This is going to be your new favorite way to eat vegetables: royal vegetable korma!
It has been four years since I shared my stovetop recipe for my rich and creamy navratan korma and since then, it has become an all-time blog reader favorite! This dish is much better than what you’ll find in any restaurant – it’s sweet, creamy, nutty and so, so flavorful. Many of you have asked me how to make vegetable korma in an instant pot and today, I’m going to tell you exactly how to do that! 🙂
The instant pot version of my vegetable korma is also in my cookbook, Indian Food Under Pressure. If you don’t have my book yet, make sure to check it out – it has 60 delicious Indian recipes from both north and south India and all recipes are adapted for an electric pressure cooker.
Navratan korma translates to “nine-gem” curry and the “gems” are the fruits, veggies and nuts that make up this dish. This gem of a dish was created in imperial kitchens and served to royalty during the Mughal era in India so when I say it’s a royal dish, I mean it quite literally. Mughlai dishes are always a treat because they are so decadent, which is why I consider them special occasion recipes. Other popular Mughlai recipes include: chicken korma (in my book), shami kebab, malai kofta, etc.
I have a lot of Indian vegetarian recipes on my website and while they are all delicious, most of them are simple, everyday recipes that us Indians make on a daily basis (like dal or sabzi). When it comes to special occasion vegetarian dishes, this korma and my egg biryani are the two I’d suggest you serve if you’re trying to impress friends. Serve this korma with a side of my simple instant pot basmati rice!
Enjoy 🙂
Instant Pot Vegetable Korma
Yield: Serves 4-5 1x
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This vegetable korma is a popular Mughlai dish, a cuisine that was developed in royal Indian kitchens during the Mughal Empire. Mughlai dishes like this one are known for having creamy and rich sauces made with dried fruits, nuts and cream. This vegetable packed korma is a mild, fragrant dish that is perfect for special occasions.
Ingredients
Onion Tomato Sauce
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 2-inch ginger, roughly chopped
- 1 tomato, chopped
- ½ Serrano pepper or green chili
Cashew Sauce
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup cashews
- ¼ cup heavy cream or full-fat coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons ghee
- ¼ cup cashews
- ¼ cup golden raisins
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
Spices
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne, adjust to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 2 cups chopped potato (1-inch cubes)
- 1 cup water
- 5 cups chopped vegetables (peas, carrots ,green beans, bell pepper, broccoli)
- ½ teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi)
- Cilantro, garnish
Instructions
- To prepare the onion tomato sauce, add the onion, garlic, ginger, tomato and Serrano pepper to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Set this aside.
- Prepare the cashew sauce by blending 1 cup water, ½ cup cashews and heavy cream until smooth. Set aside.
- Press the sauté button, add ghee, ¼ cup cashews and golden raisins to the pot. Stir-fry until the cashews turn golden. Remove the cashews and raisins from the pot and set aside.
- Add cumin seeds to the pot. Once they begin to brown, add the onion and tomato mixture and stir-fry for 7-8 minutes, or until the onion and tomato mixture has thickened. Add all of the remaining spices along with the potatoes and mix well.
- Add 1 cup water, secure lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 5 minutes at high pressure.
- Open the valve to quick release any remaining pressure.
- Add the remaining chopped vegetables. Secure the lid and cook for an additional 2 minutes at high pressure.
- Open the valve to quick release any remaining pressure.
- Stir in the cashew sauce and fenugreek leaves.
- Garnish with cilantro and ghee-coated cashews and raisins.
This is such a winner recipe! I made this from your cookbook and then shared the recipe with my family and bough two more cookbooks so that they too could enjoy this recipe!
What a deeelicious and easy recipe! Perfect for parties or also for a weeknight treat! This is definitely one of my go-to vegetarian recipes when hosting dinner parties!
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Thank you so much, Maneesha! I’m so happy to hear how much you like this dish 🙂 Thank you for sharing my blog and my cookbooks with your family – I appreciate it a lot!!
Do you think it’s possible to use the onion masala recipe as a substitute for the onion -tomato sauce?
MJ, yes definitely! I haven’t tested it yet though to determine the exact quantity yet but will update the post when I do. Let me know if you try it as well 🙂
I’m eager to try this and have a big batch of your fab onion masala in the freezer – any idea on the quantity? Seems like 3/4 cup or so?
Amy, I haven’t made this with onion masala yet but my guess would be ½ cup. Since the masala is cooked, you can always stir in a cube at the end if you feel it needs more flavor. Hope that helps! Let me know how it goes!
Hi Ashley,
Planning on making this tomorrow but have a couple of questions – How many potatoes equate to 2 cups and second question – If i use frozen vegetables (mixed vegetable bag), how many mins of pressure will be needed? Would it still be 2 or would it be 1?
Thanks for your help!
Enakshi
Hi Enakshi, it depends on the size of the potato but I’d say about 2 medium potatoes. Are you planning to only use frozen vegetables? Since most frozen veggies are already blanched you can even just hit sauté for a minute and stir them into the pot until warmed through. Let me know how it goes!
Looks delicious. I make cashew kurmas often on the stovetop, and this looks faster 🙂 Question: How big do you cut the veggies? I only have a Lux and high pressure, and my veggies have fallen apart with even 2 minutes of pressure
Thanks
B
You can leave them in bigger chunks if you prefer them to have more bite – let me know what you think of this recipe if you try it!
This recipe is so delicious. I used green beans, carrots, and potatoes for the vegetables and I used heavy cream. Perfect recipe, thank you, I’ve been looking for recipes for my instant pot and this will be a regular for us.
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Donna, that makes me so happy to hear!! Thanks so much for letting me know how this turned out for you 🙂
How many does this serve? I’m having a few people over for dinner and want to make sure it is enough.
Thank you!
Jessica, I’d say 4-5 but depending on what else you are serving it could possibly feed more 🙂
Thank you so much, One small suggestion, can you include the serving size on your recipes 🙂
If the above recipe is not for 4 people, how do i change this to serve 4?
GK, I’ll work on that! I’d say this feeds 4-5 🙂
Thanks so much. We sometimes have 2 people and sometimes have 4 🙂 so it is always good to know what serving size it is. Also i have seen it in another website where there is a drop down – where you can choose the serving size like 2-4-6 etc and then the cooking portion changes accordingly. That is super fancy and super helpful as it helps novice cooks like me know how much i should modify the portion size for different serving sizes.
PS: You and your recipes are awesome!
That’s a great idea, I will ask my web team about how to add that feature. Thank you! 🙂
Can I make this in the mini duo (3qt) or should I halve the recipe? Can’t wait to try
Hi, thanks for the recipe. What is the serving size on this please?
I used broccoli and green beans. Really fantastic! Thank you for the recipe!!
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Liz, so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
I made this substituting in 3/4 cups of onion masala for the onion tomato sauce. I was just guessing on amounts, but since onion masala is so tasty, I figured having more than was called for really wouldn’t be a problem. I also used a nice frozen vegetable mix I picked up for cheap at the grocery store. I’m pretty lazy about cooking so having the onion masala premade and using frozen vegetables instead of needing to chop them all, really helps make this dish much more quick and easy. Even with my shortcuts, it was fantastic! The ghee coated cashews and raisins are so delicious. I had to stop myself from just munching on them all while the rest of the dish was cooking.
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Heather, that’s awesome!! Thanks for sharing the amount of onion masala you used! Also, tasty cooking shortcuts are the best 🙂
Hi Ashley,
This sounds delicious, but my son is allergic to cashews and most tree nuts (except almonds and brazil nuts). Is there anything you would recommend as a substitute for cashews in this recipe?
Thanks!
Hi Shaz, since he can have almonds, I would soak them then peel them and use them in place of the cashews. It’ll turn out great! Let me know what you think 🙂
I made this recipe exactly as written and the flavor was excellent and very rich. I am sure I will expose my ignorance of Indian cuisine when I ask if the potatoes are supposed to dissolve into the sauce or if they are meant to stay intact? Also, my green beans and carrots were still very crunchy afterward, which I assume is because I cut them into pieces that were too big. I’m still figuring this IP out. Regardless, it was very tasty! 🙂
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Glad you liked it, Laura 🙂 No the potatoes should not dissolve into the sauce – they should be fully cooked but still in-tact… as for the green beans and carrots, yes my guess is the pieces may have been too large. Let me know if you try it again or if you try any other recipes on the site!
Hi Ashley!
I just wanted to let you know that this recipe turned out great! Most definitely going to make it again! Thanks so much!
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Swati, that’s so great to hear! Thank you for letting me know how much you liked the veggie korma 🙂
Very delicious, thank you! The method for blending the onion-tomato sauce was new to me and I totally loved it! This recipe used just the right amount of cream to be flavorful, but not too heavy. My one recommendation is to try to let it sit in the fridge for a day or two to accumulate flavor, if you can…it’s fairly mild to start, Day 2 was much tastier, and Day 3 was HEAVENLY!
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Rachel, I’m so happy to hear that you liked the korma so much!! And yes, Indian food is always best after a day or two – so glad you enjoyed it!
In the past, grinding raw onion has turned it bitter. I’m hesitant to have that happen again. Can I sauté onion before grinding with raw tomatoes? Or is there a better alternative?
The recipe calls for cooking the sauce which should get rid of any bitterness but you can certainly sauté the onion first to be sure 🙂 Let me know what you think of the dish!
Tried this recipe yesterday, was delicious! i should have read the comments, had answers to the questions i had 🙂 i had 30 min, so decided to use the onion masala i had in the freezer to speed it up & it worked great.
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Chitra, that’s great! Glad you made this – great to know the onion masala made this easy to make!
I’m curious if you ever tested how much onion masala to substitute? I’ve been thinking of making a big batch and then freezing for quicker dinners!
what are your thoughts on making this recipe with frozen veggies? I am new to instant pot, and cannot figure out if I have to make any adjustments when using frozen over fresh veggies.
thank you!
I’ll sometimes use a mix of fresh and frozen but you can use all frozen if you’d like 🙂
Thank you so much for your wonderful recipes!! Just switched to vegan from being paleo for so long and needs recommendation for ghee alternative. Would coconut oil work for this recipe instead of the ghee?
Hi Marie, yes you can definitely use coconut oil 🙂
Planning to do this recipe to bring to Thanksgiving dinner – wondering if it would be okay to replace the fresh tomato with puree or diced canned tomato? Would love to hear thoughts on this – I’ve seen other korma recipes where puree was used to replace chopped tomato…
Melissa, sorry I’m just now seeing this! If you made this for Thanksgiving, I hope everyone loved it! You can use canned tomato – since canned tomato is already cooked down you won’t need to sauté it as much. Hope that helps!
Hi Ashley,
I had a question, don’t have golden raisins, can I use regular raisins or sugar instead?
Thank you!
Hi Gina, regular raisins will work just fine 🙂 Let me know how it turns out for you!
Loved the flavor, but made my husband and I very gassy. Not sure what it was.
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Yummy! One suggestion…instead of adding one cup of water to the cashew cream add it to the pot with the rest of the ingredients and then just process the cream with the cashews.
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I’m terrible at cooking and it’s only my 3rd time using my 6 quart Instant Pot.
Today I made this and I’m definitely using this recipe for potlucks at work and church! That’s how proud I am at how this turned out. I can’t believe I was able to produce such a deliciously filling meal. I felt overwhelmed at first due to my inexperience with spices, ghee, and pureeing. But all that went away when I tasted the result!
For vegetables, I added okra, broccoli, carrots, and yellow bell pepper. I added a block of extra firm tofu (I’ve never cooked tofu before). Because my husband likes soft mushy vegetables, I added them all in at step 4 with the tofu (which I didn’t press). After 5 mins of pressure cooking and addition of cashew sauce the gravy turned out watery (maybe because I didn’t press the tofu) so I had to add cornstarch. But overall, I’m so encouraged to be able to make this quality of food at home. Husband is satisfied as well. Thank you so much for making this recipe!!!
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Sarah, that’s awesome!! I’m so happy to hear that you liked it so much 🙂
Would it be okay to substitute sweet potatoes for the ‘regular’ potatoes? Any difference in the cooking time?
Dianne, you can do that – it’ll be just fine 🙂 And nope, the same cook time should work. Let me know how it goes!
Love this recipe! It worked wonderfully with some fresh and frozen veggies (I cooked a bit longer, 5 mins). I also used butternut squash rather than potato. Amazing! Thank you!
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Krisie, I’m so happy to hear that!! Thanks for letting me know how the veg korma turned out for you 🙂
Hi Ashley, thinking of tryin this today and wondering about the protein content. The cashew sauce should be good or should dI add some tofu as well?
Thank you,
anita
Hi Ashley,
Love the recipe and really looking forward to try it. My question is if I have to prepare the same for say 8-10 people do I have go accordingly change the sauté and pressure cooker time as well? I have been fairly confused about the increase in time required in insta whenever you want to double or triple the quantity as in comparison to the timings suggested on the website. Thanks
Made this for dinner potluck party last weekend. Was fantastic! I had only light cream on hand, so it wasnt as viscous I would have liked. Will be making again with heavy cream. I’ve tried so many of your recipes by now, I can honestly say, I haven’t come across one that wasn’t fantastic!
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Jenita, aww I’m glad you’re liking my recipes so much, thank you!!
I followed this recipe exactly and for some reason mine is not at all similar in colour to yours. It is very brown. It tastes delicious though. Was I supposed to leave the peel on the tomato?
Thanks!
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Excellent recipe and delicious. I made this at my office kitchen for a group lunch. The recipe is superbly written and so well I was organized I had everything I needed. Probably add three times the spice, when I cook at home, but everyone really enjoyed it.
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Kate, I’m so happy to hear that you like my veggie korma recipe! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Can I double the recipie? Would I need to double the water or or just the other ingredients? I am guessing I will have to double the sauce. Please let me know as Inplan to make this for a party.
Hi Manjini, yes double all of the ingredients including the water but keep the cook time the same. I actually doubled it when I hosted a dinner party not too long ago (you can see it in one of the pictures in this post): https://myheartbeets.com/how-to-create-indian-dinner-party-menu/ Let me know how it goes!
Can I freeze this?
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You can but it’ll be best fresh! You can keep it in the fridge for a couple days! If you freeze it, the texture of the potatoes may also change. Let me know what you think 🙂