When happiness is a velvety, fragrant, and comforting bowl of goodness, we’ve got you covered with our Easy Vegetable Korma that is packed with wholesome vegetables bathed in rich deliciousness. This vegan nod to the classic Indian dish is satisfying and bursting with aromatic spices, hearty chickpeas and nourishing veggies making all your Korma dreams come true. So utterly mind blowing delicious, you’ll want to text Mom all about it.
Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, and no highly processed ingredients.
Hi there Ameera here!
Have you ever had a great Indian Korma before? If you have then you know what I am taking about when I say “Oh my goodness, it is soooo good!” I love a great Korma.
There isn’t anything quite like all that creamy deliciousness with veggies and fragrant Indian spices. Need I say more?
It really isn’t hard to make, but the key to making it creamy is the combination of slivered almonds and light unsweetened coconut milk.
This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.
Curry Powders
Another thing about making a tasty Korma is selecting the perfect curry. I’ve tasted a lot of curry powders. They are all different and delicious in their own way.
Some pack a ton of heat while others are slightly sweet, or others have spices that are more prominent than others.
Mom was not a curry fan before we went Whole Food Plant Based. Since going WFPB, we have been trying so many new dishes and spices, and her taste for curry has grown into a love of all things curry. LOL
If you are not a curry fan, I highly suggest looking at a variety of blends, review the list of spices on the label. Find a curry blend(s) that emphasizes the spices you enjoy.
For example, mom and I do like coriander, but sometimes, for us, it can get overwhelming really quickly. So we try to find curry blends that don’t taste overpowering in coriander.
Penzeys Curry Powders
First, let me say this is not a sponsored ad for Penzeys. We just love their spices so much that we want you to experience their deliciousness as well.
For this Korma recipe, we used Penzeys Sweet Curry. I think it has an excellent blend of spices and is most suited for the American palate. If you have a favorite curry powder, use it. If you haven’t found one yet, consider giving this one a try or Penzeys “The Now Curry,” which highlights more gingery and garlicy notes.
You can order Penzeys online or they have several store fronts scattered here and there. The closest one to us is over an hour away so we order ours online directly from Penzeys, but you can also order their spices via Amazon as well.
Keep in mind that different currys will influence the overall flavor outcome of this dish. So choose a curry that you love. Depending on which curry blend you use, you may want to adjust the amounts of spices/herbs listed in the ingredients.
I’ll let Mom tell you more about this awesome Korma recipe!
Hi! Robin here.
As Monkey mentioned, prior to going Whole Food Plant Based, I was not a fan of Indian food. I hated curries of all kinds. I love them now, but I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect with this dish, but when Monkey served up this amazingly vegetable korma – Oh my my, sooooo good! I was in comfort food heaven!
If you try this comforting dish, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
Products Used:
- Large ceramic/enamel lined Dutch oven/skillet or similarly large stock pot
- High-Speed Blender
Easy Vegetable Korma
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes
- Cook Time: 20 Minutes
- Total Time: 40 Minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Indian
Description
When happiness is a velvety, fragrant, and comforting bowl of goodness, we’ve got you covered with our Easy Vegetable Korma that is packed with wholesome vegetables bathed in rich deliciousness. This vegan nod to the classic Indian dish is satisfying and bursting with aromatic spices, hearty chickpeas and nourishing veggies making all your Korma dreams come true. So utterly mind blowing delicious, you’ll want to text Mom all about it.
Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, and no highly processed ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup slivered almonds *
- ½ cup yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 Tablespoons serrano pepper (or jalapeno pepper), finely diced
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- ¼ cup vegetable broth *
- 1 – 14 oz. can light unsweetened coconut milk *
Other Ingredients:
- 1 – 15.5 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed *
- 16 oz. to 20 oz. bag frozen veggies *
Spice/Herb Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 to 4 teaspoons curry powder *
- Smidgeon crushed fennel
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper *
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika (optional – for color only)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt (+/- to taste) *
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper (+/-)
Other Optional Ingredients:
- Steam rice (of choice)
- Flatbread
- Freshly chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Place 1/3 cup slivered almonds in a small bowl, cover with boiling water, set aside for 20 minutes, then drain. Place the soaked almonds and the 14 oz. can of light coconut milk into a high-speed blender, blend on high until the mixture is smooth and emulsified. Set aside (keep the mixture in the high-speed blender).
- Place the Spice/Herb Ingredients in a small bowl, set aside.
- In the meantime, in a large ceramic/enamel-lined Dutch oven, skillet or similar stock pot, add the finely diced onions and serrano pepper; sauté over medium heat until they begin to soften, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Add a tablespoon or so of water if they start to stick and/or to prevent burning.
- Add the minced garlic to the skillet, and sauté for 30 seconds, then add the Herb/Spice mix and sauté for 30 seconds, just to warm up the spices and release their fragrance, then add the ¼ cup of vegetable broth, stir well with a rubber spatula, scraping the bottom and side of the skillet to incorporate everything into a thick sauce/paste. Remove from heat. Spoon this mixture into the high-speed blender along with the almond/light coconut milk mixture, blend on high until smooth and emulsified. Set aside.
- Place the empty skillet back on the stove, over medium heat, add the frozen veggies and chickpeas. Heat through until the frozen veggies reach the desired tenderness, about 4 minutes (longer if you prefer more tender veggies). Turn off the heat, push the veggies to the side of the pan, tilt the pan, and remove/spoon out any excess water that may have been released from the frozen veggies. You don’t want this excess liquid to water down your Korma sauce. Once the excess water has been removed, add the Korma sauce from the high-speed blender, turn the heat back on the skillet and simmer over medium-low heat. Taste test the Korma sauce and adjust spices as needed to reach the flavor you desire. Simmer until everything has been heated through.
- Serve over your favorite rice with a sprinkle of freshly chopped cilantro.
Notes
*Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.
*Lite Unsweetened Coconut Milk: You can also use unsweetened plain plant milk, but you will need to adjust the spices (not use as much) as the lite coconut milk is thicker and tempers the spices more than plain unsweetened plant milk. We tried the recipe both ways and definitely preferred using lite unsweetened coconut milk from the can over the plain plant milk. Lite Unsweetened Coconut Milk is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, full fat coconut milk is not considered WFPB.
*Curry Powder/Spice/Herb Ingredients: Use your favorite curry powder. We used Penzeys Sweet Curry. It has great flavor, and we really enjoy it. Curry powders really vary in terms of taste and heat. We also added 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne as we like some heat to our Indian dishes. You may wish to adjust the cayenne pepper if you have small children, or add a pinch, then taste test at the end of the dish to ramp up as needed. Additionally, serrano and jalapeno peppers vary significantly in terms of heat. Again, if you have small children or not a fan of spicy foods adjust the recipe accordingly.
*Chickpeas: We used chickpeas, but you can substitute with another bean variety, marinated baked cubed tofu/tempeh, or rehydrated soy curls. Keep in mind different substitutions will absorb the sauce with different amounts, adjust amount of substituted item(s) accordingly.
*Vegetables: We used a frozen vegetable blend of carrots, bell peppers, broccoli, and cauliflower. You can use all fresh, all frozen, or a combination. You may need to adjust cooking time for vegetables as size, fresh, and frozen aspects all play into how long the veggies will need to cook to reach the desired tenderness.
*Almond Substitution: You can substitute the slivered almonds with cashews. We do not have any nut-free options at this time.
*Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
*Makes: 4 servings.
*Storage: Refrigerate and use within 5 days.
This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.
This dish was AMAZING! We did fresh veg instead of frozen. Asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. Still so easy. My entire Omni family loved it.
Hi there Angela 🙂
Yaaaayyyy!!! We are so thrilled that you and your omni family enjoyed this recipe. Thank you so much for your awesome feedback and for taking the time to write.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
I made this tonight and it was delicious (as all your recipes are)! I don’t have a high speed blender but was able to use an immersion blender by substituting almond butter for the slivered almonds. Also used fresh veggies instead of frozen, and got rave reviews from the family. Thanks for all your wonderful recipes!
Hi there Shelley 🙂
Woo hoo!!!! We are so thrilled that you gave this recipe a try and enjoyed it! Thank you so much for sharing how you made this recipe your own. We truly appreciate your awesome feedback and for taking the time to write!
-Ameera and Robin 🙂