Instant Pot Vegetable Korma
Apr 03, 2018, Updated Oct 01, 2019
Easy Vegetable Korma made in the Instant Pot! This creamy vegan curry pairs so well with naan or rice. Vegan & gluten-free.
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Easy Vegetable Korma made in the Instant Pot – this creamy curry has just the right amount of spice and pairs beautifully with naan or rice. The veggies retain their texture just as they would when cooked on a stove top! Vegan & gluten-free.
If you love all the Instant Pot vegetarian/vegan recipes that I share on the blog, please join me on this Facebook Group – Instant Pot Vegetarian Recipes. The group would share/feature vegetarian instant pot recipes and ideas from all around the web!
I often hear people complain that whatever they cook in their Instant pot, it turns mushy and they want recipes with textures. Few veggies I agree easily turn to mush under pressure like broccoli, asparagus but for the rest you can play around with the time/pressure level and get the desired results. This Instant Pot Vegetable Korma has so much flavor and the best part? It has the perfect texture, like you would cook on a stove-top!
Korma is a popular creamy curry originating in the Indian subcontinent. It most often has yogurt, cream or coconut mixed into it. I have a recipe for traditional vegetable korma on the blog but that requires a lot of steps. So after playing around with several alternatives to create an easy recipe, I am finally happy with this! This recipe for vegetable korma comes together really quickly, there are no multiple steps involved and yet tastes amazing.
So what do you do to make sure the veggie remain their texture while being pressure cooked in the Instant Pot?
How much the veggies get cooked under pressure will depend on 5 important things!
amount of water in the instant pot – if you have lot of water in your pot, the pot will take more time to get to pressure > which would result in overcooked/mushy veggies.
pressure level – you have 2 options on your instant pot, you can either cook on high pressure or cook on low pressure. This does make a difference to your final result. Veggies like cauliflower are best cooked at low pressure so that they can retain their texture.
release of pressure – the final outcome will depend on whether you did a quick release of pressure or let the pressure release naturally.
how you dice/chop your veggies – if you chop your veggies like potatoes, cauliflower really small they would turn mushy easily. It’s better to chop them into 1 to 1.5 inch pieces.
time – and of course it all depends on the amount of time you cook your veggies for in the Instant Pot!
So you have to play along with these 5 things in order to get the best results. It doesn’t come easy, I failed so much in the beginning. But as I tested recipes after recipes for my cookbook, I got an idea about how to get the veggies cooked yet not turn mushy. I for one do not like overcooked veggies at all! I know some people do, but its just not for me.
How to make Instant Pot Vegetable Korma
I made this vegetable korma vegan so I skipped on the yogurt which is usually used in korma and used coconut milk only. Let me tell you, this is the like the easiest korma that you can make and it would still taste just as great. To cut short the process, I also used canned tomato puree. You obviously don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. You can very well puree 2 tomatoes and use that in place.
This vegetable korma uses veggies like potato, cauliflower, carrots and green peas. I first cooked the masala and then added the potatoes to the pot. I cooked the potatoes for 3 minutes so that they cook up a bit before I put the instant pot to pressure. Potatoes take most time to cook out of all these veggies so it makes sense to cook them a bit first before pressure cooking. I cooked the remaining veggies at low pressure so that the cauliflower doesn’t turn mushy. The result was perfectly textured veggies!
Make sure to cut your potatoes and cauliflower into large pieces. That’s important so that the veggies don’t turn mushy.
This Instant Pot Vegetable Korma is packed with flavors, the sauce is creamy with just the right amount of spice & perfect texture of veggies! It goes so well with naan or rice. It’s also vegan and gluten-free. In case you don’t care on the recipe being vegan, you can use ghee in place of oil and even use heavy cream in the recipe in place of coconut milk. Enjoy!
Method
To a blender add onions, cashews, ginger and garlic.
Grind to a fine paste and set aside.
Press the saute button on your Instant Pot, once it displays hot add oil to the pot and then add peppercorns, green cardamoms, whole cloves and bay leaf. Saute for few seconds until the spices are fragrant.
Then stir in the prepared onion cashew paste and cook it for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring continuously. Stirring is important else the paste will get stuck to the bottom of the pot.
Add the tomato puree, mix and cook for another 2 minutes.
Then add in the spices – coriander powder, garam masala, red chili powder, turmeric powder and salt. Stir to combine and then add 1/2 cup of water.
Add in the coconut milk, sugar and mix well and deglaze the pot by scrapping the bottom with a spatula. There should be nothing stuck at the bottom of the pot (no brown burnt bits).
Now add the diced potatoes and mix.
Cover the pot with a glass lid and let the potatoes cook for 3 minutes. We do this so the potatoes are slightly cooked before we put the pot to pressure. Rest of the veggies don’t take much time to cook but potatoes do so this extra cooking time helps in getting the right texture for all the veggies.
After 3 minutes add in the remaining veggies – cauliflower, carrots and green peas. Add addition 1/4 cup-1/2 cup water if your Instant Pot gives BURN message.
Stir, sprinkle cardamom powder on top and then close the instant pot with its lid. Cook on low pressure for 3 minutes with the pressure valve in the sealing position (the Instant Pot would take 8-10 minutes to come to pressure).
Do a quick pressure release. Open the pot, stir the veggies and then add lemon juice and cilantro.
Serve instant pot vegetable korma with naan or rice!
Instant Pot Vegetable Korma
Ingredients
Onion Cashew Paste
- 1 medium sweet onion 155 grams, roughly chopped
- 15 raw cashews
- 1 inch ginger 12 grams
- 4 large garlic cloves 18 grams
Vegetable Korma
- 2 tablespoons oil 30 ml, use oil of choice
- 6-7 black whole peppercorns
- 4 green cardamoms
- 4 whole cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 cup tomato puree canned, use store bought or puree 2 large tomatoes and use
- 2 teaspoons coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1/4 teaspoon red chili powder or adjust to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/2-3/4 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- 1/2 cup water 4 oz
- 1 cup coconut milk 8 oz, use full fat or lite from a can
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 large potato 175 grams, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup large cauliflower florets 130 grams
- 2 medium carrots 110 grams, cut into rounds
- 1/4 cup frozen green peas soaked in warm water for 5 minutes
- pinch cardamom powder
- juice of half lemon
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro for garnishing
Instructions
- To a blender add onions, cashews, ginger and garlic. Grind to a fine paste and set aside.
- Press the saute button on your Instant Pot, once it displays hot add oil to the pot and then add peppercorns, green cardamoms, whole cloves and bay leaf. Saute for few seconds until the spices are fragrant.
- Then stir in the prepared onion cashew paste and cook it for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring continuously. Stirring is important else the paste will get stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Add the tomato puree, mix and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Then add in the spices - coriander powder, garam masala, red chili powder, turmeric powder and salt. Stir to combine and then add 1/2 cup of water.
- Add in the coconut milk, sugar and mix well and deglaze the pot by scrapping the bottom with a spatula. There should be nothing stuck at the bottom of the pot (no brown burnt bits).
- Now add the diced potatoes and mix. Cover the pot with a glass lid and let the potatoes cook for 3 minutes. We do this so the potatoes are slightly cooked before we put the pot to pressure. Rest of the veggies don't take much time to cook but potatoes do so this extra cooking time helps in getting the right texture for all the veggies.
- After 3 minutes add in the remaining veggies - cauliflower, carrots and green peas. Add addition 1/4 cup-1/2 cup water if your Instant Pot gives BURN message.
- Stir, sprinkle cardamom powder on top and then close the instant pot with its lid. Cook on low pressure for 3 minutes with the pressure valve in the sealing position.
- Do a quick pressure release. Open the pot, stir the veggies and then add lemon juice and cilantro.
- Serve vegetable korma with naan or rice!
Notes
- Preferably use sweet or white onion for this recipe.
- You may use full fat or lite coconut milk, just make sure you use the one that comes in a can. I have used full fat coconut milk here.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Instant Pot Vegetable Korma
