This restaurant-standard vegan korma is anything but bland and boring. Packed with flavour but delicately spiced, showstopping enough to serve to guests.
Ah Korma, the curry for people who don't really like curry. The one that isn't too spicy. The bland one. Well perhaps that's the case in British curry houses, but the original korma was an expensive banquet dish, rich with cream, strewn with nuts and fruit, and deeply scented with exotic spices.
I'm as guilty as everyone else for my treatment of this noble dish - a creamy chickpea and kale vegan korma comes up every few weeks on our weekly meal plan, and I'm ashamed to say it is a cheat's 10-minute version made with a generous dollop of spice paste from a jar in the fridge and a tin of coconut milk.
But I've been thinking for a while about the times I've had a really excellent korma in a restaurant, and how I might be able to get somewhere close to those at home. Now autumn is in the air and the evenings are getting dark and cold, working on a flavour-packed and deeply spiced 'proper' korma seemed very appealing, and after a number of taste tests, tweaking the spice combinations, sauce thickness, cooking time and base vegetables, I think I've got it just how I want it!
What you will need for your Vegan Korma
Ingredients
The korma 'filling' of pulses and vegetables is really up to you. I used a mix of chickpeas, spinach, cauliflower and lentils with leftover pre-cooked potato from the kids dinner, but you could also use any combination of:
- Tinned chickpeas
- Tinned green or brown lentils
- If you like vegan meat substitutes, some vegan 'chicken' pieces would work well in this creamy sauce, (but do add some vegetables too, for balance).
- Butternut squash and/or sweet potato (pre-cook them until al-dente beforehand)
- Juicy chestnut mushrooms (halve and fry them separately or their juices will make the sauce too watery)
- Frozen peas
- Broccoli (pre-cook until al-dente)
- Peppers (if you have time, roast them in the oven for a lovely sweetness, or else just fry them first before adding to the sauce)
- Courgettes (slice thinly and fry or grill beforehand as they release a lot of liquid which will make the sauce watery - or see my Creamy Courgette Curry if you prefer!)
Garlic and ginger I've given the option of either fresh garlic and ginger, or ready-chopped from a jar or tube. If you have time the fresh stuff really does make a difference to the overall flavour, but if you're in a hurry you can 'cheat' if you need to!
Garam masala, turmeric and cinnamon The spices pack a punch but without being 'hot' - garam masala is a great blend which saves you having to buy seven or eight individual jars, turmeric deepens the colour and adds flavour, and cinnamon finishes it off with a sweet edge.
Coconut yoghurt The sauce is made from coconut yoghurt rather than coconut milk that I would usually use - giving it a bit of tang, but sweetened with blitzed cashew nuts which also make it rich. This really tastes like a restaurant dish rather than a simple supper.
Dairy-free cream This gives a final rich and creamy finish to the dish. I used soya cream but coconut cream would work just as well.
Equipment
To make the cashew and spice paste you really do need some sort of mini chopper or blender. I use my mini chopper almost every day, for smoothies, sauces, soups and all sorts of quick chopping jobs in the kitchen. Mine is a Braun Multiquick* priced at just under £50 which is great value for money if you use it as much as I do, but you can get even cheaper ones too that will do a similar job.
If I'm making this in bulk to freeze I will make the spice paste and chop all the vegetables in my Magimix Food Processor* which is all-round brilliant and a great investment.
Reader Testimonials: Vegan Korma
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "Finding it really hard to feed 2 vegan teenagers but this recipe was amazing! I had 3 empty plates and some compliments for my cooking which doesn’t happen very often…😂 Thank you Kate. It really was like having a proper takeaway!" Sue
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Korma with coconut yoghurt sauce
Ingredients
- 50 g cashew nuts
- 1 onion
- 2 tablespoon rapeseed or sunflower oil
- 2 teaspoon ginger purée / 2-3cm piece root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 teaspoon garlic purée / 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
- 3 teaspoon garam masala
- 2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 250 ml coconut yoghurt
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 25 g sultanas
- 600 g vegetables and pulses (I used a mix of cooked cauliflower, chickpeas, lentils, spinach and cooked potato. See above for more ideas)
- 4 tablespoon dairy-free cream (I used soya cream)
Instructions
- Pour 150ml warm water into a jug or bowl, and add the cashew nuts. Leave them soaking and set aside.
- Peel and slice the onion. Heat the oil in a large, lidded frying pan or casserole dish and cook the onion over a medium heat for 4-5 minutes until starting to soften.
- Prepare the garlic and ginger and add to the pan. Continue to cook on a gentle heat.
- Tip the cashews and their soaking water into a mini-chopper or blender, and add the garam masala, turmeric and cinnamon. Blitz to a smooth paste.
- Add the spice and cashew paste to the pan and cook over a gentle heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Stir in the yoghurt, salt and sultanas, bring to a simmer and continue to cook for a further 4-5 minutes.
- Finally, add the vegetables / pulses and the dairy-free cream and cook for a further 4-5 minutes. Serve with rice and naan.
Laura Chaplin says
It filled a hole, but it wasn't satisfying at all to eat, but not unpleasant either, really bizarre. Very flavourless and was sort of a murky brown when finished.
Kate Ford says
Oh no i'm sorry to hear that Laura - there are a lot of spices and flavours in there so if you found it flavourless maybe double the quantity of them all for a really big hit? Did you use fresh garlic and ginger or paste from a jar? And did you use all the salt specified? It does turn out a pale brown colour when finished, as in the photos. Sorry it wasn't what you were expecting and thanks for the feedback. Kate x
Sue says
Finding it really hard to feed 2 vegan teenagers but this recipe was amazing! Didn’t use the Birds Eye pack, just used fresh veg but I had 3 empty plates and some compliments for my cooking which doesn’t happen very often...😂
Thank you Kate. It really was like having a proper takeaway!
Kate Ford says
Ah that's so great to hear Sue, thanks!
Farida says
Thank you for a very nice recipe ! I used fresh spinach, chestnut mushrooms, 1 sweet potato and chickpeas (I couldn't find BirdsEye chickpea and spinach mix in my Tesco supermarket). Thank you for sahring your recipe Xx
Bal Gill says
It's a wondeful and well improvised recipe. Thanks for the inspiration as I am just settijng up a vegan punjabi delivery service in Oxford and this is really helpful for the non curry connoisseur. Thanks
Bargain loving mum says
Hi Bal Gill - I live in Oxford and I'd love to hear about your Punjabi Vegan delivery service! Please can you post details? 🙂
Kylie says
I have seriously missed Korma since transitioning to a plant-based diet! I’m trying this recipe tonight and I literally can’t wait - it looks amazing! 🙂 I’m looking forward to trying more of your recipes! X
Ellen Taylor says
Hi Kate,
It looks a new way to try Korma. Hope it will be yummy and delicious.
Thanks for the awesome recipe.
chickpeas and garbanzo beans says
That looks gorgeous and I love the colours. That veg mix is really useful. Sharing this now!
Balvinder says
The korma looks so delicious! and, I love that ready to use vegetables and pulses bag.
Corina Blum says
It sounds absolutely delicious and as I use spinach and chickpeas a lot I love the sound of those packs of frozen vegetables. They really would make a lot of our easy curry nights even easier. The korma looks lovely and thick too - It can be really tasty so it is a shame that it's often just thought of as the 'bland' one. Thanks so much for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice!
kim says
What a delicious recipe! All of my favorite flavors in one meal!
Tisha says
I've never had Korma, this dish definitely intrigues me!
Jill says
I have never tried Korma. But your description is making me think I should. Looks like a simple recipe with lots of flavor!
Lizzie says
Ha, whenever I see that frozen veg mix I think of curry, but I haven't used it yet. My husband makes an amazing korma that is so different to the ones in restaurants - my parents always ordered me korma as a child as 'I wouldn't like it too spicy'. Your recipe looks so much tastier!