Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for Sri Lankan cucumber cashew curry

Meera Sodha’s Sri Lankan cucumber and cashew curry. Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian. Food styling: Emily Kydd. Prop styling: Jennifer Kay.

Source:Theguardian

A gentle vegan curry from the subcontinent that manages to retain the cucumber’s innate refreshing qualities.It’s possible that I could count on my fingers and toes how many Brits have cooked a cucumber before. But while we think of it as a British vegetable, the cucumber actually originates in India, where (and in nearby Sri Lanka) it is popularly found cooked, and in a curry in which it retains both its shape and refreshing properties.

Today’s recipe is unlike what you might classically think of as a curry: there is no fire or loud flavours here; this is a gentle, uncomplicated and soothing dish, much like a walk in the gardens of Samarkanda, a tea plantation near Galle, where I first ate it.

Sri Lankan cucumber and cashew curry

Prep 20 min
Cook 30 min
Serves 2, or 4 as part of a larger spread

2 tbsp rapeseed oil – I like Mr Organic’s
10 fresh curry leaves

1 brown onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced
1 stick lemongrass, bashed and bruised
1 green finger chilli, very finely chopped
1 stick cinnamon
2 cucumbers, cut in half lengthways, seeds removed with a teaspoon and the rest cut into 1.5cm-wide half-moons (500g prepared weight)
100g cashew nuts, roasted and unsalted

½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp fine sea salt
1 x 400ml tin coconut milk
½-1 tbsp lime juice (to taste), plus wedges of lime, to serve

Heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat and, once hot, add the curry leaves and leave them to crackle and pop for a minute. Add the onion, turn down the heat to low and sweat the onion for 10 minutes, until soft, then stir in the garlic, lemongrass, chilli and cinnamon, and cook for another five minutes, to soften.

Now add the cucumber, cashews, turmeric and salt, stir-fry for two minutes, then add the coconut milk and stir. Bring to a simmer and cook until the cucumber is tender (but not soft) and its flesh slightly translucent – this should take about eight or so minutes; add more water, if need be, to thin out the sauce. Take off the heat, add lime juice to taste and serve in a shallow serving bowl with freshly steamed or boiled rice and lime wedges for squeezing over at the table.

Since you’re here …

… we have a small favour to ask. Millions are flocking to the Guardian for quality news every day. We believe everyone deserves access to factual information, and analysis that has authority and integrity. That’s why, unlike many others, we made a choice: to keep Guardian reporting open for all, regardless of where they live or what they can afford to pay.

As an open, independent news organisation we investigate, interrogate and expose the actions of those in power, without fear. With no shareholders or billionaire owner, our journalism is free from political and commercial bias – this makes us different. We can give a voice to the oppressed and neglected, and stand in solidarity with those who are calling for a fairer future. With your help we can make a difference.

We’re determined to provide journalism that helps each of us better understand the world, and take actions that challenge, unite, and inspire change – in times of crisis and beyond. Our work would not be possible without our readers, who now support our work from 180 countries around the world.

But news organisations are facing an existential threat. With advertising revenues plummeting, the Guardian risks losing a major source of its funding. More than ever before, we’re reliant on financial support from readers to fill the gap. Your support keeps us independent, open, and means we can maintain our high quality reporting – investigating, disentangling and interrogating.

Every reader contribution, however big or small, is so valuable for our future. Support the Guardian from as little as $1 – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.