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.