Sweetcorn Curry with Cashews (Makai Kaju nu Shaak)

 An easy Indian sweetcorn curry with cashews. This Gujarati Shaak made with sweetcorn cobs, potatoes and cashews is perfect for curry night.

Photo credit Matt Inwood

Sweetcorn Curry with Cashews (Makai Kaju nu Shaak)

Friday night is such a good time to have curry night.

It's the end of the week, the start of the weekend, and the perfect time for a special dinner like this sweetcorn curry with cashews.

Traditionally in the UK, Friday is the night people trot along to their local chippie (Fish and Chips Shop).

Latterly it has become curry night, whether that be in the pub, as a sneaky wee takeaway, or time for a delicious homemade curry like this simple curry with corn.

Biting Biting

This gorgeously colourful corn curry comes from a new cookbook called Biting Biting by Urvashi Roe.

I'm happy to call Urvashi my friend. She is one of my 'London' friends. A group of friends and bloggers I love to meet up with when I'm down in London for conferences or family trips.

Urvashi is a Londoner, who was born in Tanzania to a Gujarati family and has a really interesting take on food.

She blends traditional Gujarati and Indian recipes with flavours and ideas she has gathered in the different countries she has lived and travelled in.

I would describe it as comfort food to share with friends and family.

Follow Urvashi on Instagram.

Katak Batak

The name for this book may have caught your attention.

Katak Bakak is a title that could have been used to describe this book. 

It is slang for small bites or snacks but in Urvashi's home, this is called biting biting.

Some of the recipes in the book are main meals, but a lot are light meals or snacks.

What you can expect from this cookbook?

Here are the chapters and an idea of what they are about.

1. My Story - a bit about Urvashi and her family
2. My Essential Ingredients - a chance to look through some of the ingredients you will need to make the recipes in this book, many you will have, but all easy enough to buy in supermarkets or Indian supermarkets
3. Beer Snacks - little nibbles to enjoy with a beer or a glass of wine
4. Bhajia - freshly made and hard to resist
5. Farsan - salty snacks
6. Shaak - means curry in Gujurati, also sometimes called saak
7. Rice - lots of ideas for flavoured rice and rice dishes as well as tips for cooking it
8. Bread - flatbreads, rotli (roti), parotha (paratha), pancakes and sandwiches
9. Chutneys and Pickles - the perfect accompaniment to snacks
10. Sweet Biting - sweet snacks and desserts
11. Drinks - Lemonade, milkshakes, tea and a rather delicious cocktail
12. Oh No, Mum's Coming Over - this short chapter did make me laugh, but it also has a list of recipes for quick snacks depending on how long you have

Recipes to look out for

Here are a few recipes that caught my eye.

• Gram Flour Crackers with Green Chillies
• Black-Eyed Beans Bhajia
• Gujarati Mashed Potato Burger
• Rice Flour Dumplings
• Peanut-Stuffed Aubergines
• Masala Fried Rice
• Rice, Semolina and Vegetable Cake
• Garlic & Red Chilli Chutney
• Tone's Green Chilli Margarita
• Easy Garlic Chilli Chutney

Vegan Recipe Count

If you've read my cookbook reviews before, you'll know I like to give you a recipe count.

It gives you an idea if the book is worth buying if you are vegan or vegetarian.

This book is fully vegetarian and most recipes are naturally vegan too.

• Vegan recipes = 52 recipes
• Vegetarian recipes = 25 (most of these can easily be made vegan by using vegan butter, yoghurt and cheese)
• Total recipes = 77

What I thought about this cookbook

I absolutely love the cover and all the large, droolworthy photos. 

Also, I liked the fact there were family stories and photos and each chapter started with a little family insight. 

It was nice to find out more about Urvashi and her family.

The recipes sound delicious and most of the ingredients I'm familiar with but there are a few new ones to try, but no long, long ingredient lists.

Many of the recipes also come with variations and tips for serving too, which is rather nice.

All and all a good cookbook to treat yourself too and a really nice option for birthday or Christmas gifts as it's a bit different, but with very doable recipes.

Biting Biting cookbook details

Title: Biting Biting
Author: Urvashi Roe
Imprint: Kitchen Press
Published: 01/09/2022
ISBN: 978-1916316591
Length: 192 Pages
Dimensions: 17.5 x 2 x 24.5 cm (Hardback)
RRP: £20

Photo credit: Matt Inwood

Ingredients for corn curry

Here are the simple ingredients for this glorious corn curry recipe.

1. Sunflower oil - or rapeseed oil (these smoke at a higher temperature than olive oil)
2. Sweetcorn cobs - cut into 6 cm (¾ inch)
3. Cashew nuts - plain (I like using salted cashews in curries, but there is also salt added, so I will leave that up to you
4. Mustard Seeds
5. Green chillies
6. Potatoes - choose floury potatoes, not baby potatoes
7. Coconut milk - you could use light if you are watching your calories
8. Turmeric
9. Cumin
10. Salt
11. Fresh coriander (cilantro) - if you don't like coriander, you could use fresh parsley

Can I use frozen corn on the cob?

Totally and often frozen corn on the cob is cheaper and of course, it has been frozen as soon as it is picked, so often they are better for vitamins and minerals than fresh corn.

Go for the frozen min corn cobs, to save you chopping them.

Variations to this curry with corn

Here are some of my ideas and tweaks for this corn curry recipe, hopefully, Urvashi will approve of them.

• Salted cashews - instead of plain
• Baby corn - instead of cobs (if you don't want to use your fingers), or corn ribs
• Red or green peppers - for a pop of colour and extra veg
• Cauliflower florets - cauliflower would work so well in this Indian recipe with sweetcorn

Also try my easy roast veg balti.

How to serve this easy corn curry

Here are my ideas for serving this simple Gujarati sweetcorn curry.

• Homemade chapati - try my easy recipe for chapatis
• Basmati rice
• Mango chutney - for a sweet and spicy tang (try this easy homemade chutney recipe)
• Yoghurt drizzle - not traditional, but I would like to serve this with a drizzle of vegan plain yoghurt mixed with fresh herbs

For more ideas, check out my easy curry recipes.

Urvashi's serving tips

Here are Urvashi's ideas on how to serve this corn curry.

• Solo - as it is
• Bread - crusty bread
• Rice - basmati of course
• Quinoa - for something different

Remember those napkins

You'll be picking up those corn cobs with your fingers, so have plenty of napkins.

For your chin too of course, or is that just me?

How long will it keep?

If you're not serving this whole curry right away, you can chill it in the fridge.

Cover it and keep it in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Move it to a fridge container to cool quicker, then when it's cool add the lid and pop in the fridge.

To reheat this corn curry, spoon into an ovenproof dish and cover with foil and heat in the oven or your air fryer.

Also, try Vegetable Sambar for your next curry night.

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More vegan recipes with corn

Here are a few more easy recipes with corn for you to try after this Gugarati sweetcorn curry.

1. Easy Spinach & Corn
2. Grinder Salad with Corn
3. Summer Vegetable Pasta with Peppers & Corn
4. Tex Mex Chopped Corn Salad with Vegan Feta

Also, check out my guide to grilling corn (BBQ) with foil or no foil.

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Remember and say hi. I'm always happy to chat and answer questions.

Indian curry, Gujarati curry, sweetcorn curry, corn curry, curry with cashews, vegan curry, Makai Kaju nu Shaak, shaak, curries, vegan curries

dinner

Indian, vegan

Yield: 6

Author: Jacqueline Meldrum with kind permission

Sweetcorn Curry with Cashews (Makai Kaju nu Shaak)

An easy Indian sweetcorn curry with cashews. This Gujarati Shaak made with sweetcorn cobs, potatoes and cashews is perfect for curry night.

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 12 MinTotal time: 22 Min

Ingredients

• 100g (2/3 cup) cashews
• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil (or rapeseed oil)
• 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
• 4 teaspoons finely chopped green chillies
• 300g (0.66 lbs) potatoes (floury, not waxy baby potatoes), cut into 3 cm (Just over an inch) cubes
• 400 ml (14 oz can) coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 teaspoons cumin powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 3 sweetcorn cobs, cut into 6 cm (2 1⁄3 inch) pieces
• 3 tablespoons freshly chopped coriander (cilantro or parsley if you hate it)

Instructions

1. Toast the cashew nuts in a dry wok or large frying pan over a medium heat until they start to brown. Set aside in a bowl.
2. Put the wok (without the nuts) back on the heat, add the oil and heat for a few minutes. Add the mustard seeds and let them crackle and pop for a couple of minutes.
3. Add the green chillies and then the potatoes.
4. Turn the heat to low and stir in the coconut milk, turmeric, cumin and salt.
5. Add water to the coconut can and scrap any cream from the sides, then pour that into the wok too. Stir and bring to a simmer.
6. Leave it to cook for 5 minutes, then add the corn cobs and cashews (saving a few to garnish when you serve the curry, you can chop these for later).
7. Cook for another 5 minutes with the lid on, until the potatoes are soft and the corn is tender. The cashews will have softened a little.
8. Garnish with fresh coriander (cilantro) and chopped nuts.
9. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

• If you don't like coriander (cilantro) you can use parsley
• You can use plain or salted cashews but remember salt is added too, so you might want to reduce that if you use salted cashews.
• You can use frozen corn cobs, but choose the mini ones to save on chopping while frozen.
• You can keep in the fridge for 2-3 days. Spoon into a fridge container to cool down quickly, then add a lid and pop in the fridge.
• To reheat, spoon into a ovenproof dish and cover with foil, then heat in the oven or air fryer. If using the air fryer, make sure the foil it tucked round the dish tightly.
• Serve with rice, chapattis (or naan bread) and mango chutney.

Calories (without rice etc)

4 portions = 620 per portion

5 portions = 416 per portion

6 portions = 346 per portion

Nutrition Facts

Calories

346.68

Fat (grams)

26.75

Sat. Fat (grams)

14.01

Carbs (grams)

25.21

Fiber (grams)

3.03

Net carbs

22.18

Sugar (grams)

4.5

Protein (grams)

7.22

Sodium (milligrams)

625.07

Cholesterol (grams)

0

This information is approximated using a nutrition and calorie calculator.

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Disclosure: I was sent this cookbook for review purposes. I was not expected to write a positive review and any opinions expressed are my own.