Vegetable Korma is quick and easy South Indian dish. Usually vegetable korma recipes use a ground paste of coconut and poppy seeds along with other whole spices. This is my mom’s recipe and it uses coconut milk instead of ground coconut and is quick and easy to prepare; doesn’t require any grinding. And it always comes out great. So I am sharing the recipe here.
Vegetable korma uses a combination of different vegetables like potatoes, carrots, beans, cauliflower etc. Add some coconut milk or ground coconut and you get a great accompaniment to Malabar porotta or roti or naan.
Coconut milk gives a creaminess and mild sweetness to the korma. Adding fresh coconut milk would enhance the flavors to the max. Since fresh coconut milk is not easy to make here, I am using canned coconut milk. The only other special ingredient in the vegetable korma would be the vegetable masala powder. I use the store-bought vegetable masala from brands like Eastern or Kitchen Treasures etc. You can substitute vegetable masala powder with curry powder.
Cook the fresh vegetables in the pressure cooker. Heat oil in a large pan and add sliced onions, saute till light brown or translucent, add ginger-garlic paste or slices, and once the raw smell of ginger and garlic is gone, add sliced tomatoes.
Cook till the tomatoes are soft. Then add the spice powders and and saute till oil starts appearing. Add all the fresh and frozen vegetables, then add 1-2 cups of water, cover and let it boil for 5-10 minutes.
Open the lid and add coconut milk, either freshly extracted or from a can. Mix well, let it warm up and then switch off.
It is a simple and yummy dish that is a perfect accompaniment roti, Malabar porotta, naan, or rice for . 
Vegetable Korma
Ingredients
- 3-4 cups Vegetables, potato, carrots, green beans, cauliflower, green peas, cut into cubes (See Notes 1 for further info)
- 1 medium Onion, thinly sliced
- 2-3 tsp Ginger-garlic paste, or use a small piece of ginger and 2-3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
- 1-2 Green chilies, slit in half
- 1 large Tomato, small pieces
- ½ tsp Turmeric powder
- ¼ tsp Pepper powder
- ½ tsp Chili powder
- 1 tsp Coriander powder
- 1 tbsp Vegetable masala Store-bought (See Notes 2)
- Salt to taste
- Oil
- 1-2 cups water or second extract of coconut milk (See Notes 3)
- ½-¾ cup Coconut milk Store bought or freshly squeezed (See Notes 3)
- Cilantro, a handful
Instructions
Vegetable prep
- If using just a frozen mix of vegetables which are cut into small pieces, you can add them directly to the curry later on. If using fresh vegetables, cook them in the pressure cooker for 1-2 whistles or add them to a sauce pan with water and cook till done. Make sure to add some salt, ¼ tsp turmeric powder and ¼ tsp pepper powder.
Korma prep
- Heat a large pan or wok, add 2-3 tsp oil.
- Add the sliced onion and saute till it starts changing color.
- Add the ginger- garlic paste or thin slices of ginger and garlic.
- Mix everything for a minute and add the green chilies.
- Add the tomato slices and a little salt. Mix well. Cook till the tomato slices have become soft and mushy.
- Add the remaining ¼ tsp of turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder and the vegetable masala. You can substitute with curry powder or a combination of 1-2 tsp extra coriander powder and some garam masala.
- Saute till oil starts separating from it and the masala is roasted well. You can sprinkle some water to prevent burning. Cook on medium-low flame.
- Add the vegetables (cooked(fresh vegetables) and uncooked (frozen ones), salt and 1-2 cups of water or second extract of coconut milk.
- Cover and cook for 5-10 minutes till the vegetables are cooked well and the water content has reduced down.
- Lower the flame and add the coconut milk (first extract or canned).
- Mix well and check the salt. Allow the coconut milk to warm up and switch off. Do not let it boil or the coconut milk could curdle.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve with roti or Malabar porotta or rice.
Notes
- I used a combination of fresh and frozen vegetables. I cooked the fresh ones like carrots and potatoes in the cooker for 1-2 whistles. I added the frozen peas, corn, green beans and thinly sliced carrot pieces directly to the curry.
- Vegetable masala- store bought brands like Eastern or Kitchen Treasures. If you don’t have it, you can substitute with curry powder or 1-2 tsp more coriander powder+ garam masala.
- If using fresh coconut milk, you can use the second extraction (randaam paal) while cooking the vegetables and you decrease or totally eliminate water to cook the vegetables. Add the first extract (onnaam paal) at the end of the cooking process.