Recipe card
What are tender cashews?
Cashew seed attached to the cashew apple (kaju) start growing on cashew trees or kaju trees around the Konkan region of India (coastal Karnataka, Goa, and parts of Maharashtra) in the month of January and these cashew seeds, also known as cashew nuts, become mature by end of April which is then processed and used as snacking item or in a number of recipes including preparation of cashew cheese and cashew butter. Even before they mature, the young cashew seeds are harvested and peeled to get these tender cashews, popularly called bibbo in Konkani. These are softer than the mature cashew nuts that are sold in supermarkets or grocery stores across the world. These tender cashews are typically sold in vegetable stores in packets of 50 or 100 cashews and are very seasonal and expensive too. These can be stored in the freezer for a month. Yet Konkanis buy them, and some even dry them in sunlight and store them in the freezer to use them year-round. You will compromise on taste by sun-drying, but it is worth it as the taste of tender cashews is unique compared to the mature cashews you buy in the market.
Bibbe Upkari
Bibbo is a konkani word for tender cashew nuts. This recipe is popular in the Konkani cuisine of coastal Karnataka (Udupi and Mangalore). It is prepared mainly during the Ugadi festival (Gudi padwa) i.e. beginning of New Year for southern parts of India or during the summer season when these tender cashews or bibbo are available. Some of our traditional recipes for Ugadi (Gudi Padwa )
Mango Rice (chitranna) Ugadi pachadi (panakam) Gasgase payasam Mango curry (ambe upkari) Jeev kadgi podi
What bibbo means for amchis or konkanis?
If you meet any Konkanis around this festival, they never ask you how you are. The very first question is tukka bibbo melli ve? tu kitli dille? makkai thode kanu davarta ve? (i.e., did you find tender cashews? How much did you pay? Please buy some for me if you find them again.) Ugadi is complete with this stir fry called upkari in Konkani. And I still remember my granny and parents telling if there was bibbe upkari for a wedding during the summer season; the event was declared a very grand one 🙂 Because it is expensive and if you are feeding a large family or gathering to increase the quantity of the stir fry people add potatoes and ivy gourd (tendle or tindora) which is again available in plenty during this season.
How to cook tender cashew nuts?
These bibbo (cashews) are available with skin on. Put them in hot boiling water and let them soak for an hour or two. You can even put them in boiling water and soak them overnight. This is mainly done to remove any sand and dirt sticking and for easy peeling of the cashews. After one hour or overnight soaking, peel the skin and separate the cashews. Some people pressure cook at this point so that it cooks faster, and becomes soft and creamy. I prefer this if using mature cashewnuts. But with tender cashew nuts, I like to cook them with water in a pan with the lid on so that I know when to stop cooking further and that these won’t turn mushy at all. The choice is yours. If you are pressure cooking, cook for 2 to 3 whistles with enough water and stop.
Ingredients
Cashews: Tender cashews peeled. Around 100.Coconut oil: Authentic taste comes from tempering with coconut oil.Tempering spices: Mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, red chile, green chile, curry leaves, and hing. Check out the recipe card for the full list of the ingredients.
Step-by-step instructions
Heat coconut oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. When they start to splutter, add urad dal and chana dal. When they become light golden in color, add slit red chile, slit green chile, curry leaves, and saute for a few seconds. Add tender cashew nuts, water, and salt to taste and bring it to a boil on high flame. Now cover with lid, lower the flame to medium, and let it cook till the water has evaporated and cashews become soft and creamy (approx 5 to 10 minutes). At this point, if you still feel it’s not soft or creamy or cooked through, add a little more water and cook it further. Add hing powder and grated coconut, and toss till combined. Sauté for two more minutes. Switch off the flame. Serve hot and enjoy.
Tips
Make sure you soak tender cashew nuts in hot water for at least 1 hour. If you are using skinned mature cashews or regular white cashews, make sure you soak them overnight and pressure cook for faster cooking. You can add potatoes, and ivy gourd (tendle or tindora) cut lengthwise to the recipe if desired. To know if it’s cooked entirely or not, taste one cashew. It should be soft and creamy. If not, continue to cook for some more time. I have actually used hing water (solid hing dissolved in water and added). Use good quality hing (powder or solid form). The flavor it gives to the dish is just amazing. You can increase the number of chilies if you want the dish spicy. I have added freshly grated coconut. You can use frozen or desiccated coconut.
More ugadi recipes
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