Indian vegetable curry

I have met a lot of people who love Indian curries but don’t try making curry assuming that the process is very complicated.

On the contrary, making curry at home is very easy and it is a lot more delicious and nutritious too. Also, the base of most homemade curries remains almost the same. So, if you learn to make that you can easily make the curries using different ingredients like mushrooms, paneer, beans, etc.

Today I am sharing a very basic Indian vegetable curry recipe. It is a very tasty and easy to make dish. If you like curries then this mixed vegetable curry is a must-try recipe for you.

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What goes in Indian vegetable curry?

To make this easy veg curry, you will need the ingredients shown below:

Ingredient notes and substitute suggestions

• Mixed vegetables: Generally, cauliflower, carrot, green peas, potato, and French beans are used to make vegetable curry but you can also add other vegetables of your choice. Some other vegetables that go well in this curry are broccoli, mushroom, bell pepper, and baby corn. If you are not a vegan, paneer can also be added to it.
• Tomato: Take a juicy and pulpy red tomato, it will help in making a nice gravy.
• Onion: Preferably red. Red onion is the best for making Indian gravies.
• Green chilies: Fresh jalapeno can be used too.
• Water: Vegetable stock can also be used for extra flavor.
• Tomato paste: I have used canned tomato paste in the gravy. It gives a nice color and stronger tomato flavor to the curry. It also makes the base thicker. However, adding it is optional, you can skip it too.
• Cream- You can choose dairy or coconut cream depending upon your dietary preference.
• Cumin seeds: If you don’t have cumin seeds, black mustard seeds can also be used.
• Tumeric powder: It not only gives a bright color to the dish but has a lot of health benefits too.
• Red chili powder: Red chili not only makes the curry slightly hotter but also gives it a bright red color. However, if you have low heat tolerance and want to use it only for color then use Kashmiri red chili powder.
• Kasoori methi: Kasoori methi is dried fenugreek leaves. It gives a very nice flavor to Indian curries and completely transforms the taste of the dish to which it is added. Don’t try to taste it raw, it’s bitter and tastes bad if eaten raw. The kasoori methi I have used here is homemade which my mother gave to me. She keeps it in powdered form for convenience. If you buy it from the market, it will look like whole dried leaves. Crush them between your palms before adding to the curry.
• Coriander powder: Coriander powder is ground dried coriander seeds and if you like Indian food always keep some in your pantry along with other basic Indian spices like cumin seeds, garam masala, turmeric powder, red chili powder, asafoetida, and kasoori methi. If you have these spices you can make a lot of Indian dishes.
• Garam masala: Garam masala is a blend of ground Indian spices. To make it, different Indian whole spices are dry roasted and then ground. It gives a very nice warm flavor and aroma to Indian dishes. Always add it in moderation as it has a very strong taste and aroma.

How to make (Step by step instructions)?

Steps 1 and 2: Put roughly chopped onion, ginger, and garlic into a grinding jar or food processor and make a paste. Take out the paste in a bowl and keep it aside.

Steps 3 and 4: In the same jar, put chopped tomatoes and green chilies to make another paste.

Step 5: Heat oil in a cooking pot and add cumin seeds and bay leaf. Saute for a few seconds or until the spices become fragrant.

Step 6: Add onion garlic paste.

Step 7: Cook until the onion paste turns golden brown. Keep on stirring in between. If the paste starts sticking to the pot add 1-2 tablespoons of water and cook further.

Step 8: Add all the ground spices except garam masala. Powdered spices may get burned very easily so also add around a tablespoon of water along with them. You can also mix the spices with little water in a bowl to make a paste and then add it to the pot.

Step 9: Saute for about a minute.

Step 10: Add tomato chili paste and salt.

Step 11: Cook until the tomato paste is nicely cooked and changes its color. Generally, if a lot of oil is used in cooking, you can tell the tomato is cooked when the oil starts getting separated from the tomatoes. However, since I use very little oil in cooking, the oil won’t get separated from the edges. But, it will take around 8-10 minutes for the tomatoes to get nicely cooked on a medium flame.

Step 12: Once the tomatoes are cooked add tomato paste and cook for a minute. Now your curry base is ready. You can use it in any Indian curry like chickpea curry, mushroom curry, beans curry etc.

Step 13: Once the curry base is ready, add chopped vegetables.

Step 14: Mix and cook uncovered for around 2 minutes. Cooking the vegetables with the curry base for a few minutes, without adding water makes the dish taste better.

Steps 15 and 16: After 2-3 minutes, add water and mix.

Step 17: Cook covered on a medium flame for around 12-15 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.

Step 18: Once the vegetables are cooked lower the flame and add cream.

Step 19: Keep on stirring for about a minute and then switch off the stove.

Step 20: Add garam masala and lime juice. Mix everything and garnish with fresh cilantro.

Your comforting Indian-style mixed vegetable curry is ready to be enjoyed!

Serving suggestions

Vegetable curry can be enjoyed with any Indian bread like naan, roti, paratha, or puri.

It can also be served with plain steamed basmati rice or any other rice dish like jeera rice or lemon rice.