Cashew nut korma with shrimp

Korma (a mild and creamy Indian curry) is high on our list of ultimate comfort foods. And this korma, without doubt, is the best we’ve ever tasted. Surprisingly, it was also the quickest and easiest korma we’ve ever made — so needless to say there were a lot of ‘high fives’ at our place when we first made it!

Part of the reason the sauce is so easy to make is because we blitz most of the cashews with the coconut milk, a can of tomatoes and a little water in a blender until creamy. Don’t be put off by the pinkish-colored concoction at this stage — as soon as you pour it into the pan with sautéed onion, garlic, ginger and spices, it turns a wonderful hue of nut-brown and thickens to a gravy. We reserve a handful of whole cashews to throw in to the sauce at the end, which add an extra textural treat as you eat.

Although this dish is quite high in calories (so it’s not the sort of meal we would eat every day), much of the creaminess comes from the ground cashew nuts, which are rich in heart-healthy unsaturated fats, along with fiber and many important vitamins and minerals.

In this version, we added shrimp and green beans, which poach gently in the simmering sauce. But this korma is also a terrific base for chicken, fish or scallops, or you can add chickpeas for a vegan version. There are lots of other veggies that also work well instead of the green beans such as mushrooms, spinach, peas, cauliflower, or you could add small chunks of potato, sweet potato or pumpkin.