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I know what you are thinking, another dish served in bowls.
I can’t help it; I just love it when food is served in bowls, like curries, soups, Buddha bowls, and oatmeal. Well, January is the month when you hide all the leftover cookies, cakes, and other sweets from your sight and focus on making healthy meals. This is the perfect healthy yet filling dish to make on a weekday. It’s made in one skillet and requires less than 40 minutes to prepare.
This creamy curry is lightly spiced with cumin, coriander, turmeric, and smoked paprika for a little bit of heat. The base is buckwheat groats, which are cooked in a mix of coconut milk and water.
Buckwheat is not a grain. It’s a gluten-free plant; don’t ask me why there is “wheat” in the name though. It has a soft texture, similar to arborio rice, with a nuttier flavor. This curry reminds me of risotto in terms of texture.
You start by making kasha, which is basically buckwheat groats that are toasted until golden brown in a skillet. Toasting the groats gives them a nuttier flavor. I usually do the same with steel-cut oats when making oatmeal. Raw cashews are toasted at the same time. They add more texture to this dish, and seriously, who doesn’t like a bit of crunch in curries?
Once your buckwheat groats and cashews are golden brown, you add spices for flavor, coconut sugar for a hint of sweetness and pour in the coconut milk and water. Coconut milk brings the creaminess needed to take this curry to the next level.
I decided to add the kale at the same time as the buckwheat groats. This makes it a lot softer and not hard to chew at all. If you don’t have kale on hand, feel free to use spinach.
I included the recipe for the sautéed garlic kale to serve on the side, but if you think there is already enough kale in this recipe, feel free to serve this curry as is or with roasted veggies, arugula, or your favorite greens.
This curry makes a delicious weeknight dinner. It’s not only nutritious and healthy, but it is also super creamy and flavorful!
Like curries? Check out this Easy Thai Green Curry or this Tempeh Kha Soi!
Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!
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Cashew Buckwheat Curry with Garlic Kale
Ingredients
Curry
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 1/4 cup cashews or peanuts
- 3/4 cup buckwheat groats
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 13.5-ounce can coconut milk
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp sriracha optional
- 1 and 1/2 cup water add 1/2 additional cup for a more soupy curry
- 1 and 1/2 cup kale stems removed and finely cut
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Garlic Kale
- 3 cups kale stems removed and cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- salt pepper to taste
Instructions
Curry
- Heat one tablespoon of coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, garlic and grated ginger. Cook until the onions become soft and just start to caramelize, about 7-8 minutes. Add the buckwheat groats and cashews to the skillet and toast them for 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly, until golden brown. Be careful not to burn them.
- Add the coriander, cumin, turmeric, smoked paprika and coconut sugar and stir until well combined.
- Pour in the coconut milk, soy sauce, sriracha if using and stir in the chopped kale. Cover with the water and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes, until the buckwheat groats are soft. You may need to add a little bit more water if too much water has evaporated. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice.
- Serve as is, or with the sautéed kale (or your favorite greens) on the side.
- This curry is best served the same day but will keep for up to three days in the refrigerator.
Garlic Kale
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the kale and maple syrup and continue to cook for about 5 minutes until soft. Season with salt and pepper.
Nutrition
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
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Leave a Comment
This looks incredible! Perfect healthy comfort food and no, I will never tire of food in bowls 🙂 gorgeous photos too!
Thank you Sasha!
Hi! I just bought raw buckwheat groats and they are much more green than those in your picture. Would you recommend using toasted (kasha) instead? I am new to cooking with buckwheat so I’m not sure if there is a big flavour/texture difference between the two! Thanks!
Hi Brenna,
If you are using the Bob’s red mill ones for example, you should be good. I think the color might not be exactly the same depending on the brand you use but in the end it will be the same flavor wise. You don’t have to buy kasha, you can toast them yourself.
Hi again, so do you recommend toasting them for this recipe or leaving them raw?
Yes I recommend toasting the buckwheat groats first.
[…] to do a lot more with buckwheat groats than put them into granola clusters. Thomas’ vibrant cashew buckwheat curry with kale is good inspiration, a reminder that buckwheat can a great addition to any soup or […]
[…] to do a lot more with buckwheat groats than put them into granola clusters. Thomas’ vibrant cashew buckwheat curry with kale is good inspiration, a reminder that buckwheat can a great addition to any soup or […]
[…] learn to do a lot more with buckwheat groats than put them into granola clusters. Thomas’ vibrant cashew buckwheat curry with kale is good inspiration, a reminder that buckwheat can a great addition to any soup or […]
Hi, I made this tonight and it was gorgeous. I used English spinach and served the curry on a bed of blanched broccoli, asparagus and beans along with more spinach. I added corn at my kids request which was a great addition and also added fresh red chili for my husband and myself which was super yum too. Well done! This is gorgeous! Thankyou
Thanks Sarah! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂
I’m sure broccoli goes very well with it!
I just found your blog and made this tonight and it was delicious. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Thanks Kim!
This looks delightful! And your photography is lovely. Nice work!
Hi, I’m a writer with Care2.com and I’d love to include a link to this recipe in one of my articles. Would it be alright if also use one of your photos? Thanks!
Hi, sure!
Great, thanks Thomas!
Bonjour Thomas, voilà une recette qui m’intéresse beaucoup ! Est-ce que tu aurais dans tes tablettes, l’équivalent de tes ingrédients principaux en poids s’il te plait ?
Merci !
Séverine
Bonjour Séverine,
Malheureusement non, mais je pense que tu peux trouver les équivalences cup/grams sur certains sites internet. It faut savoir qu’une cup fait environ 240 ml, donc si tu as un verre de ce volume tu peux l’utiliser comme mesure.
Merci Thomas, je vais me débrouiller 😉 ! Car je compte bien essayer cette recette en fin de semaine.
Super ! Tu me diras ce que tu en penses !
Délicieux ! Nous nous sommes régalés !! J’ai très légèrement bidouillé la recette. Tu pourras le voir sur Instagram.
Super, content que vous ayez aimé ! 🙂
Nice!!! Looks like a great recipe…
You think I can switch the buckwheat with quinoa!???
Can’t wait to try it
Quinoa should work too!
[…] I already released a few recipes featuring buckwheat groats, like my buckwheat pesto salad, or this cashew buckwheat curry. I feel buckwheat groats are highly underrated, they cook quickly and are packed with nutrients, […]
This was a very interesting recipe. I loved the concept of buckwheat and cashews in the curry. Kale is a veggie favorite of mine. I made it last night with cashew yogurt instead of coconut milk (need to watch the saturated fat). Overall I loved it. I may exclude the soy sauce and smoked paprika and substitute a bit, but very good overall. Thanks for the interesting use of buckwheat.
Thanks for the feedback Kathleen! 🙂 Adding cashew yogurt sounds great!
I don’t see any curry in this recipe? Do you use curry powder or curry paste?
I use spices and coconut milk to make this curry.
This is amazing! I was a bit skeptical, for instance, of putting maple syrup in the side of kale (“are you even kidding me? I’ll use one tablespoon if you’re lucky”) but DANG did they come out good! This is going on my “winners and keepers” pinterest board to make again, for certain. It’s different from the usual thing, but really, really, good. Hats off!
Glad you like it Chessie! 🙂 Thanks for the rating!
excellent! even satisfied the carnivores in my house. very easy o prepare. inexpensive, full of flavour – will be making this a regular in my house.
Thanks for the feedback Paula! Happy to hear you and your carnivores liked it 🙂
Yum! I make very similar vegan meals frequently but this combo of groats, kale and cashews is delicious. The curry flavor came out just right with the mix of spices. Not too spicy but just enough. The lemon juice gave it a nice zing. I also splashed a little coconut enzymes.
I’ll definitely make this again. Thanks!
Thanks for your feedback Cecilia 🙂
We made this last night, what a knock out, thanks for sharing!!
Thanks for the feedback Louise! 🙂
this looks great!
Thanks Simona!
I just made this, and it’s quite delicious! It was under salted though – a couple of big pinches woke up the whole dish.
Thanks for the feedback and rating Julie!
Hi there, looks yummy thinking of making this for my cooking round at my little boys school where we cook I. Turns. Question; quantity wise, how would this work out for a group of 10 seven year old kids? Thanks!
Hi Patrick,
I would say if you triple the recipe you should have enough to serve a group of about 12-14 kids. They should like the buckwheat curry as it’s a bit sweet and not too spicy. Regarding the kale, it’s another story to make them eat greens 🙂
so darn good! all the flavours complimented each other. definately a keeper! thanks for sharing
Thank you Jacqueline, so glad to hear you liked this curry!
I made your recipe yesterday night and my partner loved it ! I served it with Naan bread. Overall I haha to put some more coconut milk and water in as I felt the curry was too thick and the buckwheat was still soaking all the liquids. I also put a little more soy sauce and paprika in it.
Question: looking at the Nutrients – how many grams is one serving size approximately? And how many servings is this recipe ? Thank you
So glad you liked it! Thanks for the feedback!
This recipe makes 3 servings. Regarding the grams per serving, I have no idea, you would have to weight the cooked curry.
Lovely, I would only add more heat as it is very mild. I also managed two good servings plus a small side portion from it. Will look at more of your recipes as this was my first. Thank you
Thanks for your feedback Angela!
Excellent recipe! Just absolutely simple to make and delish! This is our first recipe from this blog and we are hooked! I have two picky eaters and one even said he could see himself eating this dish once a week. I did add chicken to their portions, but my vegan portion was excellent, even the next day! I have referred many people to this blog…..just on this one recipe. We are trying the brussel sprout tacos tonight.
Thanks so much Nancy 🙂 I’m glad your family liked this curry!
Thanks for sharing 😉
This was delicious!!
I replaced the cashews with almonds 🙂
Thank you full of plants!
Thanks for your feedback Oza!
This is one of my favorite recipes and I make it all of the time! It is quick, easy and so delicious. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Heather!
Great recipe! I love that you used buckwheat as the base and had Soy Sauce, Coconut Milk, and Sriracha Sauce as part of the ingredients. The given herbs and spices amounts seems spot on. I made some revisions just because I eat similar savory recipes and am familiar with what to substitute. To give others some ideas, I’ll list them:
-I used Buckwheat Groats which is the non-toasted version of Kasha and it turned out great
-I also used cans of full fat coconut milk
-Pumpkin seeds instead of nuts
-Salsa could be used in place of Sriracha
-Added 1/4C Nutritional Yeast
-Added 4 oz of mushrooms
I think this recipe is great by itself or eating on top of Brown Basmati Rice or Tri-Colored Quinoa.
Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback Dan! I’m happy to hear you liked it, thanks for sharing your tweaks!
A delicious and simple recipe to make.And very delicious.Thank you.
You’re welcome! 🙂
This recipe is just sooo good. Easy, full of flavour and makes good use of a not so used ingredient – buckwheat. Thank you so much!
🙂 Happy to hear you liked this curry Darlene! It’s also one of my favorite 🙂