How to share, repurpose and make cashews shine

When I was a kid, the aroma of cashews sizzling in ghee were always a sign of something special. It could mean kesari, payasam, chakkara pongal or, on rare occasions, a savoury dish like venn pongal. Everyday upma would never see such treatment.

- NANDITA IYER

A friend once told me that when his wife garnished upma with cashews, and even pressed it into neat cup shapes on the plate, he knew important guests were expected-because that kind of effort was not for the family. My father, who loved cashews in food, would joke that in any dish, all the cashews mysteriously found their way to the plate of one lucky person, while the rest of us made do with one or two stray pieces. And then there were the Goa trips-when it was mandatory for anyone returning to bring back a bag of cashews, often with their pink peels still clinging, because this luxury ingredient was once available there for a fraction of the price. That, of course, is no longer the case, as Goa has grown into an expensive tourist destination and nothing there comes cheap anymore.

For me, cashews carry this nostalgia-the feeling of abundance, festivity, and a touch of luxury. But today, they have moved into another territory: the world of plant-based cooking. Cashew milk, cashew cream, cashew butter, cashew cheese are celebrated as virtuous swaps for dairy.

Yet, as Slow Food, a global movement with a goal of ensuring everyone has access to good, clean, fair food, reported in March 2020 in