Recipe- South Indian Style Veg Kurma

Make South Indian style Veg Kurma at home with this easy step-by-step recipe!

Vegetables are cooked in a flavorful sauce made with coconut, cashews, white poppy seeds and a whole lot of spices!

This vegetable kurma tastes great with paratha, poori, dosa! What we had was navratan korma (and I should share the recipe someday), which is more popular in Northern India and made differently than the south Indian kurma.

I tasted south Indian style veg kurma pretty late in life but it quickly became a favorite. We go to this restaurant nearby and always order their kurma with parotta (similar to paratha but very flaky and made with all purpose flour). It’s my favorite combo!

Ingredients

1/2 cup shredded coconut fresh or frozen
2 teaspoons white poppy seeds also known as khus khus
10 cashews raw
1 tablespoon chana dal roasted
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons oil
1 bay leaf
3 cloves
4 whole green cardamom
1 strand mace
1 inch cinnamon stick
1 medium yellow onion chopped
2 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste
2 medium tomatoes pureed
2 teaspoons coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
3 cups water 24 oz, divided
1/2 cup cubed carrots 1/4 inch in size
1/2 cup green beans chopped
1 cup cauliflower florets small sized florets
1 cup cubed potato small cubes, 1/2 inch or less
1/3 cup green peas I used frozen
cilantro to garnish

Method

* To a blender add shredded coconut, poppy seeds, cashews and roasted chana dal (make sure to roast the chana dal beforehand). Add 1/4 cup water.

* Grind everything together to a smooth paste. Set it aside.

* Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil it hot, add the whole spices- bay leaf, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and strand of mace.

* Saute for few seconds until the spices are fragrant.

* Add in the chopped onions and stir. Cook the onions for 3 minutes until soft and translucent.

* Then add in the ginger-garlic paste and cook for another minute or so.

* Stir in the tomato puree. Cover the pan and cook the tomatoes for around 5 minutes.

* Then add the powdered spices- coriander powder, garam masala, turmeric powder, red chili powder. Also add the salt and mix.

* Cook the spices for a minute.

* Add in all the veggies and mix. Remember to chop veggies small so that they don't take a lot of time to cook and also cook at the same time.

* Add in 2 cups water. Then cover the pan with a lid and cook for around 6 minutes.

* Open the lid after 6 minutes and stir in the prepared coconut-cashew-poppy seed paste and mix. Veggies are almost cooked at this point. I also added an additional cup of water at this point.

* Cover and cook the veggies for another 3 or 4 minutes or until all the veggies are cooked.

* Taste test and adjust the salt and spices at this point.

* Garnish with cilantro and serve veg kurma with paratha, naan or rice.