South Indian Veg Kurma Curry

Hello HTS Community

Vegetable Kurma is warm hug to anyone craving for rightly spiced (not spicy) and complexly flavored curry. This recipe makes a vegan flavorsome curry, that can be eaten with kerala parota, chapati, puri, naan and rice. There are so many variations of this Kurma curry out there, and I am going to share my version of it.

Kurma or also called as Korma, is an aromatic gravy dish, with coconut, tomatoes and nuts mixed in the base of the curry. Coconut brings a slight sweetness to the curry, with tomatoes and other vegetables bringing sourness.

Vegetable Kurma is generally made with carrots, french beans, cauliflower, green peas and potatoes. But there is no limitation to the kind of vegetable you can add to the curry. You can use mushrooms, babycorn, zucchini, aubergines, or broccoli as well. The recipe is highly adaptable, so you go with one vegetable or multiple, whatever you have available in the kitchen. Usually grated fresh coconut is used, but for the sake of convenience, I have simply added coconut milk.

If you like this recipe, you may also want to try some of my other Indian dishes like, Kheer (Indian rice pudding) , Rajma (Red beans curry) and Spicy Garlic Chutney

Pro tip: Make extra, because it will taste even better the next day

Ingredients you will need:

For Kurma Paste

• Cashew- 7-8
• Khus khus (poppy seeds)- 1 teaspoon, optional
• Sabut Dhaniya (coriander seeds)- 1 teaspoon
• Haldi (Turmeric powder)- 1/8 teaspoon
• Tomatoes- 2, medium sized

Vegetables

• Cauliflower florets- 1 cup, medium sized
• French beans- 7-8, cut in 3 inch pieces
• Potato- 1 medium, diced
• Carrot- 1 medium, diced
• Green peas- 1/2 cup, fresh or frozen

Other Ingredients

• Oil- 2 tablespoon, coconut or neutral tasting
• Jeera (cumin seeds)- 1 teaspoon
• Saunf (fennel seeds)- 1 teaspoon
• Badi elaichi (black cardamom)- 1 whole
• Elaichi (green cardamom)- 1 whole
• Laung (cloves)- 3
• Kali mirch (black peppercons)- 6-7
• Dalchini (cinnamon stick)- 3 inch
• Curry leaves- 5-6
• Green chilies- 2, split in half
• Onion- 1 medium, chopped
• Ginger- 1 inch, finely chopped
• Garlic- 3 cloves- finely chopped
• Haldi (Turmeric powder)- 1/4 teaspoon
• Lal Mirch (red chilli powder)- 1/4 teaspoon
• Dhaniya (coriander powder)- 1/2 teaspoon
• Garam Masala- 1/2 teaspoon
• Coconut milk- 200 ml
• Water- 1+1 cup
• Fresh coriander- 1 tablespoon, for garnish
• Salt- to taste

Steps:

Preparation

• Soak cashew and khus khus in 1/2 cup warm water for 1/2 hour. Drain the water later and set aside.
• Wash and chop all the vegetables, and pressure cook with 1 cup of water, a pinch of salt and turmeric for 7 minutes, or 1 whistle. If you do not have a pressure cooker, boil the vegetables in a pot with a cup of water, salt and turmeric for about 10 minutes. Sorry I forgot to add cauliflower while clicking this picture, and I have additionally added a cup of bottle gourd (lauki).

• Put all the ingredients of the Kurma Paste in a jar, and blend in a smooth paste. Use a tablespoon of water if required.

Making the curry

• Start with heating the oil in a pan, and add cumin, fennel, cinnamon, black cardamom, green cardamom, cloves and peppercorns.
• Next add the curry leaves, green chilies, chopped onions, ginger and garlic and stir well. Cook for 5 minutes on medium heat, until the onion is slightly golden.
• Now its time to add the tomato paste that we prepared earlier. Mix well and let it cook for 5-7 minutes on medium-low flame, till the oil separates from sides and the paste is thick.
• To this, add your turmeric, red chili powder, coriander powder and salt. Cook for another 1 minute. Add a cup of water to this and bring to a boil.

• Add your boiled/pressure cooked vegetables to the simmering curry, and let it cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. Adjust salt if required.
• Time to add the coconut milk in the curry. Add the milk and let curry simmer on low heat for 5 minutes, and then finally sprinkle garam masala and fresh coriander on the gravy, mix it and switch off the flame. Let it sit for 15 minutes before serving.