If you want all the colors and flavors of the season in one pot, tied together with a few simple spices and creamy coconut milk, this 20-minute Best Vegetable Curry will hit the spot. Mix and match your colorful veggies, and enjoy the deliciousness with a side of rice for a nutritious and easy vegan dinner. A vegan, soy-free, nut-free and gluten-free recipe.
Who really wants to spend tons of time cooking in a hot kitchen in the summer? Not me.
That's why I'm always excited when I come up with a recipe that I can put together in a minimal amount of time, that needs very little prep, that tastes mindblowingly good, and that is really, really good for me and my family.
This 20-Minute Best Vegetable Curry makes the perfect and easy vegan dinner, because it meets all of these criteria, and more.
All you need for this recipe are a few simple spices that I bet are already in your pantry even if you only occasionally make Indian food: black mustard seeds, turmeric, and garam masala. Curry leaves are delicious here, but optional. You can replace them with cilantro for a slightly different but still delicious flavor.
You also can choose your own veggies here. I used what I had on hand: mushrooms and bell peppers. Zucchini or yellow squash would work great here, as would broccoli or cauliflower or asparagus or green beans. Corn and green peas are good too.
The creamy coconut milk really ties in all of the flavors together, and gives this curry a decadent, silky mouth-feel.
Serve this curry with a side of white or brown rice, and you will have a dinner to remember. And a weeknight dinner that you're family will be thrilled to welcome into the rotation.
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Try these curries next:
- Easy Vegetable Curry with Chickpeas and Coconut Milk
- Creamy Cauliflower Curry (Malai Gobi)
- Vegan Palak Paneer with Tofu
- Mushroom Matar, Mushrooms and Peas in a Creamy Sauce (One Pot, 30 minutes, Oil Free)
- Creamy Cauliflower Curry with Basil
- Vegetable Korma, a Mix Veg Curry
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20-minute Best Vegetable Curry
Ingredients
- 16 oz mushrooms (button or crimini, sliced)
- 1 large bell pepper (thinly sliced into ½-inch long pieces)
- 1 large or 2 small jalapeno peppers (deseeded, if you want less heat, and thinly sliced)
- 1-inch piece ginger (thinly sliced)
- 1 medium shallot (thinly sliced)
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- 15-20 curry leaves (optional)
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- 1-2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp paprika (optional, but adds a deeper color)
- 1 cup coconut milk (canned, not from the carton)
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 10 cherry tomatoes (halved. Regular tomatoes are fine)
- 4 spring onions (chopped)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the mustard seeds, let them sputter and crackle, then add the shallots, ginger, jalapeno, and curry leaves, if using. Season with salt and pepper and saute for a couple of minutes until the shallots begin to soften.
- Add the bell peppers and mushrooms and saute another 3-4 minutes until the vegetables appear to have softened. Add the turmeric, garam masala, and paprika if using. Stir to mix, then add half the coconut milk and bring everything to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for a couple more minutes or until the vegetables are done to your liking.
- Add the remaining coconut milk, salt if needed, and warm through without bringing to a boil. Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice, cherry tomatoes and spring onions.
- Serve hot or warm with rice.
Nutrition
This is fabulous. My sister lived in Chennai for several years, and takes me back to south India. Delicious!
So happy to hear that, Kathy! It's my favorite curry to make in a hurry and never fails. 🙂
This was so fresh and filling. I left out the jalapeno because the whole house is not down with that spicey. The other flavors were plenty. Will be making this again for sure. First time cooking with curry leaves and what a difference.
Thank you!
So happy to hear, Bill!
Absolutely the best curry and so quick to make! Thank you, Vaishali ???
So awesome to hear, Liza!
This is delicious! It took me an 45 min's to make though. Just cleaning and cutting the veggies takes about 20ish min's. My family really loved it though! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
So happy to hear you enjoyed it. It can take more or less time depending on knife skills. You can also just use frozen veggies or precut veggies. 🙂
What is wrong with coconut milk from a carton? 😮
Nothing. The consistency is different, and I used the canned milk here, so my instructions are tailored to that. If you use the coconut milk from a carton, you will need to make adjustments.
Made this twice in one week (variation on the veggies second time around). So delicious and SO EASY. Thank you!
So great to hear, Colleen.
Looks yummy
Thank you for the delicious and easy recipe. FYI the directions do not tell when to add the ginger and also call to add shallots in the beginning and at the end.
Lol, I noticed that when I was making it last night. I printed the recipe on Friday. Oops. But I figured you cook the shallots, garnish with the spring onions. Also, Vaishali, it never says when to add the lemon juice. And also now, in step 1, you stuck the j from jalapeno in front of ginger. Delicious recipe, Vaishali! Thanks always 🙂
One more thing, it's a curry, so should you use curry powder (and how much) if you don't have curry leaves? It says the curry leaves are optional.
Thanks for pointing out, Ivy-- I've corrected and added in the lemon juice. It goes in at the end!
On the curry powder, the powder is actually very different from the leaves-- it is a blend of spices, like garam masala. You can use curry powder here as a substitute for the garam masala, if you happen to have it on hand, but not for the curry leaves. 🙂 Strange, I know!
Thanks, Catriona. The last one is spring onions!