About Korma
Kurma, also called korma (qorma), is a popular recipe from Indian cuisine prepared using either mixed vegetables or meat like chicken, mutton, beef with aromatic spices, coconut or coconut milk, and yogurt. Every region and restaurant has its unique style of making kurma. North Indian-style korma has a rich and creamy texture, while South Indian-style kurma has a light and tangier taste. Both are flavorful and delicious from the addition of whole spices. Visit any hotels, tiffin centers, or restaurants in South India; you will see that kurma is served as a side, along with chutney for ragi dosa, brown rice dosa, rava dosa, poori, ghee rice, or any South Indian breakfast recipes.
Ingredients
Vegetables: More veggies you add to make this vegetarian korma better it tastes. Some vegetables that can be added to make veg kurma are cauliflower, potato, beans, capsicum (bell pepper), and green peas. You can skip or make any vegetable combination of your liking. You can add only cauliflower to make cauliflower korma or potatoes to make aloo or potato kurma. Cashews: This makes your korma rich and creamy. You can use soaked almonds, poppy seeds, or melon seeds to get that creaminess instead of cashews. Coconut: South Indian-style kurma uses freshly grated coconut to form a base for the curry. But if you like kurma without coconut, use coconut milk to make the korma. Spices: The flavor of the dish comes from the whole spices that you are going to add. Too much will make your dish strong, but if you skip all, then it will become a normal Indian vegetable curry and not kurma. See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Step-by-Step Instructions
For the paste
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a non-stick pan. Add cardamom seeds, cloves, onion, garlic, ginger, green chile, and a pinch of salt and saute it on medium to medium-high flame for 6 to 8 minutes until the onion becomes translucent and turns golden brown. Let this cool down completely. Transfer these sauteed ingredients to a blender or mixie jar along with coconut and cashews and blend it to a smooth paste. Add little water if required. Keep this paste aside.
Making vegetarian korma
Add another 1 tablespoon of oil, bay leaf, and cumin seeds to the same pan and saute for a few seconds. Add the ground paste, tomatoes diced or pureed, carrots, and potatoes, and cook for 5 minutes. Next, add green beans, cauliflower, green peas, turmeric powder, red chile powder, garam masala powder, yogurt, salt, and little water. Once this comes to a boil, reduce the flame, cover it, and simmer it for 10 minutes. You may have to stir it occasionally. Add water only if required for desired consistency. Uncover and cook for additional 5 minutes. Add coriander leaves and switch off the flame. Serve hot with naan, dosa, poori, chapati, pulao, or biryani, and enjoy.
Tips
You can use diced tomatoes, tomato puree, tomato sauce, tomato paste, or anything that is readily available in your pantry. Potatoes and carrots take a little longer to cook than other veggies. So we add and cook them for 5 minutes before adding other veggies, so all have the right texture. You can use coconut milk instead of grated coconut. Almonds, poppy seeds, or melon seeds can be used instead of cashews. Cashews make your veg kurma rich, creamy, and delicious with sweetness. Adjust the amount of red chile and green chile to taste. The amount of garam masala powder may be varied based on the brand you use. If you are looking for a hotel-style kurma, add two cardamoms, three cloves, and ½ inch cinnamon while sauteing cumin seeds. If you do not like the garam masala flavor, then skip it. Make sure the yogurt you use is not sour. You can skip yogurt if you do not want to use it or make a vegan korma and squeeze half the lemon juice at the end with coriander leaves. Cooking time will vary based on the size of the veggies. You can also make kurma in your pressure cooker. Once you add all the veggies, pressure cook for 1 whistle on high flame.
Instant pot Vegetable Korma
Turn on the SAUTE mode of your instant pot. Add tablespoon of oil. Once hot, add cardamom seeds, cloves, onion, garlic, ginger, green chile, and a pinch of salt, and saute until the onion becomes translucent and turns golden brown. Transfer these sauteed ingredients to a blender along with coconut and cashews, and blend it to a smooth paste. Add little water if required. Keep this paste aside. To your IP, on SAUTE mode, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, bay leaf, and cumin seeds and saute for a few seconds. Add the ground paste, tomatoes diced or pureed, carrots, and potatoes and cover with a glass lid and cook for 3 minutes. Next, add green beans, cauliflower, green peas, turmeric powder, red chile powder, garam masala powder, yogurt, salt, and ½ to ¾ cup water. Stir to deglaze the bottom. Close the lid of your IP. Cook on low pressure for 3 minutes with the pressure valve in the sealing position. Do a quick release. Stir the veggies gently. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with naan, chapati, pulao or biryani and enjoy.
More Quick & Easy Indian Curry
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Recipe card
This is an old blog post first published on March 2017. Updated with calorie information and more instructions on the stovetop and instant pot.
