If you’re looking for a tasty and deliciously creamy vegan korma, look no further. This recipe is completely fuss-free, and you can have it ready in under 45 minutes. Perfect for those of you who don’t like to wait too long for your dinner!
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While the curry simmers, why not go all out and make some simple pilau rice to serve with it, in just 10 minutes? Friends and family are sure to enjoy this, and it takes minimal effort!
We use aubergine because once it’s been simmered it goes beautifully soft and creamy, and it’s perfect with the creamy sauce.
By the way, if you're looking for even more Indian recipe inspiration, check out our huge guide featuring over 60 Vegan Indian Dishes.
🤔 What is korma?
Korma is a dish that originates in India. It’s made by braising meat or vegetables in yoghurt or cream and spices to create a thick sauce. We’ve created this dairy-free korma by substituting the yoghurt for a coconut-based alternative, which makes it extra tasty!
Korma isn’t usually spicy, it’s a dish that’s more about rich, deep flavours.
📋 Ingredient Notes
We’ve deliberately made our vegan korma recipe as simple as possible, all of the ingredients are readily available in supermarkets. You will need:
- Aubergine - chopped into chunks, no need to salt before cooking.
- Potatoes - chopped into cubes.
- Onion - peeled and finely chopped.
- Garlic cloves - peeled and finely chopped.
- Fresh ginger - peeled and finely chopped.
- Coconut milk – light or normal works just as well.
🔪 Step-by-step instructions
- Begin by frying off the onion. Add it to a pan with a splash of oil, and fry over a medium heat for 10 minutes. It’s important to cook the onion for this long to release the flavours. Keep it moving so that it doesn’t burn!
- Add the garlic and ginger to the pan, and give it all a stir.
3. Pop in all of the powdered spices, mix well.
4. Add the potato and the aubergine.
5. Next, add the coconut milk and the water. Stir again and bring the pan to a gentle simmer.
6. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes. This will cook the potato and the aubergine, and infuse them with flavour.
7. Add the peas, along with 1 teaspoon of salt. Simmer for a couple minutes more to ensure the peas heat through.
And you’re done! Serve up your delicious dairy free korma with all the trimmings such as, vegan naan, raita and fresh coriander. Enjoy!
👨🍳 Expert tips
You don’t need to salt the aubergine!
This is old advice, and we have it on good authority from our chef friend that it doesn’t actually remove more water or add anything extra. You also don’t need to bake the aubergine first. In this recipe, simmering the aubergine in the sauce cooks it to perfection.
Thickening the sauce
If you want a thicker vegan korma sauce, add 3 tablespoons of almond flour mixed with 6 tablespoons of water.
Don’t like aubergine?
You can switch it out for tofu or mushrooms, if you prefer.
💭 FAQs
Korma is spiced for flavour rather than for heat. It’s rich and creamy, and packed with fragrant spices. Our vegan korma is made with aubergine, so it gets a lovely creamy texture from that, too.
Korma isn’t always dairy based, as coconut milk is quite often used rather than dairy cream or yoghurt. However, it’s traditionally made with ghee which is a type of dairy. Sometimes dairy cream or yoghurt is used so it’s good to look out for this when eating in a restaurant, if you’re vegan.
We’ve made our vegan korma by omitting the ghee, and using coconut milk. If you want it to be lighter, you can use light coconut milk.
You certainly can! This vegan korma recipe is very versatile, so feel free to switch out the aubergine for tofu or mushrooms. You can reduce the simmer time by 10 minutes if you’re not using potatoes too.
Vegan korma freezes really well. Freeze it as soon as possible after cooking (once cooled), and it should keep in the freezer for up to three months. Be sure that you defrost it thoroughly before reheating.
🍛 What to serve with it
Pilau rice
Check out our guide on how to prepare pilau rice if you want to up your rice game! Our recipe is infused with turmeric and spices, making it a really special rice dish.
Roti
Roti is a traditional Indian flatbread made with wholemeal wheat flour, and it’s heavenly when dipped into vegan korma! Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed.
Vegan raita
Vegan raita is a must for an extra creamy hit! It’s a cooling (dairy-free) yoghurt, herb and cucumber dip which is great with curry, or as a dip.
Poppadoms
Poppadoms are perfect when they are piled high with vegan korma, rice and raita! We also like ours with loads of mango chutney and lime pickle. Yum.
Mushroom bhaji
We love a good helping of mushroom bhaji alongside curry. Mushroom bhaji is actually quite different to onion bhaji, but still really tasty. It's more like a dry curry and isn't fried in batter.
🍚 Other recipes you might like
If you like our vegan korma, give some of our other Indian inspired recipes a try!
- Mushroom Korma
- Falafel Curry (this has a korma sauce base)
- Aubergine Bhaji (otherwise known as Brinjal Bhaji)
- Creamy Vegetable Pasanda
- Mushroom Biryani in 40 minutes
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📖 Recipe
Creamy Vegan Korma In Under 45 Minutes
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 1 onion - peeled and finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic - peeled and finely chopped
- 1 inch ginger - peeled and finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 3 teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- Pinch cinnamon
- Pinch chilli powder
- 400 g aubergine - chopped into chunks
- 350 g potatoes - peeled (optional) and chopped into cubes
- 250 ml water
- 400 ml coconut milk
- 1 cup peas
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Pop a splash of oil in a large saute pan and fry off the onion over a medium heat for 10 minutes. Keep it moving so that it doesn’t burn!1 tablespoon Oil, 1 onion
- Add the garlic and ginger and give it all a good stir4 cloves garlic, 1 inch ginger
- Next sprinkle in all of the spices and continue stirring.1 teaspoon cumin powder, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, 3 teaspoon garam masala, ½ teaspoon coriander powder, Pinch cinnamon, Pinch chilli powder
- Add the potato and the aubergine and mix well.400 g aubergine, 350 g potatoes
- Pour in the coconut milk and water, stir and bring up to a gentle simmer.250 ml water, 400 ml coconut milk
- Simmer for 20 minutes in order to cook the potato and the aubergine thoroughly.
- Add 1 teaspoon of salt and the peas. Ensure the peas are hot by simmering for another few minutes.1 cup peas, 1 teaspoon salt
- Serve with roti, raita and rice.
Notes
- Make sure to fry off the onion for 10 minutes to create a great base for the curry. If you skip this step, the results won’t be as good, but it’s up to you.
- If you want a thicker sauce, add 3 tablespoons of almond flour mixed with 6 tablespoons of water after simmering.
- This curry freezes well for up to 3 months. Just make sure to defrost and reheat thoroughly in the microwave before eating.
- Use light coconut milk for a calorifcally lighter meal.
- You could try switching the potato and aubergine for tofu and mushrooms. If doing so, you can reduce the simmer time by 10 minutes.
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