This easy, one-pot Indian curry is what I make when I need a break from the weekday routine of pasta or dal and rice. It is loaded with veggies and vegan protein, and it's meaty and spicy for the coziness I crave on busy weeknights.
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My go-to Indian curry recipe
This simple Indian style curry is so easy to make with ingredients already on hand, and it's tasty and nutritious: an everyone-pleaser. What I also love is that it lets me use up veggie odds and ends in the refrigerator so I don't have to send them into the compost pile.
This is the recipe to try if you love eating Indian food but are intimidated by the idea of cooking it. It's beginner-friendly and it'll leave you excited about trying out more Indian recipes.
The complexity in this recipe comes from a spice mix called kitchen king masala, which you can buy online or at the Indian grocery store. Or just use garam masala. I sub the keema with a vegan meat and this time I used Beyond sausage, crumbled into bits to resemble keema. Other crumbly meat substitutes like Impossible beef, Gardein, Tofurky etc. will also work just as well. For an even healthier substitute, use a 14 oz can of lentils. If you make this recipe exactly the way I did, it will be soy-free, nut-free and gluten-free.
P.S. If you love cooking easy, quick curries like this one, be sure to try my easy vegetable curry, also a weeknight favorite that's ready in 30 minutes.
Made this for dinner, it was easy and delicious. My husband didn't even realize he was not eating meat lol. Thanks for another great recipe. - Hazel
Recipe card
Indian curry recipe
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil or any neutral oil
- 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
- 4 cloves garlic (crushed, then thinly sliced)
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 2 tablespoon ground coriander
- ½ to 1 teaspoon cayenne (use less if your garam masala already has red chili peppers added)
- 2 teaspoon paprika (or more, mainly for color)
- 2 heaping tablespoons tomato paste
- 14 oz vegan sausage (Can use a 14-oz can of lentils instead. Drain the lentils)
- 1 large turnip (cut in a ½-inch dice)
- 2 medium potatoes (yellow or red. Cut in ½-inch dice)
- 2 medium carrots (cut in a ½-inch dice)
- 1 large bell pepper (any color, although green is preferred. Deseed and cut into ½-inch dice)
- 1 medium zucchini (cut in a ½-inch dice)
- 2 heaping tablespoons kitchen king masala (or garam masala. You might need less garam masala, so add a tablespoon at first, then add more if needed after tasting)
- 1 tablespoon kasoori methi (optional, use only if you use garam masala and not kitchen king)
- 2-3 cups vegetable stock (can use water)
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoon cilantro (finely chopped, for garnish)
Instructions
- Heat the vegetable oil. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onion starts to brown.
- Add the ginger garlic paste, saute for 30 seconds, then add the powdered spices--turmeric, coriander, cayenne and paprika. Mix well, then add the tomato paste and saute for a couple of minutes until the tomato darkens a bit.
- Crumble in the vegan sausage and mix well. Sauté for a couple of minutes until some of the fat oozes. If using lentils instead of the meat, sauté a couple of minutes and proceed to the next step.
- Add the vegetables--turnips, potatoes, carrots, bell peppers and zucchini. Season with salt, mix well, and add 2 cups of the vegetable stock. Cover the pan and let the veggies cook over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes or until they are tender. Once the veggies are cooked, you can add more vegetable stock or water if you want a thinner curry.
- Add the kitchen king masala or, if using garam masala, add that and the kasoori methi, crushed between your palms. Mix well and season with more salt as needed.
- Turn off the heat. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot.
Notes
- I add about five to six cups of chopped veggies and they reduce a bit as they cook.
- You can substitute the veggies I used with sweet potatoes, squashes and peas. Stay away from leafy vegetables or any that will take long to cook, like eggplant (pre-roasted eggplant would be fine though).
- There is a lot of garlic in this recipe because garlic is delici0us in spicy Indian curries. If you want to, you can cut down on it.
- The vegetable stock adds an additional layer of flavor to the curry so use it if you can.
- Store in the fridge for up to four days and freeze it for up to four months. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave before serving.
Nutrition Information
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Indian curry FAQs
In the context of Indian food, "mince" or "keema" refers to ground meat, usually mutton or goat meat and sometimes beef or chicken meat. Keema is used in tons of tasty Indian recipes, and I've already shared with you my recipe for a dry vegan keema masala that you can scoop up with roti or naan. You can also use keema to stuff pastries called keema samosas and make lavish dishes like kofta meatballs and keema biryani.
This is a curry made in the style of an Indian meat curry, only vegan. There is nothing like a "traditional Indian curry" because India has many diverse regional cuisines and there is no single way that a curry is made around the country. I call this an Indian curry because I wasn't being loyal to any one Indian cuisine when I created this curry but if I had to classify it, I'd say it was north Indian in flavor because of the spices I used.
This curry pairs nicely with rice or roti. You can make plain basmati rice if you're in a rush, or make lemon rice or jeera rice for an upgrade. Naan, wonderful naan, homemade or store bought, or roti will work just nicely.
On the side, serve a fresh salad like kachumber or vegan cucumber raita.
Carla says
Hi looking forward to trying this. Seems like it could be cooked in a crockpot. Do you have any idea what timings might be please?
Vaishali says
Hi Carla, sauté the onions, veggies etc. on the high setting of the crockpot and after adding water, cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
Karen says
Made this for dinner tonight and loved it. Took longer twice as long as expected to get the veggies cooked through, but still a fast yummy meal we'll make again.
Vaishali says
So happy you loved it, Karen!
Karen says
Super Delicious. It took more like 30 minutes for the veggies to get cooked through, but still a fast easy meal - one we'll make again and again. Thanks again for another winning recipe!
Vaishali says
Awesome!
Hazel says
Made this for dinner, it was easy and delicious. My husband didn’t even realize he was not eating meat lol. Thanks for another great recipe.
Vaishali says
So happy you loved it! ❤️