India is the world’s largest producer of cashews. On the trees, cashews look like a big comma hanging from the bottom of a bulbous fruit called a cashewapple. Considering the work involved in getting the cashew from its dual shells (and avoiding a very caustic oil that resides between them), their price should rival that of the gold
standard. They are very available and affordable, however, and here they combine with spices to make carrots seem like something exotic and more than just delicious. I serve this with roast chicken that I’ve rubbed under the skin with some curry powder.
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
4 large carrots (about 6 ounces/180g each), trimmed, peeled, and cut into ¼-inch (.6-cm) cubes
2 shallots, minced
½ teaspoon ground cumin Generous ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 bird’s-eye or other hot chile
3 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
Fine sea salt
¼ cup (40 g) cashews, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
Note: Be sure to remove the hot chile before you serve this dish. These carrots are also good at room temperature.
1. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat and sauté the mustard seeds. They’ll jump and pop all over the place, so cover the pan with a splatter screen and shake it to move them around. Add the carrots, shallots, spices, chile, and coconut, stir, and add about ¼ teaspoon salt. Add ½ cup (125 ml) water, bring it to a simmer,
and cook the carrots, covered, until they are tender, checking after about 10 minutes to be sure the water hasn’t evaporated. If it has, and the carrots aren’t quite tender through, add another ½ cup (125 ml) water and continue cooking. The carrots should cook for approximately 20 minutes total.
2. Remove the cover and stir in the cashews. Continue cooking the carrots, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until all the water has evaporated, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat, remove and discard the chile, season to taste, and serve.
