Veg kurma recipe – Learn to make delicious South Indian style mix vegetable kurma that’s flavor-packed, amazingly delicious and easy to make. Serve with flavored rice, roti, poori, paratha or naan for a special meal. Korma, also known as kurma is an aromatic Indian gravy dish made with yogurt, nuts, seeds, spices, onions, coconut & a main ingredient like meat or vegetables.

Based on the region, the ingredients used to make a korma recipe are different. In North India it is called as korma and is made with yogurt, seeds, nuts & onion paste made from fried or boiled onions. In South India, it is called as kurma and is made with fresh coconut & seeds paste. Occasionally a small quantity of yogurt is used.
North Indian korma is aromatic, rich & creamy with a velvety texture as nuts & yogurt form the base. South Indian kurma is not creamy or rich but is light as coconut & seeds/nuts form the base.
However both are very fragrant and spiced for flavor but not for heat. So fragrant whole spices like cinnamon and cardamoms are always used as they release a great aroma while the dish is simmered.
Table of contents
About veg kurma
This South Indian Hotel style veg kurma is a one pot vegan dish that is super aromatic, tastes delicious & is easy to make. It needs easily available ingredients like mixed vegetables, spices, coconut, poppy seeds or cashews & herbs.
This hotel style dish is very popular & is loved by most people for its unique aroma & taste. Whether served at family meals or a way to honour guests this delicious dish is a part of every special South Indian meal.
In Tiffin centers & restaurants vegetable kurma is usually served with poori, dosa, plain paratha, simple pulao, rava dosa, ghee rice and many other breakfasts & meal platters.
It also pairs wonderfully well with naan, plain basmati rice, coconut rice, jeera rice or any other variety rice dishes.
The key ingredients to make a flavorful vegetable kurma are the tempering spices like bay leaf, star anise, cardamoms, cloves and cinnamon. These spices along with coconut paste bring in a wonderful aroma to the dish.
There are a few different versions of this South Indian kurma. In some regions it is made only with curd instead of coconut. I have shared that tip as well if you prefer to skip the coconut in this recipe.
Veg kurma is also made to go in a festive meals. So it can also be made without onion & garlic on such occasions.
Though this recipe uses mix vegetable like potatoes, peas, beans and carrots, it can also be made with just one kind of vegetable like potato, cauliflower or peas.
I have shared also shared a few more korma recipes on the blog which are made on the same lines. You may want to check them
Potato kurma
Cauliflower kurma
Paneer kurma
Soya chunks kurma
Veg kurma – step-by-step photos
1. Prepare vegetables – Chop the following:
- 2 medium onions (1 cup finely chopped)
- 2 medium tomatoes (¾ cup fine chopped)
- 1 medium carrot (¾ cup, half inch pieces)
- 2 medium potatoes (1 cup, half inch pieces)
- ¾ cup green peas
- 8 to 10 French beans (¾ cup, half inch pieces)
- ¾ to 1 cup cauliflower florets
2. Make kurma paste: To a grinder jar, add
- ¼ cup grated coconut (or ¼ cup coconut milk)
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (skip if you don’t like)
- 1 tablespoon roasted gram (optional)
- 12 cashew nuts (or 12 soaked almonds or 2 tbsps poppy seeds)

3. Pour 6 tablespoons water and make a fine paste. We don’t want a coarse paste.

How to make vegetable kurma
4. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pot. Add
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 green cardamoms
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- 3 cloves
- 1 inch cinnamon piece
- 1 star anise. You can also add a single strand of mace If you like the fragrance.

4. Next add 1 cup very finely chopped onions & 1 slit green chili (optional). Saute until the onions turn pink. The raw smell of the onions has to go away.

5. Add ¾ to 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste. My ginger garlic paste has turmeric in it, so the color. Saute for 1 to 2 mins, until the raw smell of the ginger garlic has gone away.

6. Then add ¾ cup chopped tomatoes and salt.

7. Fry until the tomatoes turn completely soft and mushy.

8. Add 1 teaspoon red chili powder, 1¼ teaspoon garam masala & few coriander leaves (optional).

9. On a medium to low flame, saute for 2 to 3 minutes until the masala begins to smell good. By now the mixture also begins to leave the sides.

10. Add the coconut cashew paste.

11. Mix and fry for 2 to 3 minutes until the coconut smells good.

Add vegetables
12. Lower the flame, add chopped potatoes, beans, carrots, peas and cauliflower.

13. Mix everything well and saute for 2 to 3 minutes without burning.

14. Add water just enough to cover the veggies. I used 1.5 cups water. Add ¾ salt as well and stir.

15. Cook on a medium flame until the veggies are tender. Taste the veg kurma and add more salt if needed. Add coriander leaves and switch off.

Serve veg kurma with rice or chapati.

Instant pot vegetable korma
1. To a small grinder jar, add
- ¼ cup grated coconut
- 10 to 12 cashew nuts
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (skip if you don’t like)
- 1 tablespoon fried gram
- 6 tablespoons water or coconut milk. Blend to a smooth paste.

2. Press SAUTE button on your Instant pot and pour oil to the steel insert. Add the whole spices
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 star anise
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 green cardamoms
- 3 cloves
- 1 inch cinnamon

3. When the spices begin to sizzle add curry leaves. Saute for 30 seconds.

4. Next add 1 cup finely chopped onions and 1 slit green chili (optional).

5. Saute until the onions lose their raw smell, for about 3 mins. Next add ¾ to 1 tablespoon chopped ginger garlic and saute for 30 seconds.

6. Add ¾ cup chopped tomatoes and ¾ teaspoon salt. Saute for 1 minute.

7. Move the onions and tomatoes to one side of the pot. Add the diced potatoes to the other side.

8. Cover with an external lid and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. The cook time of potatoes and other vegetables in this korma is different. So we are precooking the potatoes first so the cook time of all the veggies match at the next step.

9. Saute all of these for 1 to 2 minutes. Add in all the spice powders
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1 ¼ teaspoon garam masala
- Saute for 30 to 60 seconds.

10. Press CANCEL button and add the coconut paste. Mix well.

11. Add the rest of the veggies – ¾ cup beans, ¾ cup carrots, ¾ to 1 cup cauliflower and ¾ cup green peas.

12. Pour 1 ¾ cup water and deglaze the bottom by scrubbing with a spatula. This releases bits of food stuck there & avoids a burn.
Tip: If you are not using coconut paste then simply substitute water with 1¾ cups light coconut milk. If you do not have light coconut milk, use 1 cup regular coconut milk mixed with ¾ cup water.

13. Taste the water and add more salt if needed. Secure the Instant pot with the lid and position the steam release handle/ value to sealing. Press PRESSURE COOK button (high pressure) and set the timer to 1 minute. After the Instant pot beeps, wait for 1 minute. Then release the pressure manually by moving the steam release value from sealing to venting.

14. Give a gentle stir. Vegetable kurma will look runny at this stage but will thicken after it cools down a bit.

This is the consistency after cooling slightly.

Serve vegetable korma with plain basmati rice, dosa, pulao, poori.

Ingredients and substitutes
Vegetables – The veggies that go well in a mixed veg kurma are carrots, peas, beans, cauliflower & potatoes. You can skip any of these if you do not have. Alternately you can substitute any of the 5 mentioned veggies with the other.
Or use only one vegetable like potatoes. But the total quantity of veggies should be the same as mentioned in the recipe.
You can use any other vegetable like red pumpkin or white button mushrooms if you like the flavor & taste. But also note the taste of kurma depends on the veggies used.
Cashew nuts – Cashews can be replaced with poppy seeds or soaked almond seeds. Please note that blending poppy seeds to a fine paste is really hard if you don’t have a good grinder.
Coconut – Coconut is the main ingredient in this South Indian kurma. If you do not have fresh coconut, then simply use ¼ cup thick coconut milk to blend the cashews & fennel seeds.
If you do not have coconut milk as well, then simply use ½ cup regular yogurt (not Greek). Blend the cashews with little yogurt until smooth & then add the rest and blend.
Whole spices – Whole spices like bay leaf, star anise, cinnamon, cloves and cardamoms slowly release their aroma without overpowering the dish. Your dish won’t have the real flavors if you skip these.
All of these spices are very important to make a South Indian kurma. However you may skip if you personally don’t like the flavour of any of these. If you haven’t tried star anise any time, give it a try. It totally elevates the flavour of your veg korma.
Fennel seeds – You can skip if you don’t like. But it is one of the key ingredients in a hotel style kurma.
Pro tips
1. Kurma paste – Kurma paste is made of coconut, cashews, fried gram & poppy seeds. I do not use poppy seeds as they are banned here in Singapore. You can skip making the paste entirely & just use ½ cup curd or regular yogurt.
The taste does differ with curd & it tastes slightly tangy. I personally do not prefer to cook with curd so I have not done it here. But I have grown up eating this as it is a common ingredient used in many Telugu speaking homes.
2. Many households blend whole spices along with coconut. But I don’t. Using garam masala works out much better for me as it is easier to adjust the quantities easily.
3. Do not skip or alter the quantity of whole spices as they are the most key ingredients that flavor up the vegetable kurma.
Faqs
This super aromatic and delicious vegetable korma is made with potatoes, peas, carrots, French beans, onions, tomatoes, coconut or yogurt, nuts and spices.
Yes both are same with slight variations. In South India it is called as kurma and is made with coconut as the base. In North India it is called as korma and is made with yogurt as the base.
A curry does not need ingredients like yogurt, nuts, seeds and fragrant whole spices. But a korma needs all of these ingredients. Yogurt, nuts and seeds form the base of a korma which is simmered with a good amount of fragrant whole spices.
For more kurma recipes, do check
Chicken korma
Navratan korma
Egg korma
Potato korma
Paneer kurma
Related Recipes
Recipe card

Veg kurma recipe (vegetable korma)
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
make a paste
- ¼ cup fresh coconut or 2 tbsps poppy seeds or ¼ cup coconut milk
- 10 to 12 cashew nuts
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (saunf or sombu or ½ tsp powder)
- 1 tablespoon roasted chana dal (fried gram, roasted gram) (optional)
- 6 tablespoons water or coconut milk
Whole spices
- 1 small bay leaf (tej patta)
- 1 star anise (chakri phool) (optional)
- 1 strand mace (javithri) (optional)
- ½ teaspoon cumin (jeera)
- 2 green cardamoms (elaichi)
- 3 cloves (laung)
- 1 inch cinnamon (dalchini)
other ingredients
- 2 tablespoon oil
- 1 cup onions finely chopped – 2 medium
- 1 green chilli optional
- ¾ to 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste or fine chopped
- ¾ cup tomatoes fine chopped – 2 medium sized
- ¾ to 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup beans (8 to 10) chopped to ½ inch pieces
- ¾ cup carrot (1 medium) chopped to ½ inch pieces
- ¾ to 1 cup cauliflower (gobi florets)
- 1 cup potatoes (2 medium) chopped to ½ inch
- ¾ cup green peas or matar
- 1¾ cups water
- 2 tablespoons coriander leaves for garnish
Spice powders for vegetable korma
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric or haldi
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder kashmiri or byadgi
- 1 ¼ teaspoon garam masala
Instructions
Preparation
- Fine chop onions & tomatoes. Slit chilli and set aside all of these. Cube the veggies to ½ inch sizes and set aside. Keep the potatoes immersed in a bowl of water until used.
- Make a fine paste of coconut, cashews, roasted chana dal & saunf with 6 tbsps water. If you do not like the flavor of fennel seeds you may skip it. Set aside the kurma paste.
- Heat a pot with oil. Then saute bay leaf, star anise, mace, jeera, cardamoms, cloves and cinnamon until they sizzle.
- Next put in the chopped onions and green chili. Fry until they turn transparent & pink in color.
- Fry ginger garlic paste until the raw smell goes off.
- Next saute tomatoes with salt until mushy and soft.
- Add turmeric, chilli powder, garam masala and coriander leaves. Saute well for 2 to 3 mins until the masala smells really good.
How to make veg kurma
- Transfer the coconut paste and saute for few minutes until the kurma masala smells good.
- Drain the water from potatoes and add them to the pot.
- Next add the other veggies and mix well. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes and then pour water just enough to cover the veggies. Adjust salt if needed.
- Cook until the veggies are cooked. Garnish with coriander leaves.
- Serve veg kurma with chapati, pulao or biryani.
Instant pot vegetable kurma
- Press SAUTE button and pour oil to the inner pot of Instant pot. Add all the whole spices and saute for 30 seconds.
- Next add onions and chili. saute for 3 mins.
- Add ginger garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
- Next add tomatoes and salt. Saute for 1 minute.
- Move the onions and tomatoes to one side. Add the potatoes to the other side.
- Cover with an external lid and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Saute all of these for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add in all the spice powder and saute for 30 to 60 seconds.
- Press CANCEL button and add the coconut paste.
- Add the rest of the veggies and mix well.
- Pour water and deglaze the bottom by scrubbing with a spatula. This releases bits of food stuck there & avoids a burn.
- Taste the water and add more salt if needed.
- Secure the Instant pot with the lid and position the steam release handle/ value to sealing.
- Press PRESSURE COOK button (high pressure) and set the timer to 1 minute.
- After the Instant pot beeps, wait for 1 minute. Then release the pressure manually by moving the steam release value from sealing to venting.
- Give a gentle stir. Vegetable korma will look runny at this stage but will thicken after it cools down a bit.
Notes
- Roasted chana dal is also known as fried gram or roasted gram. These are made from black chickpeas which are sand roasted and skinned. These are easily available in Indian stores.
- If using yogurt or curd, make sure you don’t use sour one. Use more spice powders to balance the tang in yogurt.
- Substitute fresh coconut with 2 tbsps of poppy seeds or 6 tbsps of thick coconut milk. If using coconut milk then skip water used for making the paste.
- It is important to keep the size of the potatoes and carrots to half inch.
- If you use larger pieces of the veggies about 1 inch then you will need to increase the cook time to 2 mins.
Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.
For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.
Video
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
This post was first published in October 2015. Updated & republished in January 2021.


Hi Swasthi,
I have tried many of your recipes and every recipe of yours that I have tried is a sure shot winner, your website is my go to place if I happen to look for anything to try out. Thanks for the detailed recipe instructions, tips and alternative options that you write.
Regards,
Swati
Hi Swati,
Thank you so much! So glad to know!
🙂
Can I use dessicated coconut rather than fresh for this?
Yes You can use
Can we skip d onion? i was looking for no onion no garlic recipe..
Yes you can skip the onions & garlic as well
Can we add soya chunks to this gravy Swathi ?
Yes you can add about half cup. Soak them in hot water until soft. Squeeze off the water, rinse and use
I love receipes by Swathi. Thank you so much, I looked your receipes during the lockdown
Glad to know Pankaj
Thank you
I like all your recipes and the results will be awesome?.. Thanks for all the wonderful recipes…
Great recipe!
Hi Swasthi, your recipes are always so good! Thank you 🙂 I don’t have cashews for kurma paste is their any substitute for cashews pls?
Hi Chetana,
Thank you. You can use poppy seeds or more coconut
Hey swasthi! Tried this out and it came out really well! ☺️
Hi Lakshmi
Glad to know! Thank you
Unfortunately, I did not preboil the veggies. While the potatoes were done, the carrots and beans didn’t get cooked. But otherwise the taste is alright.
You don’t need to preboil the veggies. You may add more water and cook further until the carrots and beans are cooked.
Hi Swasthi,
Have been searching for perfect kurma recepie for a long time!! Thank you for sharing! Comes out perfect every time.
Best Regards!!
Good recipe during lock Down ?
We didit have fennel and spice flower , nonetheless tasty.
I also like the watery version of kurma served in regular restaurants along with Chapati which also has beetroot. Please suggest the variation to make that dish as well.
Thanks a lot.
Glad to know it turned out good!
Yes I will try to share
This was delicious and healthy! Perfect with appams. Thank you for yet another no-fail delicious recipe!
H Reshma,
You are welcome. Wow appam and kurma.! Thank you! Glad you liked it.
it is always the classics , to have veg kurma , i did not know that we can add coconut with cashew , new ingredient for me to know
thank you
Hi Shamanth
You are welcome. Thank you so much!
Turned out very tasty.
Thank you!
Hi Swasthi
All your recipes are excellent..
I tried many of your dishes and all turned out very well..Thank you!
Hi Durga
You are welcome! Thanks much!
Hi Swasthi,
I love your recipes, every one turned out well so far!
I‘d like to try this one (loved the dish when I tasted it in India) but unfortunately here in Austria fresh coconut is not easy to come by. Can I also use dried coconut flakes and maybe add some coconut milk to make it smooth?
thank you in advance
Katharina
Hi Katharina,
You are welcome. I haven’t tried with coconut flakes for any curry recipe. So not sure how it works. You can simply skip it and pour some coconut milk & reduce the water. For any korma/curry recipe you can just skip coconut and use cashews or poppy seeds along with coconut milk. Thank you for trying the recipes.
Hi Swasthi,
I tried the recipe today and did as you suggested. It turned out really well! thank you for your help 🙂
Hi Katharina,
You are welcome. Glad it turned out well. Thank you!
🙂
Hi Swasti,
This recipe is super hit and finger licking good. Everyone loved it so much.
Hi mam I made small mistake
While grinding the coconut paste I added cardamon and cloves and jeers etc
And while frying I added cardamon and jeera again
I make kurma lite bitter
So how to avoid mam
I want to impress my wife kindly say mam
Hi,
Just doubling the cardamom and jeera or blending them will not make the kurma bitter. If you blend spices like star anise, mace etc then it can become bitter. May be you can try to add a bit of coconut milk. It should reduce.
Hi swasthi your recipes are the best .Especially when I want to try out new vegetarian ones I trust your recipes for the best results. Thank you .
Hi Sharol,
You are welcome. Thank you so much! Glad you like them.
🙂
Hare Krishna
Excellent, reminds me of my Amma and my Maamiyar’s cooking!
Hare Krishna!
Thank you so much.
Hi Swasthi,
First time I made this veg kurma and was awesome better than the restaurants. I hate some kurmas with overpowering flavors. This one is so good and delicious. We ate with jeera rice. I am sure will be on our weekly rotation. Thank you.
Hi Chaitali
You are welcome. Thanks for trying. Glad you all liked the kurma.
Loved it. Just the variation I did was since I didn’t have fresh coconut and tomatoes so simple made the paste with coconut milk powder along with curd, fenel seeds cashews
Thanks Manasi,
Glad you like it