Creamy Cashew Korma
This is one of those recipes we genuinely make on repeat. There's something about a proper creamy korma that just feels like a hug in a bowl, and this one delivers every single time. The homemade cashew cream is the real star here, it's silky and rich without any dairy, and it coats everything in the most gorgeous way. You've got sweet, caramelised chunks of roasted sweet potato soaking up all that warming korma sauce, and it tastes like something you'd order from your favourite Indian restaurant. Make this tonight and we promise you won't be disappointed.
Before You Start
- Preheat oven to 200°C
- Large baking sheet lined with parchment paper
- Blender
- Large saucepan
- Soak cashews — boil for 10 minutes then drain
Ingredients
- 100g cashews
- 200ml unsweetened cashew milk - (add more to loosen if needed)
- 3 small sweet potatoes
- 1 large onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2cm fresh ginger
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ¼ tbsp garam masala
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- 2 tsp ground cardamom
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 cinnamon stick
- 1 x 400g can chickpeas
- 200g green beans
- 1 x 400ml tin of coconut milk
- 2 limes
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- vegetable oil
- Salt and pepper
- roasted cashews
- red chilli
- handful of fresh coriander
- plant-based Naan bread
- plant-based butter
Method
For the cashew cream
- To soften the cashews, bring a pot of water to the boil, add the cashews, and simmer for 10 minutes
- Once soft, drain the cashews
- Add the cashews and milk to the blender and blitz until you have a really smooth cream (add a little more water to loosen to reach desired thickness)
For the sweet potato
- Cut the sweet potato into 3cm chunks
- Toss in salt and 1 tbsp veg oil
- Spread out on a lined baking sheet and transfer to the preheated oven
- Bake for 25 minutes until soft on the inside and crisp on the outside
Prepare the base
- Peel and finely chop the onion
- Peel and grate the garlic and ginger
- In a large saucepan, heat 3 tbsp of veg oil over medium to low heat. Once hot, add the cumin, coriander, cayenne, garam masala, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, bay and turmeric. Fry gently to release the beautiful aromas
- Next, add the onion with 1 tsp salt, stir so that it is coated in the spices, and leave to cook for 7-10 minutes, or until the onion is really soft
- Next, add the garlic and ginger, fry for a minute so that the flavours come alive
- Add the chickpeas (and chickpea water) to the curry, along with the green beans and coconut milk
- Bring the curry to a simmer, and cook for 5 minutes to soften the green beans and let the flavours blend together
Finish the curry and serve!
- Pour the cashew cream into the curry to heat through
- Take the pan off the heat, then stir through the lime juice, sugar and season to taste with salt and pepper
- Sprinkle over the roasted cashews, chopped red chilli and coriander
- Scoop up with plant based naan
Tips & Variations
- Make it even creamier: Henry always adds an extra handful of cashews when blending if he wants a thicker, more indulgent sauce. Just blitz for a little longer and add less water.
- Swap the veg: This works brilliantly with cauliflower or butternut squash instead of sweet potato. Ian loves throwing in a tin of chickpeas as well to bulk it out and add a bit of extra protein.
- Spice it your way: Korma is traditionally mild and fragrant, but if you like a bit of heat, trust us on this one, a small pinch of chilli flakes stirred in at the end makes it sing without losing that creamy warmth.
Why This Works
The trick here is taking the time to properly blitz those softened cashews into a really smooth cream before they go anywhere near the sauce. If the cream is silky, the whole dish is silky. We also love roasting the sweet potato separately before adding it in, because you get those slightly crispy, caramelised edges that hold up beautifully in the sauce rather than going mushy.