Serves 16
When I made this, I thought it was pretty easy. But now that I’m writing out the directions I’m like “Oy gevault.” I hope you’re not deterred by the long directions, it makes so much food and it is so incredibly worth it. There are a few steps here but each one isn’t exactly complicated, try it out on a Sunday when you’ve got a potluck to go to. It will feed 16 people easily. And those 16 people will love you forever. If you’re not serving a small army then just halve the recipe.
I came up with this because I was invited to a Diwali party over the weekend and of course I wanted to bring something Indian inspired. I wasn’t sure what the rest of the meal was going to be, and I really wanted my dish to measure up. So I went for something super creamy! Korma is usually swimming in cream or yogurt, but just because food is vegan doesn’t mean that it can’t be creamy. I used a combo of cashews and coconut milk to achieve the perfect amount of rich, creaminess.
I also used a traditional method for curry, which is a puree of aromatics that’s sauteed for a good amount of time to bring out all the complex flavors and sugar. Both of these methods are really important foundations for a million other dishes, so work them into your repertoire if you haven’t already!
Anyway, when I got to the Diwali party I found out what else was on the menu…it was pizza! Conclusion: pizza and korma go together pretty darn well. But you can serve with some basmati rice, instead.
Notes: Tamarind concentrate is available in Indian markets or at Whole Foods kinda stores. If you don’t have it/can’t find it/don’t care, then just use lime for some tartness. I’d try juice from 2 and go from there.
You’ll need 2 really big pots to get this done kinda quickly, or you can boil the veggies and then rinse that pot out and use it again to make the base. You also need a food processor fit with a metal blade.
Oh and to crush coriander seeds, I place them in a plastic bag and steamroll them with a rolling pin. Works like a charm!
For the cream:
2 cups raw cashew pieces (plus water for soaking)
2 cups vegetable broth
Veggies to boil:
2.5 pounds yukon gold potatoes (1 1/2 inch chunks)
2 lbs cauliflower in large florettes (don’t cut em too small or they will fall apart)
2 lbs carrots, sliced on a bias 1/2 inch thick
Puree:
2 medium sized yellow onions
2 inch nub of ginger
8 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
Everything else:
3 tablespoons peanut oil
1 tablespoon coriander, crushed
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 teaspoons garam masala
Fresh black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate (see note)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cups vegetable broth
1 can coconut milk
2 cups frozen peas
1 large caramelized red onion
Chopped cilantro for garnish (optional)
First, soak the cashews. This will get them really soft and make them easier to blend really smooth. Place them in a bowl and submerge in water. Set aside for at least an hour. In the meantime prep everything.
Boil the veggies. Place them in a big ass pot (8 quart is ideal), and cover them in cold water. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat to a simmer (so you don’t overcook the veggies), for about 15 minutes. Potatoes should be fork tender. Drain and set aside.
Next, puree the onion, ginger and garlic. It shouldn’t be completely smooth, some texture is good. No need to wash the processor bowl just yet, you’re going to puree the cashews in a bit.
Preheat another big pot over medium heat. Cook the puree in the peanut oil with a sprinkle of salt for about 15 to 20 minutes, until it’s nice and browned.
This is a good time to puree the cashews. Drain them and place them in the food processor along with 2 cups vegetable broth. Puree until smooth. This can take up to 5 minutes to get it as smooth as possible.
Back to the puree. Once it’s browned, add the coriander seed and the red pepper flakes and saute for about 3 minutes. Add curry powder, garam masala, several dashes fresh black pepper and salt and saute for another minute.
Add tamarind, tomato paste and vegetable broth and bring to a simmer. Now add the coconut milk and the cashew cream. Let cook uncovered for about 15 minutes, it should thicken a little and be really creamy.
In the meantime, saute the red onion in a little peanut oil in a separate pan with a pinch of salt for about 15 minutes, it should be browned and slightly caramelized. This adds a really nice sweetness and some added texture to the finished dish.
You’re pretty much done. You can shut the heat off then mix in the peas. Now fold in the boiled veggies, put the lid on the pot and let it heat through. Taste for salt and seasoning and serve garnished with cilantro if you like.
Sounds so yummy, Isa! And whoa, does this make a shit ton. What do you think of soaking the cashews in the vegetable broth, so you don’t have to drain ’em?
ox
kittee
OH my great mushroom gravy!!! Woman, you just made my day!
kittee: I don’t soak in veg broth because I usually soak a lot of cashews at once for both sweet and savory things. I also like to drain the cashews, I’m not sure why exactly but they seem to come out smoother if they’re not blended with their soaking water. But sure if you hate draining just soak em in the broth. You’ll need to add a bit more moisture at some point because the cashews probably retain a cup of water or so when they’re soaked.
This seems quite similar to how I make creamy curries (although I cook the vegetables in the liquid and I don’t use tamarind in korm). Surely yummy!
I CAN’T WAIT TO MAKE THIS LDKAJELR;WKJRV;ELWKAJRELW;KRJ
AWESOME! I love when there are vegan creamy things without dairy. creamy is a food texture i want to eat more of, and this korma was executed superbly!
Over Indian takeout last night: “We really need to start _cooking_ Indian; no dairy issues and no $50 tab, either…”
It’s like you read my mind…. 😀
I used to love vegetable korma! Yay!
i’m planning on making this for my birthday dinner 🙂
I use sunflower oil when I saute, I’m allergic to peanut. It provides an almost buttery texture to food. Thanks for the tip on using cashew & coconut instead of yogurt. I get really frustrated when I read a good recipe, and find out they use yogurt. Question, have you ever tried using soy yogurt in these dishes?
I echo j’s statement.
Yum! I want that for dinner!
Oh my, and here I was worrying what I’m going to feed the army of veganism-is-silly people coming over next Sunday. Thank you so much!
I have one question: how much coconut milk is in a tin? It comes in 150ml cartons where I am. How much is it in cups or ml?
This is perfect- just last night we were talking about how to veganize Korma! I had inclinations to add some plain vegan yogurt of sour cream to a nut cream base…. but the tamarind idea is way easier!
btw, made your Magic Cookie Bars last night…. heaven in a plate!
So, this is on the stove right now and is just about ready to eat. I can’t stop stealing spoonfuls. This is literally. THE. BEST. INDIAN. VEGAN. RECIPE. EVER.
Thank you, for your culinary genius.
ew, nub of ginger–why do i hate that word?
Oooh looks awesome!
Very nice photograph : ) As usual! I know what you mean about the long directions. Sometimes my simplest things have the most words attached to the recipe. But when each step only takes a few seconds, it actually becomes a very short recipe!
I do believe I will be making this very soon. Thanks, it looks wonderful.
The looks mouth-watering amazing! Now I know what I’m making this weekend!
So…how well will this freeze, do you think?
This looks lovely. I like the idea of combining the tamarind flavor with the cashew sauce. Awhile back I made a ‘creamy’ Indian dish with a tomato base using the same cashew technique, and also using tofu in place of paneer. It was great. And just this past Friday I made sambar, which is vegan as is — a traditional South Indian lentil vegetable stew, flavored with tamarind. South India is really a treasure trove of traditional vegan recipes.
I think it’d freeze just fine!
What is the “see note” about the tamarind extract? I’m making this over the weekend and I’m having a hard time finding tamarind extract in my white bread neighborhood. Is there an alternative? Is the recipe ruined if I can’t include it?
YUM
Christopher- in the text at the beginning, as below:
‘Notes: Tamarind concentrate is available in Indian markets or at Whole Foods kinda stores. If you don’t have it/can’t find it/don’t care, then just use lime for some tartness. I’d try juice from 2 and go from there.’
Thanks, Melanie – I don’t know why my eyes glazed over that part of the intro. Gah!
Keep the indian recipes coming! I love cooking a wholesome curry! And by the way your new site is lookin’ supa good, and quickly turning into one of the first places I peruse while answering the “whats for dindin tonight?” question.
Drool.
Hooray! Vegetable Korma is my favorite and I’ve been looking for a good vegan version. Thank you, can’t wait to try it!
Made this last night and it’s delicious! One change I made though was that, instead of boiling all the vegetables and potatoes, I oven-roasted the carrots and cauliflower instead (well, broccoli as that was my wife’s request). Slice the vegetables up as the recipe describes but drizzle with a little olive oil on a roasting pan and cook about 30 minutes (or until vegetables start to brown at edges) at 400F.
Made this (halved) last night and it’s AAAAHHHHHMAZING!!! So creamy and comforting!
Can peanuts be used instead of cashews? I eat mostly local fodder and love using peanuts.
Thanksgiving Korma Blows the corwded Potluck’s Socks Off- headline for tomorrow’s paper
WOW….there were so many different layers of flavors to this dish. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and can’t wait to eat the other 15 servings.
Just made and ate this (well, as much as I could) tonite. Half batch and still a ton left.
It tastes perfect. THANK YOU AGAIN, ISA!!!
Made this last night for a potluck. It was so good, well worth the time to cook. I love showing my friends how tasty vegan fare can be. It took me 1.5 hours from start to finish. I got a little confused because in the ingredients list it said red pepper flakes under the puree, and then in the instructions the red pepper flakes weren’t pureed but were added at end of sauteing with coriander. I had accidentally pureed them and sauteed more, oops. My puree also didn’t brown very well. It seemed to have too much liquid. It still turned out great though. I am not an official vegan chef. Aw yea.
Making this for Christmas dinner….
ok. So I took one look at this recipe and thought “HELLO CROCKPOT!!!”. It is in the pot now and smells so good! I cannot wait to serve this for dinner tonight to my peeps. Thanks for such a wonderful recipe. xoxo
I just made this, and it was really good. Nice texture to it. But… I didn’t read that it serves 16, and made a full batch… I’m going to be eating curry for a week! At least it’s good curry.
This recipe is excellent. It does make a ton, so unless you are serving an army you might want to half it. An absolutely delicious curry in every way. Takes some time to assemble, but it’s totally worth it. A+!
Made this for a whole bunch of people yesterday as a New Year/my birthday thing. It was amazing, and went down well with everyone. And there’s plenty left for dinner tonight!
I just made this, and it was great! The ONLY problem was that I read the instructions wrong and put 2 t of red pepper flakes in with the puree, AND 2 additional t of red pepper flakes in the sauce as well. Put it this way – my husband called it “Thai hot!” Can’t wait to try it at regular strength. It made 10.4 pounds of food! I did try using the “light” coconut milk, and it lacked something, so I un-veganized it with 4T of butter. YUMMY. My daughter and I will look forward to having it over and over!
This was delicious! It was a little time-consuming, so I’m wondering about your thoughts of putting all of this in a slow cooker at once (after soaking the cashews). What do you think?
To be honest, I’ve never used a slow cooker in my life! I cook everything separately because it tastes best and cooks correctly that way. For instance, the onions added at the end add a sweetness that they wouldn’t if they were boiled with the other veggies. But I would think if you slow cooked everything except for the cashew creme and coconut milk, then added those last, you might do ok. Cauliflower would probably fall apart though, so maybe choose a sturdier veggie.
This was amazing. I’ve made lots of curries and other types of Indian food before, but this is the only one I’ve made that tastes like it could have come out of a restaurant. SOOOOOOOOOOO good, thanks Isa.
Im allergic to coconut 🙁 And, of course I love it!!! Its a problem with Indian/thai food, and also using the water and oil is out!
It is very difficult since it is all over vegan food!!!
Any suggestions Isa?????
The cashew cream should actually suffice here. And I bet it works well in most dishes that call for coconut milk.
Thanks! I will give it a try!!
Made the white bean kale and quinoa soup tonight…YUM!!
And, 2 choc/pb pillows left, what to do….
You are keeping me very busy… Thanks!!