Nut-Free Vegetable Korma

Indian restaurants are off-limits since Katie is allergic to nuts, but because I don't want her to miss out on all the amazing food I've spent the last few years slowly building a repertoire of dishes I can make at home. Vegetable korma is my favorite Indian dish to order whenever we try a new Indian restaurant so I was really excited to make a good at-home version.



The house smelled AMAZING while this was simmering away and I'm happy to report it was just as good as the traditional version with cashews. I forgot the cauliflower in our dish, but that just means I need to make it again.

Nut-Free Vegetable Korma
Adapted from The Wanderlust Kitchen

For the Sauce
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and halved
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 (1-inch) piece ginger root, roughly chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed and seeded

For the Korma
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 small Roma tomatoes, diced
1 can unsweetened, full-fat coconut milk
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 medium red potato, peeled and diced
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup peeled, diced carrot
1 cup chopped fresh green beans
1 cup cauliflower florets

To Serve
Cooked basmati rice
Buttered and grilled naan
Raita

Place the onion, garlic, ginger and jalapeno in a blender with 1/2 cup of water. Process until pureed.

Heat the vegetable oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Measure all of the spices (the curry powder through cardamom) in a small bowl. Once the butter has melted, add the spices and stir to coat the butter. You want to toast the spices to bring out their flavors.

Pour in the pureed sauce and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tomato, coconut milk, yogurt, brown sugar, potato, peas, carrots, cauliflower and green beans. Stir well. Reduce the heat to a simmer then cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes.

Uncover and cook another 10-15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Serve with cooked basmati rice, raita and naan.

Cucumber Scallion Raita
From Smitten Kitchen

1 cucumber, peeled, seeds removed, finely chopped
1 thinly sliced scallion
10-12 oz plain Greek yogurt
salt, to taste

Mix everything together and let sit in the fridge for a few hours so the flavors meld.