Vegetable Korma Recipe

Vegetable Korma or Veg Kurma is a mix vegetable gravy dish . This mildly spicy curry tastes great with any Indian flat bread like chapati , naan , paratha and can also be served as a side dish with Jeera Rice or any other rice dish. This is basically a south Indian gravy dish and has many variations. 

Here i am sharing my Mom's recipe which is Onion Garlic free and has fresh Coconut as a base to the gravy. The red color is due to the whole red Kashmiri chilies used in this dish. The gravy gets its richness due to the Cashews , Almonds , Poppy seeds and Magaz ( Melon seeds).The nice aroma and flavours in this gravy are due to spices used. This recipe is different from others also because the coconut , nuts and the spices are first roasted in some oil , to release their aroma and oils and then ground to make a fine paste.

You can make this entire recipe in a cooker , like i had shared the Mixed Beans Kurma recipe earlier but i prefer cooking in an open pan as there are chances of veggies becoming overcooked and mushy when cooked in a cooker. I have used Cauliflower , green peas , potato and tomato in this recipe, you may add carrots, beans or any other veggies of your choice in this dish. Have added lime juice in the end to give required tartness to the dish. You may use yogurt also while cooking instead. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Cauliflower florets
• 1/2 cup cubed Potatoes
• 1/2 cup Green peas
• 1 Bay leaf / Tej patta
• 1/4 tsp Caraway seeds / Shah Jeera
• 4 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp Cashewnuts / Kaju
• 2 tbsp Almonds / Badam
• Fresh Coriander leaves for garnishing
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder / Haldi
• Pinch of Asafoetida / Hing
• 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• Salt to taste

For masala paste: 

• 3 tbsp of fresh scrapped Coconut
• 1 large tomato finely chopped
• 1 tbsp of Poppy seeds / Khus Khus
• 1 tbsp of Magaz (melon Seeds)
• 3-4 whole red dry chilies/ Sabut Lal Mirch
• 1 star Anise / Chakra Phool
• 1/2 inch Ginger piece/Adarak
• 4-5 Pepper corns/ Kali Mirch
• 2-3 cloves/ Laung
• 1 inch stick of Cinnamon / Dalchini
• 1 black Cardamom / Badi elaichi

Method:

1. In a large sauce pan , bring 3 cups of water to boil. Add few drops of lime juice and salt to it. To this boiling water add the washed and chopped veggies. In the picture you can see only cauliflower and potato , as i used frozen green peas, so added then towards end. We have to parboil the vegetables(means cook them half way) as they will cook further in the gravy.

  2.  Drain the vegetables and transfer them to a bowl of water with some ice cubes. This will stop the process of further cooking of vegetables. Soak the Almonds and Cashews in warm water or blanch them in microwave for 1-2 minutes. Peel the Almonds and grind them with Cashews using some water to a fine paste. keep it aside.

  3. Mean while in a pan add 1 tbsp of oil and roast the ingredients listed under masala paste, one by one. Remove them in a grinder jar. Allow it to cool and grind to a smooth paste. Use little water while grinding if required.

 4. In the same pan heat up remaining oil on a medium flame. Add the caraway seeds and bay leaf. Once the seeds sizzle, add the ground masala paste.

  5. Stir fry the masala very well on a low to medium flame until oil start separating from the sides. Now add hing , turmeric powder and red chilly powder and mix well.

  6. Now add the Almond, Cashew paste to this masala . Mix well and cook for another 1 minute. 

  7. Add the cooked vegetables to the roasted masala. Mix very well. Add 2 cups of hot water to it.

Add salt, Be careful in doing so as the veggies were cooked in salted water. Cover and allow the gravy to cook for 3-4 minutes. Put off the flame.

  8. Add lime juice and garnish the korma with finely chopped fresh Coriander leaves. 

  9. Serve the Vegetable Korma with Jeera Rice and chapati and enjoy with your loved ones !

  I hope you would like to give this recipe a try. Do not forget to give your valuable feed back.

For more similar recipes of onion garlic free gravies and stir fries, do check my posts on

• Kachi Haldi ki Subji
• Bitter Melon Stir Fry
• Pindi Chole
• Broccoli Stir Fry
• Kashmiri Dum Aloo
• 21 veggies Stir Fry
• Beetroot Stir Fry