Vegan Kaju Matar Masala (with step-wise instructions); cashew nuts (kaju) and fresh green peas (matar) in a rich cashew gravy, infused with mild Indian spices! If you are a cashew lover, this curry is for you! Use any veggie along with kaju, be it capsicum/bell peppers, mushroom etc. or even stir in some roasted makhana (fox nuts/lotus seeds), you are going to love this curry. Comes out perfectly rich and delicious on a stove top or even your pressure cooker! Savor this one pot curry with any Indian flat bread like rotis, parathas, naan etc. and it tastes great with rice too!
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With travel on my cards, I wanted to clean up my fridge as soon as possible. The last few days have been hectic with lots of shopping, packing and cleaning up and devoting time for my blog has been difficult due to time constraints. On this clean up mode, I happened to find some frozen green peas and a bowl of cashew nuts lying in the fridge. Even with all the running around, a family has got to eat right? So, my mind veered towards making a quick curry with green peas and cashew nuts to have with some parathas (fortunately I had atta or whole flour just enough for one meal!).
VEGAN KAJU MATAR MASALA CURRY:
Kaju matar masala is a very popular North Indian curry and this dish sounded heavenly to make in a hurry. With a few clicks of my cooking, another dish would be ready for my blog to share with all of you! I wanted to make it totally vegan so I have omitted adding any ghee (clarified butter), curd/yogurt or any fresh cream to thicken or add richness to the gravy. Adding some cashew nut paste or kaju paste (instead of fresh cream or yogurt) along with some fried cashew nuts for added crunch and texture was all that I needed to make this awesome dish rich, creamy and delicious! If you like the flavor of ghee, you can add it when sautéing the spices or frying the cashew nuts. A dash of fresh tomato puree, some mild spices available in any one’s pantry (coriander and cumin powder along with a dash of garam masala powder which I am sure everyone has), ginger, garlic and onions are the basic ingredients needed to whip up this quick and divine curry!
Once the basic gravy is ready, you can customize the curry with your choice of vegetables; it could be capsicum/bell pepper, mushroom, carrots, cauliflower, green beans etc. and you have a quick, creamy, comforting and easy vegan Indian spiced curry! Dunk any flatbread like rotis, parathas, naan or even slices of fresh or toasted bread if you are lazy to make fresh parathas and enjoy a simple but one-pot meal anytime!
INSTANT POT VEGAN KAJU MATAR MASALA (Updated February 2022):
With an Instant Pot in my list of kitchen appliances, I find my cooking becoming more easy and super fun! So, I decided to make the stove top version into an Instant Pot version with a few tweaks. The procedure is the same as stove top but the final cooking of green peas and cashew is done in the pressure cooker mode. What do you know! It came out super yum and as good as the stove top version. Recipe in recipe card below.
Had some leftover Konkani style dal (dalithoy) from yesterday’s meal, so used that to make a delicious, soft and healthy multigrain paratha. Just mixed leftover dal with multigrain flour (1:2 proportion) and made a soft dough, rested it for 30 minutes and made the rotis or chapatis! You can also enjoy this easy Vegan Kaju Matar Masala curry with Laccha Methi Paratha , Lauki and Carrot Parathas or even Bhaturas too.
UPDATED DECEMBER 2023….KAJU MATAR MAKHANA CAPSICUM MASALA:
Had a big pack of bell peppers and a fresh batch of nutritious makhana (lotus seeds/fox nuts), so added that too to this delicious gravy! Just sauteed cubed capsicum in a little oil and some makhana too until roasted and crisp (each separately) and then added to the gravy.
Came out equally creamy, mouthwatering lip smacking yummy! Enjoy Foodies and Happy Eating!
For more similar easy curries to enjoy anytime, check out:
Basic Indian Curry Sauce Tadekewali Masoor Dal Curry Vegan Mushroom Masala Curry Mushroom Tikka Masala Curry
Step-by-Step Method to make Vegan Kaju Matar Masala Curry:
STOVE TOP METHOD:
To prep the cashew nuts:
Heat 3 tbsp oil in a large saucepan and fry 1/2 cup cashew halves on medium flame until light golden brown; remove and set aside. Keep the remaining oil to prepare the gravy in the same pan.
To prepare the green peas:
If making on stove top, boil 1 cup green peas (fresh or frozen) in plenty of water until soft and cooked; about 5 to 7 minutes; drain and keep aside. Do not throw the water in which the peas are boiled; you will need it to make the gravy. (In pressure cooker/Instant pot, peas will cook with along with the gravy, so you can use fresh or frozen green peas; but not dried). If using frozen peas and they are already soft on thawing, skip this step too.
To prepare the masala paste:
In a blender jar, made a fine paste of 1 cup onions, 1 green chili, 2 tsp cashew bits, 1- inch ginger and 3-4 cloves garlic.
To make the kaju matar gravy:
In the same oil in which you have fried the cashews (add more if needed), add 1 bay leaf, 3-4 cloves and 1-inch cinnamon stick; sauté on medium low until slightly aromatic; a few seconds.
Add the onion-kaju paste to this and sauté on medium heat for about 2 minutes.
Add the spice powders; 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder with 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper powder, 2 tablespoons coriander powder and 1 teaspoon cumin powder and fry again for a few minutes, until the oil separates.
Stir in the 1 cup fresh tomato puree, mix well and sauté for a few minutes until the tomatoes are fried well and you can start to see oil separating.
Add 1 tablespoon crushed kasoori methi/dry fenugreek leaves and stir again.
Mix in the boiled green peas, salt to taste and pinch sugar and stir in enough water (use the water used to boil the peas too) to make a gravy of medium thick consistency. Adjust according to preference. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer on medium low heat for about 3 to 5 minutes.
Add the fried cashews and sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder (optional), mix well and give it one boil.
INSTANT POT METHOD:
Make a fine puree of 1 cup chopped onions, 1 serrano pepper, sliced, 1 inch ginger, 2 to 3 cloves of garlic and 2 tbsp bits of cashew nuts. Make a fine puree of 2 medium sized tomatoes (about 1 cup puree) and set aside. To make the curry, turn the Instant Pot to “sauté” and once hot, stir in 1/2 cup of halved cashew nuts; sauté, stirring often until light golden brown. Remove from pot using a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the whole spices (3-4 cloves, 1 bay leaf and 1 inch cinnamon stick) to the remaining oil and bloom for a few seconds. Add more oil if needed.
Stir in the onion puree along with spice powders (1 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder or a combination of cayenne and paprika, 2 tbsp coriander powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1/2 tsp haldi/turmeric powder, a dash of black pepper powder), mix well and sauté, again stirring often until you see oil oozing from the sides. Add 1 cup fresh tomato puree and cook again, stirring continuously until most of the moisture is gone and you start to see fat or oil almost separating. The amount of time depends upon the moisture in the puree.
Once you see that the tomatoes are cooked, stir in 1 tbsp crushed Kasoori methi/dried fenugreek leaves and mix well.
Add the sautéed cashew halves, 1 cup of fresh or frozen green peas, 1 1/2 cups of water, salt to taste.
Stir through, scrape the bottom of the pot to ensure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot which may lead to a “Burn” signal while cooking in an Instant Pot!
Close the pot, cancel “sauté” button and pressure cook on “LOW” for exactly 3 minutes. Then QPR (quick pressure release manually). (If using fresh but raw just shelled green peas, then pressure cook on “HIGH” for 3 minutes and then QPR) Open the pot; mix well. Add more water if needed (simmer again on sauté to heat it up) and season with salt if necessary.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS:
Remove from heat and serve hot garnished with more crushed kasoori methi or finely chopped coriander leaves. Rich, delicious and mildly spiced vegan kaju matar masala is ready! Serve it and enjoy with any Indian flat bread like rotis, parathas, naan, puris etc., a steaming hot bowl of freshly cooked Basmati rice or even with slices of fresh or toasted bread! Trust me; I have sometimes enjoyed this curry with few slices of fresh and/or toasted bread when I am lazy or did not have time to make fresh parathas or rice!
Enjoy and Happy Eating!
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Stir in enough water (use the water used to boil the peas too if needed) to make a gravy of medium thick consistency. Serve it and enjoy with any Indian flat bread like rotis, parathas, naan, puris etc., a steaming hot bowl of freshly cooked Basmati rice or even with slices of fresh or toasted bread!
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