This vegetable korma tastes exactly like one I would order on repeat at my favorite south Indian restaurant in Mumbai. It is an aromatic, appetizing curry of chunky mixed vegetables in a mildly spiced but flavorful coconut sauce. I serve it with roti or vegan naan for an elegant Indian meal.
Table of Contents
What is vegetable korma?
A vegetable korma (also called vegetable kurma) is an Indian curry of mixed vegetables in a creamy, lightly spiced sauce. In north India, veg korma is richer, made with yogurt, cream and nuts. The south Indian version is lighter, with a coconut base.
The vegetable korma recipe I have for you today is south Indian and it reminds me of happy evenings spent in Mumbai's wonderful south Indian Udupi restaurants. When I lived in the city, these were our wholesome, alcohol-free counterparts to western pubs and bars where you'd gather with coworkers at the end of a long day to vent about life and work over plates of chana bhatura, samosa, idli and vegetable kurma served with hot, puffy puris.
The korma was one of those foods that lingers on the tastebuds long after you've licked up every last bit. It was aromatic, full-bodied and delightfully textured because of the fresh-ground coconut paste and chunky vegetables. No food tastes so good as that which evokes nostalgia, so when I set out to perfect a veg korma recipe, I had a high bar to meet. I needed to be sure that the dish I created was all of those things, tasted as good as anything I'd ever eaten in a restaurant, and as authentic as can be.
Well, I've done the hard work and here's the vegetable korma recipe I now make on repeat in my kitchen. It is delicately flavored, not with powdered spices but with whole spices that are blended along with coconut and cashews for the best taste and freshness. The vegetables - carrots, potatoes, cauliflower, green beans and green peas - add color, nutrition and texture.
This is a dish everyone in the family can enjoy because it's vegan, soy-free and gluten-free and it can easily be made nut free (more on that in the FAQs below). Desi's eyes light up when I make this korma for him and if you try it, I know you'll be back for seconds too!
P.S. If you're looking for a light mixed vegetable curry for weeknight dinner, try my easy vegetable curry recipe, which comes together in one pot in 30 minutes.
This was so delicious, I'm going to bed dreaming about the leftovers I'm having for lunch tomorrow. I made your naan recipe to eat along with it and-oh my goodness, absolute heaven.
-Sara
Recipe card
Vegetable Korma Recipe
Ingredients
For the curry paste
- 2 tablespoons raw cashews
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- ½ cup boiling water
- 1 cup grated coconut (fresh or frozen. Thaw first if frozen)
- 5 green cardamom pods
- 6 cloves
- 1-inch piece cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (saunf)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 2 tablespoons cilantro (roughly chopped)
- 1-2 green chili peppers (like jalapeno or serrano, roughly chopped. Use one for a milder sauce, two for more spice)
- 1 heaping teaspoon ginger garlic paste
Other ingredients
- 2 medium carrots (cut into ½-inch rounds or semi-circles)
- 1 cup green beans (cut into ½-inch pieces)
- 2 waxy potatoes (cut into ½-inch pieces)
- 2 cups cauliflower (separated into medium-sized florets)
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil (or use a neutral oil, like avocado oil or sunflower oil).
- 1 large onion (finely chopped)
- 2 medium tomatoes (pureed. Or use ¾ cup canned, pureed tomato)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup green peas (I use frozen but fresh green peas are also fine. If using fresh peas, cook them along with the carrots, potatoes, cauliflower and green beans).
- Salt to taste
Instructions
Make the korma curry paste
- Place the cashews and poppy seeds in a small bowl and cover with ½ cup boiling water. Soak for 15 minutes. This helps the poppy seeds soften so they blend easily.
- Pour the soaked cashews and poppy seeds into a blender with all of the soaking water. Add grated coconut, cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon stick, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cilantro, green chili peppers and ginger garlic paste to the blender. Add another ½ cup water and blend into a thick, smooth paste.
Cook the vegetables
- Place the carrots, green beans, cauliflower and potatoes in a pot with 1 cup of water. Mix. Turn heat to medium-high. Once the water boils, cover the vegetables with a lid, turn heat down to medium-low, and let the veggies cook 10 minutes or until they are tender. Turn off heat.
Make vegetable korma
- Heat coconut oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion with a generous pinch of salt. Sauté until the onion turns translucent, but not brown, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the pureed tomatoes and the blended korma paste to the pot.
- Add turmeric.
- Mix everything and sauté the mixture over medium heat for 10 minutes or until the paste has lost all visible moisture and looks shiny in spots. If the paste sticks to the bottom of the pan while sautéing, add a tablespoon of water at a time to scrape it up.
- Add the cooked veggies to the pot along with the green peas and 1 ½ cups water. Mix the korma well and let it continue to cook until the sauce boils. Cover and cook five more minutes, then stir in salt to taste and turn off heat.
- Serve the vegetable korma hot.
Notes
- Some korma recipes use yogurt instead of tomatoes for tangy flavor. If you don't want to use tomatoes, skip them and stir in ½ cup vegan yogurt into the korma at the end of cooking, after turning off the heat.
- Before serving, you can garnish the korma with more chopped cilantro.
Nutrition Information
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My top tips
- Cut the vegetables to the same size. This helps them cook together in the same amount of time. I cut the beans into ½ inch pieces, and the potatoes, carrots in a ½-inch dice. Keep the cauliflower florets slightly larger, because cauliflower tends to fall apart when overcooked.
- Don't add too many cashews. Coconut, which grows abundantly in south India, is the dominant flavor in a traditional korma sauce. Use a cup of grated coconut and just two tablespoons of cashews to add richness and to thicken the sauce. Cashews tend to dominate the tastebuds and adding too many of them will detract from the subtle spices and the vegetables.
- Sauté the curry paste until it shimmers. This will take about 10 minutes on medium heat, but it is worth doing properly in order to develop the flavors of the spices and herbs. Recipes that draw you in with promises of being quick end up compromising on this important step and come up short at the dinner table.
Vegetable korma FAQs
Sweet potatoes, bell peppers, winter squash like butternut squash or pumpkin and summer squash like zucchini are all good additions to veg korma. You can add bell peppers and zucchini to the sauce without cooking them first because they cook relatively fast.
Cooking the vegetables separately helps save some time because you can do it simultaneously while cooking the curry sauce. Once you put the two together, the korma comes together very quickly.
Yes, you can leave out all of the whole spices and add one to two tablespoons of garam masala or curry powder at the same time as you add the turmeric. Add one tablespoon to begin with and add more if needed. Because garam masala is already roasted, you can also add more if needed toward the end of cooking.
Use pumpkin seeds instead of cashews, or skip the cashews altogether.
An authentic vegetable korma should have plenty of sauce from the blended curry paste and cashews, but it should not be soupy. The sauce should be thick and should coat the vegetables, for the best flavor and texture. That said, you are at liberty to adjust the sauciness of the korma to your liking by adding more water.
Yes, you can use a 14 oz can of full-fat coconut milk. Put it in the blender with the spices when you make the curry paste. You can also cut down on the amount of water used in the recipe from 2 ½ cups to 1 ½ cups. I used coconut milk in a past version of this recipe for convenience, but I prefer the grated coconut because it creates a thicker, more authentic texture.
Serve the korma with an Indian bread like roti, puri or dosa, or with basmati rice.
Anonymous says
Delicious - just made it tonight. Even my spice-adverse partner loved it and wants me to make it again, next time with more doice (I held back) one note: prepping the curry paste and veggies, etc, took closer to 2+ hours and I’m a quick cook.
Pamela Ferguson says
Hello Vaishali!
The instructions don't mention the cauliflower or the peas! Also, the recipe says 6 cloves. I assumed it was garlic, but now I wonder if it was supposed to be the spice cloves. Either way, I know it will be fantastic. I made this and filled the kitchen with its gorgeous aroma. My husband helped 🙂 Nice dish, can't wait to eat some tomorrow, when it's best. Thank you for all you do -- I use many of your tasty recipes that are always a hit.
Vaishali Honawar says
So happy you made it Pamela. It is the spice cloves. 😊 Sorry about the veggies but glad you figured it out. I’ve added them now.
Leanne says
Also, can I use chia seeds instead of poppy seeds in this recipe? Would that substitute work?
Vaishali says
Hi Leanne, just skip poppy seeds if you don’t want to use them.
Leanne says
This recipe looks delicious!
I’ve seen chopped raw cashews in other vegetable korma recipes and am wondering if they would work here. If so, would you please let me know how many, when they should be added, and if they need any preparation.
Thanks so much. I really look forward to making this!
Dee says
Do you have any vegetable dishes for 2 people
Vaishali says
Hi Dee, you can scale down any recipe to make it for two. In the recipe box, hover over "servings" and a slider will appear. You can move it down to "2" to adjust the amount of ingredients down for two servings.
Diane M says
This Veggie Korma was wonderful, so full of flavor, rich and creamy!! My family loved it too. I added half a cup of cashew cream and added sautéed tofu as well. This will be a favorite recipe in the future!!
Vaishali says
Awesome!
Maureen says
I ended up stirring the tempering in and we even ate the curry leaves. My dish didn't look anything like your picture, it was thick and brown-coloured (perhaps because I added the garam masala) and it didn't have the lovely yellow sauce BUT it was absolutely delicious - probably the tastiest meal I have ever cooked.
Vaishali says
Hi Maureen, so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! The color depends a lot on the ingredients used, so if you used a different brand of turmeric, cayenne or garam masala it could make a difference.
Maureen says
Do you stir the tempering through the korma or just leave it on top as a decoration?
Vaishali says
You should stir it in before serving! 🙂
Isabella says
Can you use black poppy seeds instead of white poppy seeds?
Vaishali says
Yes that’s fine!
Sara says
This was so delicious, I'm going to bed dreaming about the leftovers I'm having for lunch tomorrow. I made your naan recipe to eat along with it and-oh my goodness, absolute heaven.
Vaishali says
Sara, that is so great to hear. :)❤
Ivo says
Halo, Poppy seeds black or white?
Vaishali says
Always white for Indian cooking.
Ravi Dasika says
Just made it and it turned out fantastic! Thank you for the recipe, here are some minor modifications I have made due to non availability of all ingredients:
1. I used grated coconut and blended it with little water instead of coconut milk.
2. I sautéed tomatoes in less than a spoon of oil before making it a purée. This reduced the cooking time as all other ingredients are cooked.
3. With chopped ginger and garlic, I added finely chopped mint leaves 2-3 and 2 small green chillies. It added a lot of aroma and a kick to the dish.
Thank you again!!
Sam says
The recipe calls for 2 tsp of ground cumin and the instructions calls for 1 tsp ground cumin. Which should I follow? Thank you
Vaishali says
Silly typo on my part--use 2 tsp. I've corrected!
Shweta says
Hi Vaishali,
Could you please tell me if there is an alternative for Poppy seeds ?
Thanks,
SHweta
Vaishali says
Hi Shweta, Use a tablespoon of sesame seeds!
Ruth Eisenbud says
I am sitting here eating black-eyed pea curry, potato paratha, with deliciously spiced moong dal prepared by my Indian friend. I was so happy when I finally saw you post an Indian recipe... The genius of Indian food never ceases to amaze me. I am so tired of going to Whole Foods & seeing all the Frankenstein foods meant to replicate meat... There seems to be some confusion by those who tell us to eat healthy foods with a minimum of strange sounding ingredients as they offer impossible meat which does not contain one single natural ingredient, other than the cells taken from a cow.
I never cease to be amazed at the wonders of Indian cuisine... I can recognize all the ingredients, which have been used for thousands of years t deliver the on truly vegetarian tradition, that is part of the culture.
I am tired of buddha bowls, fake steak, meat dishes that just do not taste right when made with tofu or fake sausages. As far as I am concerned I could eat Indian food every day and feel nourished and my tastebuds satisfied.
No wonder that there are so few vegans/vegetarians in judeo.christian nations.... the food is just unappealing. In my neighborhood I can go to a restaurant that server grain bowls seasoned enough probiotics that they taste like regurgitate, another that serves fake pastrami sandwiches, and a third that sells impossible meat balls... At the last restaurant mentioned there was a small flyer that said if you ate there you would save the planet... because despite the impossible meat burgers & dairy products, they claim to be plant based. I penciled in 'and the life of an animal". The hostess was very upset - she said "we do not talk about compassion here, that would offend our customers"...
A culture the is afraid to talk about compassion is not one where animal rights will progress... It is a culture based on the judeo.christian ethic of dominion, glorifies & blesses slaughter. It is the biggest threat to animals, humans & the earth, for once unleashed slaughter rarely subsides.
I am so grateful to the sages of India, who understand that slaughter can never me made holy.
I think I will have another paratha... the spices just sing through... they are not heavy handed but full of flavor with a little bit of heat...
I do not expect you to post this, but felt very strongly about the trend in the west towards a tasteless, synthetic vegan tradition, based on the ideal that if it tastes like meat it is good.
Anna says
This looks really good!
Is there a way I could replace the coconut milk with something else though? It's hard to get it where I live 🙁
Vaishali says
Use a nut milk, like cashew. You can make it yourself.
Ellen says
Thank you so much for this recipe! It came out wonderfully! It is the first time I have successfully managed to make an Indian dish. I could never get it right before. This recipe was easy to follow and tasted authentic. Can't wait to try more of your recipes!
Catherine Hess says
Your kurma looks pretty darn good, too. If I had time to stop and buy potatoes on the way home tonight, this would be what's for dinner.
Thanks for sharing your recipes and photos.
Vaishali says
Thanks, Catherine, and so nice to see you here! You can always skip the potatoes and use another vegetable-- this korma is very versatile. Hope you will try it sometime! 🙂
Sunitha Kasiraman says
This recipe is so easy and quick and healthy. The kurma came out really good and my kids loved it too! I am really enjoying trying out your recipes!
Btw, your photos are great and I love to hear about all your cute little furry friends!
Sunitha
Vaishali says
Sunitha, so glad you liked it -- thank you for letting me know! 🙂 And I will be sure to pass on your compliment on the photos to Desi.
The furry friends send you a big wag of the tail. 🙂
Sowmya says
Getting compliments from my family for this great dish..
Followed every step, and it has come out sooo well.
Very tasty 🙂 🙂
Vaishali says
Sowmya, so glad you and your family liked it. Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
Vaishali says
Pallavi, thanks, and this is fab with pooris. I do love Vahchef-- his recipes are almost always on the spot.
veenashankar says
So tasty gravy.so rich too
Vaishali says
Thanks, Veenashankar! A happy new year to you.