Vegetable Korma Recipe

Top down view of vegetable korma in bowl with spoon.

5 from 23 votes

My authentic, Indian restaurant style recipe for vegetable korma or vegetable kurma, with chunky mixed vegetables in an aromatic, mildly spiced coconut sauce.

Prep Time15

Cook Time25

Total Time40

Course: Side

Cuisine: Indian

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 154kcal

Author: Vaishali · Holy Cow Vegan

Equipment

Dutch oven or large pot with lid.
Blender

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

US Customary - Metric

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.

How to store and reheat vegetable korma

Veg korma leftovers taste even better the next day. Store the korma in the fridge for up to four days or freeze in a a freezer-safe container for up to three months. Thaw and reheat on the stove or in the microwave, adding a little more water if needed.

Nutrition