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You are here: Home » Vegetable

Published: Aug 22, 2019 · Modified: Dec 11, 2024 by Saima · This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases · This blog generates income via ads.

Vegetable Korma (Instant Pot and Stovetop)

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vegetable korma in a brown bowl
Vegetable korma in a bowl.

Vegetable korma is an easy and milld Indian curry recipe made in 30 minutes with prep. Ground cashews and coconut milk add a wonderful creaminess to it. Mop up this vegan curry with fresh Indian bread or go the gluten-free route by pairing it with steamed jeera rice. Both stovetop and instant pot recipes included.

Vegetable korma in a bowl.

Ever had a curry that feels like a hug? Vegetable korma is just that kind of a dish ... the kind that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Vegetables like potatoes, carrots, beans and tomatoes are pressure cooked in a sunshine yellow sauce made creamy with cashews and coconut milk.  I love to snuggle on the couch with a big bowl of this thick, soupy korma and rice in my lap:)

More Indian comfort food: Try aloo curry (potato curry), egg curry, and baghare baingan (eggplant curry) as well.

    Why this recipe works

    The best comfort food ever: it's quite mild to begin with, and you dial down the heat even more by adding less green chilli. Plus the creamy coconut-flavoured sauce with ground cashews is so good!

    An easy, no-fuss recipe: vegetable korma in your instant pot is ready in 30 minutes flat.

    Made with ingredients you will have in your fridge or pantry already: a few vegetables, some common spices, coconut milk, and a handful of cashews. That's all it takes to make this dish.

    Full of goodness: no artificial ingredients or colors, no processed foods, no junk.  

    Vegetable korma in a bowl; with rice in a plate.

    Ingredients

    Vegetable korma labelled ingredients.

    1. Carrots, potatoes, and beans: These vegetables are diced into even-sized small pieces. I used red carrots, but you can just as easily use the more commonly available orange ones.

    2. Virgin coconut oil: Gives a nice coconut flavor, but you can use any neutral oil in a pinch.

    3. Serrano chilli: Vegetable korma is a mild curry, so I opted for one Serrano chilli, which is a mild variety of green chilli, but if you like your curries a little hot, go for a couple of Thai chillies. They are added right in the end, anyway.

    4. Powdered spices: Coriander and turmeric for a little warmth and colour and garam masala for a slight punch. Without these spices, especially the garam masala, the dish tastes a little flat and one-dimensional, so don't skip them. You've probably noticed there's no red chilli powder in this recipe, an almost ubiquitous spice in Indian curries!

    5. Coconut milk: Smoothens any sharp edges and lends a creaminess to the curry. Don't add too much though, as a lot of coconut milk will take away most of the taste as well.

    You also need the wet masala ingredients pictured below. These form the base of the curry.

    Wet masala ingredients in small bowls - chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, ginger and garlic, and cashews soaked in water.

    Preparation

    1. Soak the cashews in a little warm water for about 15 minutes, then go about the rest of the prep. Don't throw away this water. You will use it to blend the ingredients in step 3 of prep.

    2. Dice the vegetables in the first picture (carrots, beans, and potatoes) and keep them aside.

    3. Put the ingredients in second picture (wet masala ingredients) in a blender and whiz to get a smooth puree. Like this:

    Wet masala for vegetable korma - ground onion, tomato, ginger, garlic, and cashews.

    Instant Pot Vegetabe Korma (Instructions)

    Cooking the curry in your instant pot is a breeze once you get the prep out of the way.

    1. Heat the coconut oil on the lowest heat setting (saute - less) and add the wet masala along with the powdered spices and salt. Mix everything well and cover the pot with a lid. Allow the masala to cook for 5 minutes, then remove the lid and add 1 cup water. Cover the pot again with the lid and cook the masala for 5 minutes more.

    Note: You need to cook on the lowest heat setting and cover the pot because the wet masala splatters like crazy! You can try stirring it continuously to prevent the spattering, but I find that using a hands-off approach gets the masala cooked much better than anything else.

    When I need to cover the pot on saute, I use this tempered glass lid (affiliate link) that comes as an accessory for the instant pot. It fits perfectly and you can still see the contents through it. Quite handy!

    2. Deglaze the pot if needed, and add the diced vegetables (carrots, beans, and potatoes). Pressure cook on high for 2 minutes. When the pot beeps, wait 5 minutes before releasing the steam.

    3. Open the pot and add the coconut milk and chopped green chilli. Cook the curry for one minute on saute. A beautiful, flavorful veg korma curry is ready to be served with roti (Indian bread) or rice!

    Vegetable korma and rice in a plate with fork.

    Stovetop Instructions

    The preparation steps remain the same.

    1. Heat the coconut oil in a pan and add the wet masala along with the salt and powdered spices (coriander, turmeric, and garam masala). Mix everything well.

    2. Cover the pan with a lid and let the masala cook for 5 minutes on medium heat.

    3. Add 1 cup water, mix everything again and cook covered for 5 minutes more on medium heat.

    4. Add the vegetables (carrots, beans, and potatoes) and cook, covered, on medium heat for 10-12 minutes. Add water as required, but not too much as you don't want a very thin gravy.

    5. Once the vegetables are soft and the curry is thick, add the coconut milk and chopped green chilli. Cook for 1 minute more.

    6. Serve hot with roti or rice.

    Top Tips

    1. The korma sauce splatters a lot, so cover the pot while you're cooking the contents.

    2. Use full-fat coconut milk. Canned coconut cream works as well, but do not use light coconut milk as it will not impart the same creaminess or taste.

    3. Add or subtract veggies according to your preference. You can add cauliflower, corn, and peas too. Firm tofu is also a great choice to make your korma curry even more interesting. If you don't care for a vegan curry, go ahead and add some cubed paneer instead of tofu, right along with the vegetables.

    4. If you're strapped for time and want a quick meal on the table, you can use a packet of pre-cut frozen vegetables instead of chopping the vegetables by hand.

    Vegetable korma in two bowls.

    More Indian Curries

    Mushroom Masala - Mushrooms smothered in a rich cashew curry. Serve with rice for a delicious meal.
    Punjabi Chole - a hearty vegan curry made with boiled chickpeas, onions, tomatoes and a medley of spices.
    Rajma Masala - Red  kidney beans cooked in a thick onion-tomato sauce and served with cumin rice.
    Lauki Chana Dal - Bottle gourd and split chickpea lentils curry served with steamed rice or bread.

    📖 Recipe

    Vegetable korma in a bowl.

    Vegetable Korma

    Saima Zaidi
    Vegetable korma is an easy and healthy everyday recipe. Ground cashews and coconut milk add a wonderful creaminess to it. Mop up this vegan curry with fresh Indian bread or ladle it on rice for a quick meal.
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 minutes mins
    Cook Time 20 minutes mins
    Total Time 30 minutes mins
    Course Dinner
    Cuisine Indian
    Servings 4
    Calories 351 kcal

    Equipment

    • Blender
    • 6-quart Instant Pot Duo or a large pan with lid

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 12 cashews soaked in water
    • 6.3 oz carrots
    • 4.5 oz green beans
    • 9.8 oz potatoes
    • 1 red onion medium-sized
    • 1 tomato medium-sized
    • 0.7 oz ginger 2.5" piece, peeled
    • 0.7 oz garlic 5 cloves, peeled
    • ¼ cup coconut oil or any neutral oil
    • ½ tablespoon coriander powder
    • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
    • ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
    • 1 teaspoon salt to taste
    • 6.7 fl. oz coconut milk 200 ml or half of a 400 ml can
    • 1 Serrano chilli chopped
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions
     

    Preparation

    • Soak the cashews in a little water.
    • Dice the vegetables (carrots, green beans, and potatoes) into small pieces.
    • Put the onion, tomato, ginger, garlic, and cashews along with the water in which they were soaked in a blender and whiz to get a smooth puree.

    Cooking (Instant Pot Method)

    • Turn your instant pot to saute mode (less) and add coconut oil.
    • Add the wet masala you prepared in step 3 of preparation.
    • Add the ground spices (coriander, turmeric and garam masala) and salt and mix well. Cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes.
    • Add 1 cup water, mix well again and cook, covered, for 5 minutes more.
    • Add the vegetables (carrots, green beans and potatoes). Cancel saute and secure the lid, making sure the steam release vent is on 'sealing'. Press the pressure cooking button (high) and set the timer to 2 minutes.
    • When the timer beeps, wait for 5 minutes, then release pressure. Open the cooker and add coconut milk and chopped green chilli. Cook for one minute on saute. Serve hot with some Indian bread or rice.

    Cooking (Stovetop Method)

    • Heat the coconut oil in a pan on medium heat and add the wet masala.
    • Add the ground spices (coriander, turmeric, and garam masala) and salt and mix well. Cover the pan with a lid. Let the masala cook for 5 minutes.
    • Add 1 cup water, mix well again and cook, covered, for 5 minutes more.
    • Add the vegetables (carrots, green beans and potatoes) and water as needed. Mix everything well, cover the pan, and cook on low to medium heat for 10-12 minutes.
    • When the vegetables are soft and the curry has thickened, add the coconut milk and chopped green chilli and cook for one minute more. Serve hot with some Indian bread or rice.

    Notes

    1. To prevent splattering, cover the pot at all stages of the cooking. 
    2. For maximum taste and flavor, use full fat coconut milk or canned coconut cream, not light coconut milk.
    3. You can add or subtract vegetables according to your taste. Cauliflower, corn, and peas work well in this recipe. Firm tofu or paneer (Indian cottage cheese) can also be added, but the latter is not vegan.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1servingCalories: 351kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 5gFat: 27gSaturated Fat: 21gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 630mgPotassium: 820mgFiber: 5gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 7952IUVitamin C: 30mgCalcium: 71mgIron: 4mg
    Keyword instant pot vegetarian recipes, vegan, vegetable curry, vegetable korma
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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    1.6K shares
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Chris says

      December 15, 2019 at 6:22 pm

      Any advice if we keep getting the "burn" message on our Instant Pot?

      Reply
      • Saima says

        December 20, 2019 at 10:04 pm

        Hey Chris! See my latest post: https://indianambrosia.com/instant-pot-burn/

        Reply
    2. Bushra S Y Ghazi says

      September 15, 2024 at 11:12 pm

      5 stars
      I had a variety of vegetables in my fridge which were past their happiest state. I chopped them up amd put them in this qorma- stovetop. It is over the top delicious. Thank you. thaki hui sabzion ki qismat badaldi! I put in first potato and carrot, second eggplant, third zucchini and cauliflour. I added lots of whole cashews because I love them. Be sure to test a final salting to bring out the subtle flavours. I used roasted snack cashews because it is all I had. It was fine. This will be in high rotation in my home and for guests.

      Reply
      • Saima says

        September 16, 2024 at 9:38 pm

        Thank you Bushra! I'm so glad you liked the recipe and made the best use of your 'thaki hui sabziyan!'

        Reply
    5 from 2 votes (1 rating without comment)

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    Hi, I'm Saima! I live in Alberta, Canada with my husband and twin boys. Here, you'll find Indian recipes with fresh, natural ingredients and easy, no-fuss cooking techniques. Welcome to my blog!

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