Creamy Vegetable Korma

Vegetable Korma is a creamy Indian vegetable curry with colorful vegetables in a sauce that gets its rich flavor from cashews and heavy cream. It's a vegetarian and gluten-free dish that can easily be made vegan.

In this easy recipe, I make a restaurant-quality curry in just 30 minutes using an Instant Pot or stove. Serve it with butter naan or garlic naan for a gourmet meal!

Mixed Vegetable Korma is perhaps one of the most ordered vegetarian curries at an Indian restaurant, right after Paneer Tikka Masala!

What is Vegetable Korma? Vegetable Korma is an aromatic, flavor-packed Indian vegetarian curry that is made using crisp, assorted vegetables and toasted nuts in a rich yogurt or cream-based sauce. It's elegant enough for entertaining or celebrating any occasion.

You'll be surprised how simple and easy it is to prepare at home. This Indian vegetable korma gets ready in under 30 minutes using easily available ingredients. And with a few simple swaps, you can make it vegan too!

Let's get started!

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Jump to:

• Ingredients- Notes & Substitutions
• How to Cook Vegetable Korma
• Stovetop Recipe
• Serving Suggestion
• Try a Variation
• Recipe Tips & Notes
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Popular Indian Curries on the Blog
• 📖 Recipe

Ingredients- Notes & Substitutions

This recipe is for a north-Indian style vegetable korma without coconut milk. Let's take a look at what we need:

Ghee: Good quality ghee adds an unmatched flavor to this curry. I prefer using homemade ghee, but you can use your favorite store brand.

Vegetables: I use a combination of green peas, carrots, and cauliflower florets for a more traditional choice. But feel free to use zucchini, beans, corn, potatoes, or even a frozen vegetable mix. You'll need about 4 cups of vegetables.

For the sauce: Like in most Indian curries, ginger, garlic, and Roma tomatoes (or tomato puree), form the base of the sauce.

Spices: We season this curry with commonly used Indian spices - salt, turmeric, garam masala, coriander, cumin, and Kashmiri red chili powder. Substitute red chili with paprika for a mild flavor. For all store-bought spices, always check for freshness and expiration date before using.

Cashews: Nuts provide a creamy texture and flavor to the sauce. You'll need to reserve some for garnish and soak the rest so they can blend into a smooth paste. If you cannot have cashews for any reason, replace them with blanched almonds.

Cardamom: Freshly ground cardamom gives this curry a floral, aromatic finish. For the best flavor, de-seed 2-3 green cardamom pods and crush using a mortar and pestle, or a rolling pin.

Scroll to the recipe card for a detailed list of ingredients and quantities.

How to Cook Vegetable Korma

Checkout step by step instructions on how to make this easy vegetable korma recipe even easier using the Instant Pot. This recipe will also work with any comparable electric pressure cooker.

Step 1: Prep

Reserve some cashews for garnish and soak the rest. Add cashews and water to a small bowl and microwave it for about 1 minute. This helps them plump up.

Step 2: Blend Sauce

In a blender jar, add the cashews (with water), tomatoes, ginger, garlic, salt, turmeric, Kashmiri red chili, garam masala, ground coriander, and cumin. Blend everything till the sauce becomes smooth. Keep aside.

Preheat the Instant Pot on Saute mode. Add 1 tablespoon ghee (or oil for vegan), and saute the reserved cashews for 30 seconds. Keep stirring to prevent them from burning.

Step 3: Pressure cook

Add the remaining ghee (or oil) and add the sauce. Saute the sauce for 2 minutes to cook off the raw taste of ginger and garlic.

Add the assorted vegetables along with water, stir and close the lid. Select Pressure Cook or Manual and adjust the pressure setting to 'low'. Cook for 1 minute.

How to Avoid a 'Burn' Message: If your pressure cooker is notorious for the 'burn' errors, start by greasing the pot with a cooking spray, then add ¼-1/2 cup water to the pot and pour the sauce over that. Add the veggies over that, don't stir, and pressure cook.

Step 4: Release pressure, add cream and cardamom

When the cooking time is done, release the pressure manually. Open the lid after the pin drops.

Add heavy cream (or coconut cream for vegan). Stir in ground cardamom and serve warm with cumin rice, naan, or paratha.

Stovetop Recipe

• Heat a heavy bottom pot on medium-high heat. Add 1 talespoon ghee (or oil), and saute the cashews for 30 seconds. Remove as they begin to turn a light golden color and keep aside.
• Add the remaining ghee and add the blended sauce. Saute the sauce for 2 minutes.
• Add the assorted vegetables along with water, stir and cover with a lid. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until veggies are fork tender.
• Open the lid, stir and check for seasoning. Increase the heat to medium-high, and add heavy cream, or coconut cream. Simmer for 2-3 minutes to thicken the curry. Turn off the heat. Add ground cardamom and stir.

Serving Suggestion

Korma is such a luxurious dish full of veggies that you just need a starch to soak up or scoop the creamy curry. Vegetable Korma goes great with cumin rice or naan.

For a whole-grain option, serve it with a homemade Indian flatbread called paratha, or brown basmati rice. These days, I find many specialty food stores carry frozen paratha in their Asian food aisles, so check those out as well.

For a low-carb meal, serve it with Indian cauliflower rice.

Preparing in Advance

Whenever I am making Vegetable Korma for a big get-together, I break it down into two steps, which allows me to prepare in advance.

I skip the veggies and pressure cook the sauce two days before the party. A few hours before serving it, I heat the sauce in the Instant Pot or on the stove, while simultaneously steaming the vegetables in the microwave.

Then, combine the vegetables with sauce, add heavy cream and cardamom and let everything simmer for 2-3 minutes. Done!

Try a Variation

Vegan Vegetable Korma: Substitute ghee with any clear cooking oil, like avocado or olive oil. To thicken the korma, add coconut cream instead. Open a full-fat coconut milk can without shaking, and scoop the cream on top.

Add Protein: To add protein to this curry, chop paneer (or extra-firm tofu) in ½-inch cubes and add it along with the vegetables. You may need to adjust salt accordingly.

Recipe Tips & Notes

• Vegetables are the stars of this recipe. I like using a combination of cauliflower, carrots, and peas, but you can use any assorted vegetables. Other popular choices are green beans, potatoes, and sweet corn. For cooking the potatoes evenly, cut them in 1-inch pieces.
• If you don’t like cashews or are allergic, you can use blanched almonds instead.
• To make this recipe vegan, substitute ghee with any clear cooking oil. And instead of heavy whipping cream, add coconut cream to thicken the korma.
• To add protein to this curry, stir in chopped paneer or extra-firm tofu along with the vegetables. Adjust the salt accordingly.
• If your blended korma sauce looks thick, add ½ cup water to it to avoid a burn message.

Frequently Asked Questions

Popular Indian Curries on the Blog

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