Delicious, creamy and a truly flavorful Vegetable Curry Recipe, this is a Punjabi or North Indian-style preparation. A rich curry made with an array of mixed vegetables (carrots, green peas, cauliflower, capsicum, french beans etc) that are fried and later simmered in spiced gravy of onions, tomatoes, yogurt, spices, herbs & cream. Best paired with all your Indian flatbreads and even cumin rice, for a satisfying vegetarian meal.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 25 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: North Indian, Punjabi

Ingredients

  • 2.5 cups mix vegetables ((cubed or chopped) - french beans, cauliflower, capsicum, carrots, green peas, or your choice of vegetables)
  • OR
  • 1 carrot (- small to medium, peeled and cut into cubes)
  • 2 potatoes (- small to medium, peeled and cut into cubes)
  • 8 to 10 french beans (- chopped)
  • 9 to 12 cauliflower florets (- small to medium-sized)
  • ¼ cup green peas (- fresh or frozen)
  • 1 bell pepper (- small to medium or ¼ to ⅓ cup diced bell pepper; you can use red or yellow or green capsicum - optional)
  • ⅓ cup onions (- finely chopped)
  • ¾ to 1 cup tomatoes (- finely chopped)
  • 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste (or crushed 1 inch ginger + 3 to 4 medium garlic cloves)
  • 2 green chilli (- slit and deseeded if you prefer)
  • 10 to 12 whole cashews
  • 1 generous pinch asafoetida ((hing))
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • ½ teaspoon red chili powder ((or deghi mirch) or ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper)
  • ½ teaspoon garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • ⅓ cup paneer (cubes - optional, check point no 6 in notes section below.)
  • 2 tablespoons curd ((full fat yogurt or whole milk yogurt) - beaten or whisked until smooth)
  • 3 tablespoons light cream (25% to 30% fat or 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream)
  • 4 tablespoons oil
  • ⅓ cup water (or as required)
  • salt (as required)
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons coriander leaves (- chopped, for garnish)

Method

Preparation

  1. Rinse, peel and then chop the veggies.
  2. Chop the carrots, potatoes into cubes and the cauliflower into small to medium sized florets as then it takes less time to fry them.

Frying vegetables

  1. Heat 4 tablespoons oil in a kadai (wok) or pan. Add the chopped veggies and begin to fry them. Depending on the size of the kadai or pan, you can fry the veggies in batches.
  2. Fry them on medium heat until they are cooked completely and golden from the edges.
  3. Remove the fried vegetables with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper towels.

Making vegetable curry

  1. In the same oil, add the slit green chilies and cashews
  2. Fry until the cashews are golden and the chilies have light blisters on them. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on kitchen paper towels.Ensure that the chilies do not get more browned or get burnt.
  3. Then add asafoetida and stir to mix.
  4. Next add onions. Stir and sauté on medium heat until the onions turn a light golden.
  5. Add ginger-garlic paste or crushed ginger-garlic. Sauté on medium-low heat until their raw aroma goes away.
  6. Now add finely chopped tomatoes. Stir and saute until the tomatoes become pulpy and you see oil releasing from the sides.
  7. Lower the heat and add all the ground spice powders - red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder.
  8. Stir and mix well, sautéing the ground spices for a minute on low to medium-low heat.
  9. Keeping the heat to a low, add whisked curd/yogurt stirring continuously. Stirring briskly when adding curd, ensures that it does not split in the onion-tomato gravy. Also use full fat fresh curd.
  10. Next add then cream. Again stir and mix everything very well.
  11. Now add water. Stir. Add water depending upon the consistency you prefer. But don't make a very thin curry.
  12. When the curry comes to a simmer add the fried vegetables, fried cashews and chilies. Also season with salt. Here you can also add some paneer cubes.
  13. Mix and stir the veggies and allow them to simmer in the curry for 2 minutes on medium-low heat.
  14. Serve the Vegetable Curry with naan, tandoori roti or roti along with onion-mint-lemon salad. Sprinkle some chopped coriander leaves while serving.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.