Veg Kurma

Make South Indian style Veg Kurma at home with this easy step-by-step recipe!

Vegetables are cooked in a flavorful sauce made with coconut, cashews, white poppy seeds and a whole lot of spices!

This vegetable kurma tastes great with paratha, poori, dosa!

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I don’t remember mom ever making Veg Kurma. It was not something I grew up eating.

What we had was navratan korma (and I should share the recipe someday), which is more popular in Northern India and made differently than the south Indian kurma.

I tasted south Indian style veg kurma pretty late in life but it quickly became a favorite. We go to this restaurant nearby and always order their kurma with parotta (similar to paratha but very flaky and made with all purpose flour). It’s my favorite combo!

But honestly this kurma is so flavorful that it tastes good with anything and everything- paratha, poori, naan, rice, dosa!

Today, I am sharing an easy version to make restaurant style veg kurma at home.

South Indian Veg Kurma

✓packed with vegetables

✓vegan and gluten-free

✓goes well with paratha, roti, rice

This recipe has a long list of ingredients, so let’s see what all goes in making it flavorful!

Whole spices: this veg kurma recipe uses whole spices like cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaf, mace, cloves which make it fragrant. Do not skip on these whole spices else you will miss out on the flavor.

Coconut-Cashews-Poppy Seed paste: the dish gets its mildly sweet taste and creamy consistency from the use of this paste which is made with coconut, roasted chana dal, white poppy seeds (khus khus) and cashews.

You can use either fresh coconut or frozen shredded coconut works too.

Powdered Spices: along with the whole spices, the recipe also uses powdered spices like coriander powder, garam masala, turmeric and red chili powder.

Vegetables: potatoes, cauliflower, carrots, beans and green peas and typically used in this kurma and I have used the same here.

Remember to chop veggies into small cubes for this recipe. I chop the potatoes small (1/2 inch or less) and carrots (1/4 inch or less cubes) so that they all cook together and quickly.

Some versions of vegetable kurma also call for yogurt. It gives a slight tang to the dish.

I haven’t added it but if you want, you most definitely can add some yogurt to the recipe.

This recipe does require some prep work like chopping all the veggies, making the coconut paste and pureeing the tomatoes.

But once the prep is all done, it’s easy to put it all together.

Instant Pot Version

You can most definitely make this dish in an Instant Pot.

I would follow the same steps (on saute mode) until adding the veggies. Add the potatoes first (along with 1 cup water), then cover with pot with a glass lid and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Then stir in the remaining veggies along with remaining 1 cup water and cook on low pressure for 3 minutes with quick release.

Stir in the coconut-cashew-poppy seed paste and let the kurma simmer for few minutes on saute. Adjust the consistency at this point.

Remember to chop the veggies into large pieces (more than 1 inch) if using an Instant Pot so that they don’t turn into mush.

The Instant Pot version might need less water than the stove-top version so starts with 1.5 cups water and add more later.

Method

1- To a blender add shredded coconut, poppy seeds, cashews and roasted chana dal (make sure to roast the chana dal beforehand). Add 1/4 cup water.

2- Grind everything together to a smooth paste. Set it aside.

3- Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil it hot, add the whole spices- bay leaf, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and strand of mace.

Saute for few seconds until the spices are fragrant.

4- Add in the chopped onions and stir. Cook the onions for 3 minutes until soft and translucent.

5- Then add in the ginger-garlic paste and cook for another minute or so.

6- Stir in the tomato puree. Cover the pan and cook the tomatoes for around 5 minutes.

7- Then add the powdered spices- coriander powder, garam masala, turmeric powder, red chili powder. Also add the salt and mix.

Cook the spices for a minute.

8- Add in all the veggies and mix. Remember to chop veggies small so that they don’t take a lot of time to cook and also cook at the same time.

9- Add in 2 cups water.

10- Then cover the pan with a lid and cook for around 6 minutes.

11- Open the lid after 6 minutes and stir in the prepared coconut-cashew-poppy seed paste and mix. I also added remaining 1 cup of water at this point.

12- Cover and cook the veggies for another 3 or 4 minutes or until all the veggies are cooked.

Taste test and adjust the salt and spices at this point.

Garnish with cilantro and serve veg kurma with paratha, naan or rice!

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This post has been updated from the recipe archives, first published in June 2017.