Kerala-Style Vegetable Korma
Updated Oct. 11, 2023

- Total Time
- 18 minutes
- Prep Time
- 2 minutes
- Cook Time
- 16 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
- ¼cup ghee, coconut oil or neutral oil
- 2teaspoons black mustard seeds
- 1yellow or red onion, finely chopped
- 1teaspoon ginger paste or freshly grated ginger
- 1teaspoon garlic paste or freshly grated garlic
- 3Thai green chiles, sliced
- 2teaspoons coarsely ground Malabar black pepper or 1½ teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
- 1½teaspoons fine sea salt
- ¾teaspoon Kashmiri or other mild red chile powder (optional)
- ½teaspoon turmeric powder
- 3Roma tomatoes (optional), finely chopped
- 2tablespoons cashew butter
- 1pound frozen (not thawed) or fresh mixed vegetables, such as cauliflower florets, chopped carrots, peas, broccoli florets, chopped green beans and corn
- 1(13.5-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
- ½teaspoon garam masala
- 2tablespoons chopped cilantro (optional)
- Rice, roti or naan, for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat ghee or oil in a large pot over high for 30 seconds. Add mustard seeds. When they start to sputter, add onion, ginger, garlic and green chiles. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Step 2
Stir in black pepper, salt, red chile powder and turmeric. Add tomatoes (if using) and cashew butter and stir until the cashew butter has melted. (If using the tomatoes, continue cooking until the tomatoes start to break down, about 5 minutes.) Stir in vegetables then coconut milk. Once the liquid is boiling, reduce the heat to medium and continue simmering until the vegetables are cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Step 3
Top with garam masala and cilantro, if using. Serve with rice, roti or naan.
Private Notes
Comments
I make a lot of curries and dishes like this, and I got real tired of all the mincing. So I bought a bunch of fresh ginger, garlic and chiles and pureed them together. I keep a big jar in the freezer and a small one in the fridge. Great timesaver, and the flavors hold up well. No, I did not measure how much of each I used.
As someone from Kerala, I was actually impressed how a New York Times recipe ended up closer to my moms cooking than Indian YouTubers. Two tbsps of oil is plenty. I used fresh cauliflower and carrots and some frozen peas, light coconut milk and it was delicious
A wonderful recipe that has been modified for ease of use. My quibble (as a South Indian), is the amount of cooking fat. Two tablespoons of ghee or oil is plenty!
Double everything for two people. Used half a jalapeño and the heat was right. Used 2/3 a can of tomatoes and blended up cashews with them. So delicious!
What a great recipe for using up leftover crudité from a party (broccoli, carrots, green beans, cauliflower). The cherry tomatoes worked well as a substitute for the Roma tomatoes. Added some frozen peas near the end. Delicious. Absolutely don't leave out the garam masala, which adds the final perfect touch (a sensory delight).
This is a great template to adapt to whatever is in the larder. Used about 2 Tbs oil as suggested. Ground up cashews with the immersion blender and added a few cherry tomatoes to achieve paste consistency. Chopped a few more instead of Roma tomatoes. Used jalapeño because I had some. Fresh carrots and bell peppers, frozen corn and peas. Next time I’ll add broccoli and cauliflower. Served it with David Tanis’s Turkey Biryani that was in the freezer and some homemade mango chutney. Definitely exceeded expectations!
