil into a Dutch oven placed over low heat. Add the star anise, cinnamon sticks, cloves, mustard seeds, cardamom pods, and peppercorns. Cook the spices in the oil, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes. Remove the spices with a slotted spoon. (Don't worry about the mustard seeds).
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Add the onions, curry powder, 1/2 tsp of the salt, and sugar to the spice-perfumed oil and increase the heat to medium, stirring occasionally, until they are totally softened and caramelized. This takes at least an hour, but the slower, lower, and longer the better.
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Meanwhile, add the cashews, jalapeno, tomato paste, the remaining salt, and 1 1/4 cups water to a blender, and blend until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
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When the onions are caramelized, add the ginger and garlic and stir to combine until they are fragrant, about 2 minutes. Now add the chickpeas, the cashew sauce, and 3/4 cups of the chickpea cooking liquid or water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes. Serve over rice.
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