Veg Kurma or Vegetable Korma is my go-to recipe for a number of reasons. It incorporates a lot of healthy variety of vegetables and is also a great clean-out-the-fridge recipe.
I love the Chettinad style of cooking with whole spices, coconuts and such. The flavours are bold and loud, the ingredients are in your face and every bite makes you feel vibrant and reminds you that you are eating this meal and loving it. While the general agreement is that Chettinad cooking is best done with meat, I tend to think that this vegetable kurma inspired from that style of cuisine, is a fairly good vegetarian version.
Vegetable Kurma vs Korma – South Indian vs North Indian Flavours
Although sometimes interchangeably spelled and used, kurma and korma are distinct dishes from different parts of India. South Indian Kurma features a coconut-based gravy with mild spices, fennel, and sometimes poppy seeds, giving it a slightly sweet, nutty flavour. Kurma is usually paired with parotta or dosa.
Korma is from North Indian and specifically Mughlai cuisine and has a rich, creamy sauce made with yogurt or cream, and ground nuts, offering a rich texture with flavours from garam masala and cardamom. Korma is usually served with naan, roti or pulao.
I have a fabulous Mughlai Veg Korma recipe on here if you want to take a peek.
Variations and How to Serve Veg Kurma
I love serving this kurma with spongy uttappam but dosa, parotta or chapati are perfect with it too. You can adjust the ingredients in all sorts of manners – from picking a different mix of vegetables to adding as little or as much spices and coconut as you’d like. You can even choose to heat up the spices in oil instead of grinding it with the coconut as I have done. I have tried both versions and they both create a fine kurma. White poppy seeds form the base of most kurma made in Southern India but can be omitted if you can’t access them.
More side dish recipes for rotis:
Paneer korma
Soya chunks vegetable kurma
Navratan Kurma
Chettinad mixed vegetable curry
Mushroom korma
Vegetable Kurma Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 onions
- 2-3 green chillies adjust to taste
- 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
- 3 cups mixed chopped vegetables I used carrots, beans, potatoes, and tomatoes
- 1/2 cup milk any kind
- 2 tbsp yogurt optional
- 2 tsp coriander powder / malli podi
- 1/2 tsp cumin / jeera
- 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
- 1/4 tsp fennel seeds
- A few curry leaves
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 tsp ghee
- Salt to taste
To Grind:
- 4 cloves
- 2 inch cinnamon stick
- 2 cardamom pods
- 5-6 cashew nuts replace with 1 tsp white poppy seeds
- 2 green chillies
- 1/4 cup grated coconut
Instructions
- Add the ingredients under the list “to grind” into a small mixie jar or spice grinder.
- Grind to a smooth paste with water. I added about 1/2 cup water while grinding but this depends on the size of your grinder and how smooth you want the gravy to be. Set aside.
- Heat oil and ghee in a pan and add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and fennel. Fry for a minute or until the mustard seeds start popping.
- Add the sliced onions, curry leaves, and green chillies. Saute until the onions turn a light brown.
- Add the ginger garlic paste along with the coriander powder and sauté again until fragrant – another minute or so.
- Now add the chopped vegetables and coconut paste. Top up with about 1 cup water and the milk for the vegetables to get cooked properly.
- Add some turmeric and simmer until the vegetables are cooked yet hold their shape.
- You can cook down the vegetables to your preferred consistency. Add yogurt at this stage, if using.
- Finally add salt and remove from fire.
- Serve mixed vegetable kurma hot with chapatis, rotis, nan, parotta, or even pulao.
Notes
- Using freshly grated coconut really enhances the flavour but I normally use frozen grated coconut because that’s all we get where we live
- Roasting the spices before grinding gives a different flavour and depth to the dish
- Make sure the onions are nicely browned without getting charred
- Ensure the kurma only simmers and is never boiled for too long. This allows the gravy to remain tasty without curdling
- This is optional but garnish with fresh coriander leaves if you like the flavour. I like to keep it to just curry leaves for kurma though
- You can use some coconut milk in the gravy instead of regular milk, for an extra coconutty boost
Step by Step Images for Veg Kurma
Add the ingredients under the list “to grind” into a small mixie jar or spice grinder.
Grind to a smooth paste with water. I added about 1/2 cup water while grinding but this depends on the size of your grinder and how smooth you want the paste to be. Set aside.
Heat oil and ghee in a pan and add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and fennel. Fry for a minute or until the mustard seeds start popping.
Add the sliced onions, curry leaves, and green chillies. Saute until the onions turn a light brown.
Add the ginger garlic paste along with the coriander powder and sauté again until fragrant – another minute or so.
Now add the chopped vegetables and coconut paste. Top up with about 1 cup water and the milk for the vegetables to get cooked properly.
Add some turmeric and simmer until the vegetables are cooked yet hold their shape.
You can cook down the vegetables to your preferred consistency. Add yogurt at this stage, if using.
Finally add salt and remove from fire. Serve veg kurma hot with chapatis, uttappam, nan, parotta, or pulao.