Vegetarian Vegetable Korma
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Curl up with a bowl of the ultimate comfort food – a flavorful, warming curry. This vegetable korma ticks all the boxes: it has a flavor-packed, rich, and creamy sauce made with yogurt and a blend of aromatic spices, blended cashews, coconut milk, and an assortment of vibrant, fresh vegetables.
Vegetable korma is one of those deeply comforting meals that feels cozy and vibrant at the same time. Maybe it’s the warming spices, the creamy sauce, or the rich golden color, but every bowl feels satisfying in the best way. This vegetarian version is packed with tender vegetables and a velvety sauce that tastes indulgent yet feels surprisingly light.
Instead of relying on heavy cream or ghee, I blend cashews with coconut milk to create the creamy base. The result is silky, rich, and full-bodied without feeling overly heavy. Potatoes, cauliflower, carrots, and onion make the korma hearty and satisfying, while garlic, ginger, and tomato paste build layers of savory flavor underneath all those beautiful spices.
And there are plenty of spices here. They give the sauce warmth, depth, and that signature aromatic flavor that makes korma so irresistible. Lemon juice and yogurt brighten and balance everything at the end, while just a little brown sugar rounds out the flavors. It’s the kind of meal the whole family happily digs into — cozy, creamy, and packed with flavor in every spoonful.
Can I use cashew butter instead of cashews? Using cashew butter from a jar works well in curry recipes, but the final result can vary in taste. A cashew butter will add a bit more flavor as it is roasted.
What vegetables to use in vegetable korma
Vegetarian korma is really flexible – you can mix and match the veggies and use whatever you like or have on hand. Potatoes are a hearty and delicious addition! Cauliflower florets, carrots, green beans, and bell peppers all work well. Peas offer a little burst of sweetness, or add some spinach for a leafy green. We opt for fresh vegetables, however, frozen vegetables will taste great, too! Be aware that frozen vegetables often have a little more moisture if they’ve gotten icy in the freezer, meaning the curry will be a bit thinner.
What to serve with vegetable korma
Make some cauliflower rice, basmati rice, coconut rice, or some quinoa to soak up the beautiful sauce of the vegetable korma, and serve with some naan or roti.
For some Indian inspired appetizers, start the meal with some curried carrots or turmeric cauliflower.
If you’re making a spread of warming curries, serve this vegetable korma alongside our eggplant curry with chickpeas and tofu.
Leftovers store very well. Keep the vegetable korma in a covered container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Avoid using potatoes if you want to freeze the vegetable korma, as they will turn gritty once frozen – substitute with other vegetables instead.
Vegetable Korma Recipe
Ingredients
The Veggies
- 2 medium potatoes (cut into small, bite-sized pieces)
- 4 cups mixed chopped vegetables (cauliflower, carrots, beans, bell peppers, corn, and peas all work well)
The Vegetarian Korma Sauce
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- 2 inch piece of ginger (peeled and chopped)
- 4 cloves garlic (smashed with the back of a knife)
- 5.5 ounce can of tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon EACH: curry powder and garam masala
- 1 ½ teaspoons EACH: cumin, coriander, turmeric, cardamom
- 1-2 teaspoons sea salt
- ½ teaspoon EACH: ground cloves, fennel, fenugreek, and chili flakes
- 1 can coconut milk
- ½ cup cashews
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ cup yogurt (omit or use vegan yogurt for vegan)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar (sub coconut sugar or honey for paleo)
- Top with any or all: cashews, cilantro, lemon, and raisins
Instructions
- Add the potatoes to a medium-sized pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Let the potatoes boil for 5 minutes then add the rest of the veggies to the pot. Let them boil for another 5 minutes then drain the pot and set it aside.2 medium potatoes, 4 cups mixed chopped vegetables
- While the veggies are cooking, start preparing the vegetarian korma sauce. Heat the oil in a medium-sized pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is soft, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for 2 minutes more.1 tablespoon oil, 1 large onion, 2 inch piece of ginger, 4 cloves garlic
- Remove the pot from the heat and add the tomato paste and all of the spices. Stir well then return the pot to the heat. When the spices are fragrant and the tomato paste caramelized, after about 1 minute, add the coconut milk, cashews, lemon juice and 1 ¼ cups of water. Let the pot boil for 5 minutes to soften the cashews.5.5 ounce can of tomato paste, 1 tablespoon EACH: curry powder and garam masala, 1 ½ teaspoons EACH: cumin, coriander, turmeric, cardamom, ½ teaspoon EACH: ground cloves, fennel, fenugreek, and chili flakes, 1 can coconut milk, ½ cup cashews, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1-2 teaspoons sea salt
- Working in batches, blend the curry until it is smooth then add it back to the pot.½ cup yogurt, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, Top with any or all: cashews, cilantro, lemon, and raisins
- Stir through the yogurt and brown sugar and add more sea salt, if needed. Stir the veggies into the curry and serve immediately topped with any or all of the toppings.
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Nutrition
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I have never commented on a recipe before but this was truly excellent and I just had to let you know how much my husband and I enjoyed it. The spices are perfect! I have been cooking Indian curries for years and this is by far our favorite. First time I’ve ever used fennel in an Indian dish and loved it! Could not find fenugreek. Used coconut milk yogurt. No sugar. Doubled the veggies and still had lots of sauce. Oh, and couldn’t blend it, as we are living in our RV without a blender, and it was still so good! Can’t wait to try it blended someday! You’ve created a recipe we’ll use regularly through the years! I’m now anxious to try some of your others!
This is a superb Korma sauce. Love it. I have made it and yet to to serve it up to the family. My only criticism would be next time, to cut back on the tomato paste. Here in the UK, tomato paste is highly concentrated and it tastes of just a bit too much tomato. Otherwise I think its superb. Definitely doing it again.
Thank you for such a superb vegan friendly whole food plant bases recipe.
This was so good! I used almonds so I didn’t have to go to the store and I had to leave out the fenugreek just because I didn’t have it. Also missing sweet potato, but had butternut squash in the freezer. So glad this was an easily adaptable recipe, Thank you so much for sharing this!!!
Delicious! I didn’t blend the sauce as I’d used whole cardamom pods, and enjoyed having the whole cashew nuts in the final meal… but I can see that blending the nuts would create a creamier texture.
This was lovely. The second time i made it i didnt have cashew nuts but used ground almonds, and i didnt blend it. Still delicious.
Hello Kristen 🙂
Can’t wait to make this recipe!
I have coconut cream at home. Can I use that instead of coconut milk?
Thank you in advance
Yes! It will make it even richer and more creamy. 🙂
I’ve never commented on a recipe before, however I just want to say thank you. I’ve just started learning how to cook as I’m 18 and would like to know how to cook for college. I’m slowly transitioning to veganism and Indian food has always been a favorite of mine due to its intense spices and how easily vegan it can be. This was perfect. I haven’t had truly good Indian food since I went to the city a few years ago, but this was just as good (maybe even better!). It took me a while to make the dish, but that was because I’m a beginner and I wanted to get it perfect lol. My mom loved it — it was nice making her such good food as she works 24/7 and never has time to cook a proper meal for herself. I will definitely be making this weekly. Again, thank you!
You are so very welcome, Sarah! I’m really happy that you enjoyed the recipe. So nice of you to cook for your mom!
And I think that you might also enjoy this vegan curry recipe: https://www.theendlessmeal.com/creamy-coconut-lentil-curry/ It’s very easy to cook and big on flavor. Makes great leftovers, too!
Hei I have not made it. But I wonder what you mean with 1 2-inch ginger. Is it 1 inch? 12 inch? Or 2 or between 1 and 2 inch?
1 5.5 oz tomato. Is it 15.5 oz ?? The space confused me since we dont use inches around here. Thanks.
Sorry for the confusion! It’s one piece of ginger that is about 2 inches long. And one 5.5 ounce can of tomato. 🙂
Sooooooo good. I did put chicken instead of potatoes and didn’t have all of the spices. Oops. This was even so much better the next day! I am going to prepackage the slices measured out in baggies because this one is going into regular rotation. Yummy!!!
Hi, This sounds delicious and want to make it for sure, but what is tomato paste, I have Tomato puree, passata or tinned tomatoes, but haven’t heard of a paste option before. I am in UK if that makes a difference?
Thank you!
Tomato paste is very thick. Sometimes it’s also sold in tubes. I think in the UK it may be referred to as tomato puree or tomato concentrate.
Easy to make and was delicious
OMG, I just made this. It turned out beautifully. Thank you. This will be one of my regular meals from now on. Hubby absolutely loves it.
We loved this!!! We added lots of other veggies, used coconut yogurt to keep it vegan, and topped with tempeh – it was fabulous. We made some spice adjustments based on what we had, too. Would definitely recommend and absolutely make again.
I’m so happy that you loved the recipe! Yay!
Thank you. Absolutely beautiful, best korma we’ve had ( and we love our curries!). I added 2 tablespoons of ground almonds as we like a thick sauce.
This is good. Followed exactly (missed the yogurt) didn’t know if the cardamon was whole or just the insides, so emptied a bunch of them and ground them.
Used sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, carrot and kale.
Really very good. Added a little drizzle of tamarind to serve.
Really nice, I made it for tea, delicious but next time will add more vegetables