Veg Kurma Recipe (Hotel Style Vegetable Korma)

Kurma (also spelled Korma) is one of the Indian gravies that has takers all around the world. This Veg Kurma recipe is a delicious South Indian curry featuring a mix of vegetables cooked in a creamy gravy made from yogurt, cashews and coconut, enriched with a bevy of fragrant spices. Bursting with flavors this is a warming, spiced and complexly flavored curry from the Indian cuisine. This mildly spiced and creamy dish is commonly paired with poori, dosa, parotta or steamed rice, making it a comforting and versatile meal.

About Kurma or Korma

‘Korma (qorma),’ also referred to as ‘Kurma’ is an aromatic gravy or sauce-based dish that is popular in India as well as Central Asia. This rich and creamy curry dish is a specialty of the Mughlai cuisine.

There are numerous ways this dish is made. These taste good as well as you can make it with any equipment you have; be it a pan or pressure cooker on the stovetop or an Instant Pot.

The base gravy or sauce varies with the region the korma recipe comes from. The Northern and Central Indian cuisine has their base sauce made with curd (yogurt), a flavor-rich stock or water, cream, spices, nuts and seeds, onions and vegetables or meats.

The South Indian regions include coconut with the addition of curd, onion, tomatoes, spices, nuts and seeds with meats or veggies. My Veg Kurma is one such recipe that is typically a common preparation from South India and is often served with Poori, Dosa or Set Dosa.

Depending on the ingredients used, the flavors vary in each regional kurma preparation. For example, a curd-based korma will have a slight sour taste to it. While a kurma made with coconut, will have the mild sweetness from it.

About Veg Kurma Recipe

After having tested plenty of vegetarian kurma recipes which lacked flavor and depth, I am presenting to you this perfect Veg Kurma Recipe which has the right balance in terms of taste, aroma and depth.

Since I have been testing and developing a lot of korma recipes over a long period of time, I can actually say that I have now become an expert in them.

My incredibly delightful recipe of Vegetable Korma is not sweet or mild but has lovely complex flavors from the nuts, seeds, coconut and spices.

This recipe of Veg Kurma is spiced, but not really fiery. I include some green chilies to add some heat to the dish.

If you do not have green chilies, you easily can add dried red chilies instead. I also add coconut and yogurt in this recipe. The slight sourness of the curd balances the sweetness of the coconut beautifully.

Here, I have demonstrated making this South Indian style Vegetable Korma in a stovetop pressure cooker as it saves time.

Fret not, if you do not have a pressure cooker. This Veg Kurma Recipe can easily be made in a pot or pan too.

My Veg Kurma recipe is vegetarian. To make it vegan, substitute the dairy curd (yogurt) with vegan yogurt or skip yogurt at all.

This recipe of Vegetable Korma is forgiving and highly adaptable. So, you can simply make it with just one veggie, say cauliflower or a mix of the evergreen Indian combination – potato (aloo) and green peas (matar) or your favorite vegetable.

I make this Hotel Style Veg Kurma Recipe as a weekend lunch on occasions. We like Vegetarian Indian Curry Recipes a lot, so I make them often. These are easy, filling and nutritious. A piping hot kurma curry with some soft roti or naan is such a satisfying meal.

In addition to this korma made with mixed veggies, if like us, you like to have sumptuous and healthy curries on your dinner table, then do have a look at some of these other kurma recipe variations:

Choice Of Vegetables

Veg Kurma, as the name suggests, is generally made with a combination of vegetables like carrots, cauliflower, potatoes, French beans and green peas.

Yet there is no limit to the type of vegetable you can add in this Veg Kurma Recipe. I often include button mushrooms, which by the way, is not a veggie but an edible fungus.

You can include paneer (Indian cottage cheese), tofu or other vegetables like corn, baby corn, aubergine/brinjal, broccoli, parsnips and zucchini.

You can choose to make the Vegetable Korma with a combination of mixed vegetables that I have mentioned above or with just one or two veggies too. It tastes fantastic, anyway you make it.

How to make Hotel Style Veg Kurma

Prep Cashews & Vegetables

1. Soak 12 to 15 cashews in hot water for 20 to 30 minutes. Later, drain water and set soaked cashews aside.

2. Rinse and soak 1 to 1.25 cups medium cauliflower florets in hot water for 15 to 20 minutes.

Tip: This step is optional and only to get rid of any insects or worms in the cauliflower. After blanching the cauliflower, drain the water and set the blanched cauliflower florets aside.

3. Rinse, peel and chop the rest of the vegetables – 1 medium potato, 7 to 8 French beans and 1 medium carrot. Finely chop 1 medium onion and 1 medium tomato. Set aside.

Make Kurma Paste

4. Now, we begin to grind spices, nuts and seeds to make an aromatic kurma paste. These ingredients add so much flavor. So, try to include all of them and in the exact proportions.

Tip: I know you may not have a few of these like poppy seeds, kapok buds and stone flower. So, simply skip these.

You will need –

• 5 tablespoons desiccated coconut or fresh or frozen coconut
• 2 teaspoons white poppy seeds (khus khus) – optional
• ½ tablespoon roasted chana dal
• ½ tablespoon coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (saunf)
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• 3 cloves
• 2 green cardamoms
• 4 to 5 black peppercorns
• 1 marathi moggu or kapok bud – optional
• 1 small tiny piece of stone flower – optional

5. Take all the above ingredients in a blender or mixer-grinder.

6. Add the soaked cashews, 2 chopped green chilies, 3 to 4 medium chopped garlic cloves and 1 inch chopped ginger.

7. Add ½ cup water and grind to a smooth fine paste. Set this ground paste aside.

Tip: The kurma paste consistency should be fine. You don’t want a chunky paste here.

Sauté Onions & Tomatoes

8. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 2-liter stovetop pressure cooker. Add the chopped onions.

9. Stir and sauté until the onions turn translucent or light golden. Add 7 to 8 curry leaves and mix.

10. Next, add the chopped tomatoes.

11. Add ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder and ½ teaspoon red chili powder. Mix well and sauté on low to medium-low heat for 2 to 3 minutes.

Sauté Korma Paste

12. Add the prepared kurma paste.

13. Mix thoroughly.

14. Sauté, stirring often, on low to medium-low heat for 6 to 7 minutes or until you see the oil releasing from the sides and the paste becoming glossy and thick.

15. Add 2 tablespoons fresh curd (yogurt).

Tip: If you want, you can skip curd too. Do not use sour curd as this may make the gravy sour.

16. Mix the curd very well with the rest of the masala.

Add Vegetables & Make Gravy

17. Add the chopped mixed vegetables.

18. Mix the vegetables with the rest of the masala and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes.

19. Add 1.25 cups water and mix well.

For slightly thin gravy, you can add 1.5 cups water. If cooking in a pan, add 1.5 to 2 cups water.

20. Add salt according to your taste preference.

Make Veg Kurma

21. Pressure cook on medium-high heat for 2 to 3 whistles or for 8 to 9 minutes. When the pressure settles down naturally, open the lid. The consistency of the gravy should be medium, neither thin nor thick.

Tip: If you find the gravy is thin, then you can simmer for some more minutes. In case of a thick gravy, add some water and simmer for a few more minutes.

22. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves and give a stir.

23. Serve Hotel Style Veg Kurma hot or warm.

Serving Suggestions

Below are some of the ways to relish a delectable korma curry made with veggies:

• Indian flatbreads or fried breads: Drizzle some lemon juice on top any of these korma curries before having them with Indian breads like roti, paratha, poori, rumali roti or naan. My personal favorite is to have these with Malabar Paratha that is soft and flaky.
• Steamed Delicacies: I also like to serve it with Idiyappam and Idli as these soak up the flavorful gravy beautifully.
• Rice: Kurma also taste lovely with a simple steamed rice, Ghee Rice, cumin rice, Biryani or Kashmiri Pulao. You can also have these curries with bread or dinner rolls.
• Dosa: It tastes too good with a soft dosa like Neer Dosa, Poha Dosa or a lacy, soft Appam.

Expert Tips

1. Whole spices: I suggest to keep the quantity of spices, nuts and seeds as mentioned in the recipe. Do not alter the amount as this would change the taste. Moreover, blending in whole spices adds so much flavor that cannot be achieved by adding ground spice powders, curry powder or garam masala powder.
2. Stone flower: Include a tiny piece of stone flower (about 0.5 cm in size) as it is a highly aromatic spice.
3. Consistency: You can change the consistency of the kurma gravy by adding less or more water. But do not make it too thick, thin or runny.
4. Cooking in a pan: Follow all the steps as listed for the pressure cooker version. Add 1.5 to 2 cups water. Cover and simmer on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are fork tender.
5. Vegan version: Replace dairy yogurt with vegan yogurt to make vegan korma. Or you can skip completely skip the yogurt.

Ingredient swaps

• Cashews: Replace with almonds.
• Roasted chana dal: If you do not have roasted chana dal, then skip it.
• Poppy seeds: Use melon seeds or omit adding poppy seeds entirely.
• Stone flower: Adding stone flower is optional and skip if you do not have it.
• Kapok buds (marathi moggu): Skip this aromatic spice if you do not get it.
• Curry leaves: Replace curry leaves with 1 small to medium tej patta (Indian bay leaf).

Veg Kurma recipe from the archives was first published on December 2015