Veg Kurma
This South Indian-Style Veg Kurma is light and creamy from the coconut-cashew paste and flavored with a bunch of whole and powdered spices. Packed with vegetables, this korma pairs well with puri, rice, or parotta.
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This South Indian-style vegetable kurma features a medley of fresh veggies simmered in a rich coconut-cashew sauce. Creamy and perfectly spiced with whole and powdered spices, it’s best served with dosa, paratha, or poori.
I have always been a fan of Navratan Korma– it’s one of my favorite North-Indian recipes, and I always order it when we eat out at an Indian restaurant. Not many restaurants here in the Seattle area serve the type of Navratan korma that you get in Delhi. The North Indian version of korma is quite different from the south Indian version.
The south Indian version is called the Vegetable Kurma and is made with coconut, cashews and roasted chana dal as the base. It’s lighter and less creamy compared to its north Indian counterpart. It’s hard for me to pick a favorite. They are both good in their own ways. While I enjoy Navratan korma with naan, puri and dosa are my top choices to pair with mixed vegetable korma.
This vegetable korma recipe uses vegetables like potatoes, cauliflower, carrots, and beans and they are cooked in a masala base made of coconut, cashews and poppy seeds. Some versions of kurma skip the coconut and use yogurt instead.
Ingredients
Whole spices: This veg kurma recipe uses whole spices like cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaf, mace, and cloves, which make it fragrant. Do not skip these spices, or you’ll miss out on the flavor.
Coconut-Cashews-Poppy Seed Paste: The dish gets its mildly sweet taste and creamy consistency from a paste made with coconut, roasted chana dal, white poppy seeds (khus khus) and cashews. You can use either fresh coconut or frozen shredded coconut – both work well. If you don’t have poppy seeds, you can skip them, and cashews can be replaced with almonds.
Powdered Spices: Along with the whole spices, the recipe also uses powdered spices like coriander powder, turmeric, garam masala for extra flavor.
Vegetables: This kurma recipe uses potatoes, cauliflower, carrots, beans, and green peas- vegetables traditionally used in South Indian-style veg kurma. You can skip any of them if you don’t have them on hand.
- Remember to chop vegetables into small cubes for even and quick cooking. I cut the potatoes into ½- inch (or smaller) cubes and carrots into ¼ -inch cubes so they all cook together evenly.
Veg kurma without coconut: Some variations of kurma that use yogurt, which adds a slight tanginess to the dish. If you prefer, you can use only yogurt in this recipe, and skip the coconut paste (but don’t skip the cashews). Or you can also add a little yogurt along with the coconut paste for a slight variation.
Let’s Make Veg Kurma At Home!
- Make the masala paste
The base of this kurma is a masala paste made from shredded coconut, cashews, chana dal, and poppy seeds. Grind everything into a smooth paste using some water in a blender.
- Cook the spices with onions and tomatoes
Sauté the whole spices first until they are fragrant. Then, add the onions and cook until translucent. Stir in the tomato puree, followed by the powdered spices and salt.
- Stir in the vegetables
Kurma usually incldues vegetables like potatoes, cauliflower, carrots, and green beans. Remember to chop the vegetables into small, bite-sized pieces so they cook quickly. Add water and let them cook until tender.
- Add the prepared masala paste
Once the vegetables are almost cooked, add the prepared masala paste. Add more water and cook until the vegetables are completely cooked. Don’t forget to add some cilantro before serving.
Instant Pot Version
You can make this dish in an Instant Pot as well- here’s how:
- Start on sauté mode: Follow the same steps as the stovetop using the sauté function on the Instant Pot, up until the point of adding the vegetables
- Cook potatoes first: Add the potatoes along with 1 cup of water. Cover the pot with a glass lid and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the remaining vegetables: Stir in the remaining vegetables with 1 more cup of water. Pressure cook on low pressure for 3 minutes, then do a quick pressure release.
- Add the coconut paste: Stir in the coconut-cashew-poppy seed paste and let the kurma simmer for a few minutes on sauté mode. Adjust consistency at this stage by adding more water as needed.
Remember to cut the vegetables into 1-inch pieces (or larger) when using an Instant Pot so that they don’t turn into mush.
The Instant Pot version may require less water than the stovetop method. Start with 1 & ½ cups of water and add more as needed.
Homemade Vegetable Kurma (South Indian-Style)
Ingredients
For the paste
- ½ cup shredded coconut fresh or frozen
- 2 teaspoons white poppy seeds also known as khus khus
- 10 cashews raw
- 1 tablespoon chana dal roasted
- ¼ cup water
For the curry
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 cloves
- 4 whole green cardamom
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 1 strand mace
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 2 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste
- 2 medium tomatoes pureed
- 2 teaspoons coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder or use Kashmiri red chili powder for less heat
- ¾ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 3 cups water 24 oz , divided
- ½ cup carrots cut into ¼ inch cubes
- ½ cup green beans chopped
- 1 cup cauliflower florets small sized florets
- 1 cup potato cut into ½ inch cubes (or smaller)
- ⅓ cup green peas I used frozen
- 1 tablespoon cilantro chopped, to garnish
Instructions
- In a blender, add ½ cup shredded coconut (I used frozen), 2 teaspoons poppy seeds, 10 cashews, and 1 tablespoon roasted chana dal (make sure the chana dal is roasted beforehand). Add ¼ cup water and blend to a smooth paste. Set aside.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil it hot, add the whole spices: 1 bay leaf3 cloves4 green cardamom,1-inch cinnamon stick and a strand of maceSauté for a few seconds until the spices are fragrant.
- Add 1 chopped onion (I used yellow onion for a sweeter flavor) and stir. Cook the onions for 3 minutes until soft and translucent. Then add 2 teaspoons of ginger-garlic paste and cook for 1 more minute until the raw smell goes away.
- Stir in the puree of 2 medium tomatoes. Cover the pan and cook the tomatoes for around 5 minutes.
- Then add the powdered spices: 2 teaspoons coriander powder½ teaspoon garam masala½ teaspoon turmeric powder, and ½ teaspoon red chili powder. Also add ¾ teaspoon of salt and mix. Cook the spices for 1 minute.
- Add in all the vegetables: ½ cup chopped carrots,½ green beans (chopped), 1 cup cauliflower florets, 1 cup cubed potato and ⅓ cup green peas. Refer to the notes and recipe card to chop the vegetables correctly so that cook evenly. Mix everything and add 2 cups of water. Cover the pan and cook the vegetables for around 6 minutes.
- Open the lid after 6 minutes and stir in the prepared coconut-cashew-poppy seed paste and mix. Veggies are almost cooked at this stage. I also added an additional 1 cup of water at this stage.
- Cover and cook the veggies for another 3 or 4minutes or until all the vegetables are tender. Taste test and adjust the salt and spices at this point. Garnish with cilantro and serve veg kurma with paratha, naan or rice!
Instant Pot Instructions
- Chop the veggies into big pieces (more than 1 inch).Press the sauté button on the Instant Pot. Once it displays hot, add the oil and then follow all the steps until adding the powdered spices. Then add the potatoes first with 1 cup water, cover the pot with a glass lid and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Then add the remaining veggies along with ½-1 cup more water. Cook on low pressure for 3 minutes and do a quick pressure release. Open the lid, press the sauté button and add in the cashew-coconut paste and stir. Let the kurma simmer for 2-3 minutes. If needed, add more water at this stage. Garnish with cilantro and serve.
Notes
- Adjust spices levels to taste. This kurma had enough heat for me but if you prefer spicy food, add more of the red chili powder. If you want to tone down the heat, use Kashmiri red chili powder in place of regular chili powder.
- Poppy seeds can be hard to find at times, you can skip them if they aren’t available.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Excellent Recipe, only change I made was to use Almond meal instead of the Cashews. This ia a keeper
glad you liked it
Very nice indeed. Great and rounded flavours. I only had blue poppy seeds, so popped those in. Also used desiccated coconut flakes, almonds instead of cashews, and a bit more water. My blender couldn’t chop up the (pretty hard) roasted chana dhal and initially I was afraid of having those little stones in the dish. But they must have softened before we started to eat, as no-one noticed, not even I. We had rice with it and raita, which modulated the heat of the chili perfectly. Suddenly it was all gone!
glad you liked it!
Hi Manali! Thank you for your precious recipes! All of them I did were a success!
I would like to know. Can I make the paste a day or two in advance and put it in the fridge? Thank you!
yes should be fine!
This turned out so yum.
Loved it. I preferred to go without tomato and red chilli powder for my kids. Replaced grated coconut with coconut milk (that’s what I found) Thanks
welcome!