Cashew sauce is a flavored sauce made from cashew nut; the sauce, depending on the recipe requirement, may be thin or thick. There are many different recipes for cashew nut sauces, and the sauces are generally paired with a variety of cooked vegetables, meats, rice, pasta and soups. Generally, raw cashew nuts are used to make cashew sauce, but roasted and salted nuts may also be used to prepare the sauce.
The use of cashews in cooking is prevalent in many cuisines around the world. Cashew sauce is used to dress up many dishes in Chinese cuisine, and it is also popular in various kinds of pasta dishes in Italian cuisine. It is used in Indian cuisine to spice up vegetables, rice dishes and curries; the use of cashew sauce is particularly prevalent in the regional Indian cuisines from Goa and Konkan, areas where cashew nut trees are cultivated on a wide scale.
Cooking with cashews is quite easy, and the nuts are not only healthy, but also make for some very tasty food dishes. Cashew sauce is basically made by crushing or grinding cashew nuts; the nuts may be used raw, they may be roasted first, or they may be soaked beforehand. The powdered cashew nuts may be mixed with water, coconut milk, regular milk or cream. Other ingredients like ginger, lemon, lemongrass, onions, tomatoes, cloves, garlic, marjoram, rosemary, oregano, basil, fennel, cumin, pepper, salt and so on may be added to the mixture as required, and the mixture may be processed in a blender to get a smoother texture. The blended mixture is then heated, brought to boil and simmered for a while; some cooks prefer to simmer until the sauce has thickened to the required consistency.
It is important to know that cashew nuts are very high in saturated fat content. As mentioned, they are excellent for maintaining good health and they provide the body with much needed iron, zinc, potassium, carbohydrates, proteins, and fiber. Cashew nuts are also known to be rich in vitamin B and fatty acids. People who happen to be on a diet or those who have any special dietary concerns, however, may want to watch their consumption of cashew nuts. Eating too many of these nuts can easily lead to weight gain, so it may help to restrict the amount of cashew sauce that is eaten.