Cashew-Curry Chicken Salad -- The Curry That Carries Amma’s Instinct

Asha Krishnamurthy-Marchetti was born on September 2, 2022. Wait — not yet. I keep jumping ahead. The timeline is blurring for me the way it blurs for Amma. The present is so full of milestones that they pile up and my brain rearranges them. This week: summer. Rohan is eighteen months old and has been evaluated by the pediatrician for the behavioral concerns. The assessment: "spirited temperament with normal developmental variation." Not ADHD — too early to diagnose at eighteen months. Not a disorder — a disposition. He is, as Dr. Mehta predicted, intense. Not broken. Intense. The pediatrician's recommendation: structure, routine, consistent expectations. The same prescription that works for every intense child and also for every pharmacist and also for every kitchen. I structured Rohan's day the way I structure a recipe: ingredients (meals, naps, play), technique (consistent, predictable, narrated), and timing (everything at the same time, every day). The structure helped. The transitions got smoother. The volume decreased by approximately ten percent, which from Rohan's baseline is significant. Amma's advice: "Feed him more. He's hungry. Hungry children are loud children." She might not be entirely wrong. I increased his protein at lunch and the afternoons improved. Not because hunger was the problem — because Amma's instinct, sharpened by forty years of mothering, identified something the pediatrician's language couldn't. I made Amma's mutton curry for dinner — the slow-cooked version, tender meat in dark gravy. The dish of patience, of time, of letting things develop at their own pace. Rohan ate three servings. He's growing. The intensity is growing with him. We watch. We structure. We feed. We wait.

I couldn’t make Amma’s full slow-cooked mutton that night—Rohan was overtired, the evening was short, and patience only stretches so far on a Tuesday—but I needed something that still carried that curry warmth, that sense that someone older and wiser had already figured out the spicing. This cashew-curry chicken salad is the weeknight answer: the same aromatic instinct Amma pours into a long braise, compressed into something I can pull together while Rohan winds down. The cashews are for crunch; the curry is for comfort; the whole thing is, like our new daily structure, exactly as reliable as I need it to be right now.

Cashew-Curry Chicken Salad

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp honey
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup roasted cashews, roughly chopped
• 2 stalks celery, finely diced
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup golden raisins
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Butter lettuce leaves or toasted bread, for serving

Instructions

1. Cook the chicken. Place chicken breasts in a medium saucepan and cover with cold salted water. Bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a simmer and cook 18—20 minutes until cooked through. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes before dicing or shredding into bite-size pieces.
2. Make the curry dressing. In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, curry powder, cumin, turmeric, honey, and lemon juice until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Combine. Add the warm chicken to the dressing and toss to coat evenly. Fold in the cashews, celery, green onions, and golden raisins.
4. Rest and adjust. Let the salad sit for at least 5 minutes so the flavors settle and the chicken absorbs the dressing. Taste and adjust seasoning—more curry powder for warmth, more lemon for brightness.
5. Serve. Spoon over butter lettuce leaves for a light plate, or pile onto toasted bread for a more substantial meal. Serve immediately or refrigerate covered for up to 2 days.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 420 | Protein: 32g | Fat: 24g | Carbs: 18g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 390mg