Instant Pot vegetable korma step-by-step recipe with video and photos.
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About this recipe
Vegetable korma is a mildly spiced medley of vegetables in a creamy masala base. Flavorful, hearty, and deliciously healthy, this veg korma has a silky and luscious sauce made with cashew and coconut milk. Made in an Instant Pot, this vegan curry is ready in less than 30 minutes and pairs perfectly with roti, naan, or rice. Perfectly cooked veggies in a mildly spiced sauce make this dish a true winner. This korma is perfect for parties and gatherings.
Read on for all the tips, FAQs, and recipe video to make this delectable korma curry. Follow this recipe to get perfectly cooked vegetables that have a slight crunch without being overcooked or mushy.
Ingredients
Vegetables: I have used potato, carrot, cauliflower, green beans, and peas.
Spices: The whole spices I use are bay leaf, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper.
Onion, tomato, ginger, and garlic: These form the base of the gravy and are ground together to form a smooth paste.
Cashew and poppy seeds: They are soaked and ground along with the onion base. Cashew and poppy seeds add creaminess and thickness to the gravy.
Step-by-step instructions
Grind together the onion, tomato, cashew, poppy seeds, ginger, and garlic to make a smooth paste using ½ cup of water (steps 1,2).
Set Instant Pot in saute mode and add oil. Add the whole spices (bay leaf, pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves) and saute for a few seconds till aromatic (steps 3,4).
Add the ground paste. Next, add salt and powdered spices - coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric, and chili powder. Saute for 5 minutes. Keep stirring to make sure the mixture does not stick to the bottom (steps 5,6).
Add coconut milk. Mix well and deglaze the pot (steps 7,8).
Add the vegetables and ½ cup of water. Mix well (steps 9,10).
Close the lid of the IP and set it to pressure cook mode on low pressure. Pressure cook for 4 minutes. Do a quick release of the pressure (steps 11,12).
Add cilantro and garam masala. Mix gently (steps 13,14).
Useful tips
Adding the right amount of liquid is important. I use 2 cups of liquid (1 cup coconut milk and 1 cup water divided) which works perfectly for the amount of vegetables I use in this recipe.
The vegetables should be just covered in the liquid. In this recipe, I am using an 8 Quart Instant Pot. If you are using a smaller IP, reduce the amount of water slightly.
When grinding the masala paste, measure ½ cup of water and use it for grinding. Add the remaining ½ cup of water along with the vegetables.
Make sure the pressure level is set to low. Also, it is important to do a quick release of the pressure to avoid overcooking the vegetables.
Soaking poppy seeds and cashew will make it easier to grind smoothly. However, if you do not soak them, grind them first separately to a fine powder without any water. Then add the rest of the grinding ingredients and grind with water to get a smooth paste.
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FAQs
Vegetable korma can be paired with roti, naan, or plain steamed rice.
They are both a mildly spiced medley of vegetables with the main difference being korma is a popular North Indian dish whereas kurma is South Indian. Korma mostly has a masala base made with nuts, seeds, and whole spices. Kurma's base is made creamy using roasted gram flour and coconut and is tempered with curry leaves.
The most common vegetables used are potato, carrot, peas, green beans, and cauliflower. Other vegetables like broccoli, mushroom, corn, zucchini, etc. can be used. The cooking time will vary depending on the vegetables used.
They are both similar with some subtle differences. They have the same nut-seeds base and are both mildly spiced. However, navratan korma uses fruits, dried fruits and nuts along with vegetables. Tomato is seldom used in navratan korma, giving it a creamy white-ish color. Vegetable korma base has tomatoes along with onions and fruits are not added along with veggies.
Bonus
This Instant Pot vegetable korma is:
- creamy, mildly spiced, and flavorful
- ready in less than 30 minutes
- very easy to make
Recipe card
Instant Pot Vegetable Korma
Ingredients
- 1 large potato cut into cubes
- 1 large carrot cut into cubes
- 2 cup cauliflower florets
- 12-15 green beans
- ½ cup peas
For grinding:
- 1 medium onion coarsely chopped
- 1 inch ginger
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- 2 medium tomatoes coarsely chopped
- 2 teaspoon poppy seeds
- ¼ cup cashew
For the gravy:
- 2 tablespoon oil
- 3-4 cardamom
- 3-4 cloves
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 2 bay leaf
- 1-2 mace
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup coconut milk
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 2 teaspoon coriander powder
- Salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- Coriander leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Soak cashew and poppy seeds for 15-20 minutes
- Grind together the onion, tomato, cashew, poppy seeds, ginger, and garlic with ½ cup water to make a smooth paste
- Set Instant Pot in saute mode and add oil
- Add the whole spices (bay leaf, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and mace) and saute for few seconds till aromatic
- Add the ground paste
- Add powdered spices (coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric, chili powder) and salt
- Saute for 5 minutes. Keep stirring occasionally to make sure the mixture does not stick to the bottom
- Add coconut milk. Mix well and deglaze the pot
- Add the vegetables and ½ cup water
- Close the lid of the IP and set it to pressure cook mode on low pressure. Pressure cook for 4 minutes
- Do a quick release of the pressure
- Add coriander leaves and garam masala. Mix gently
- Serve hot
Sam says
Oh, how I love all these vegetables!! This is so delicious and the seasonings are awesome. Thanks for the recipe!
Kayla DiMaggio says
Yum! We love trying new food options and this was so delicious!
Marinela says
This plant-based vegetable korma is so delicious! Love its creamy texture, vibrant color, and that it's ready in less than 30 minutes. Thank you for this easy recipe!
Natalie says
This looks delicious. Perfect winter food. I love ingredients, all the veggies and spices you used here in this recipe. I must give this a try.
Meryl says
Love this recipe! All the veggies and the coconut flavor is the best, definitely will make this again!
Natalia says
This recipe was so easy to make! It had such a rich flavor! I love Indian food, so spices are my thing. Great recipe, thanks for sharing!
Choclette says
Vegetable korma is one of CT's favourite curries. Will have to try your version next time. It looks gorgeous.
Julia says
This was awesome. My family loved it. We added a few chutneys to it too and naan to scoop it up with. This is a really good recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Michael DiMaggio says
Loving this vegetable korma! It was so easy to make and delicious!
Chris says
Such a delicious recipe! It is very fragrant, so smooth and creamy. Than you! This is our family favorite dinner lately!
GUSTAVO DE OBALDIA says
Shilpa, this recipe was amazing! I was sooo pleased with the result. Very nice selection of veggies and spices. I like that it is super customizable. I didn't have cauliflower but had broccoli coli and it worked very well. thks!
Marinela says
This creamy vegetable korma dish is so delicious! It's so easy and quick to make in an instant pot in just half an hour. Beautiful hearty and so healthy meal.