The delicious cashew fruits in Srilanka.

The cashew curry is one of the special dishes prepared and served during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year. Though it is considered one of the most delicious curries the story behind the cashew nuts is not so delicious.

The cashew season in Sri Lanka begins in March and continues through April this period. The cashew trees get filled with red, orange and yellow cashew clusters. Cashew trees are normally grown in the dry zone in the districts like Puttalam, Mannar, Monaragala, Polonnaruwa, Jaffna and Vauniya etc.

Being a cashew cultivator is not an easy task. Clearing the ground under the cashew trees, gathering the fallen and ripen cashews, separating the cashew nuts from the fruits, selling them etc is a long and hard process. Therefore the cashew cultivators are experiencing the hard times of their industry. 

Though Sri Lanka is available with the suitable climate, fertile soil and efficient labour favourable for cashew cultivation, the production has weakened. The lack of investment, shortage of harvest, lack of technical support, low wages paid for the workers etc are few of reasons that made the local cashew market stagnant.

Kadjugama, Bataleeya is the place in Sri Lanka where you can see the ladies wearing the cloth and the jacket selling cashews under the small huts. Many local and foreign tourists get their attraction and stop for a while to purchase a bag of cashews.

The kadju curry is a unique Sri Lankan cuisine which is prepared by Sri Lankan ladies adding a pinch of saffron powder, curry powder, chopped onions, split green chillies, Maldive fish, coconut milk, curry leaves etc to boiled cashews.

📷 courtesy : LifeSriLanka, thehindu.com, sundayobserver.lk, islandsmile.org