This easy cauliflower korma curry is a delicious vegetarian, gluten free meal served with fluffy steamed rice, naan bread and toasted cashew nuts for crunch.
We are a family of curry lovers and whenever I make curry, I am assured that there will be nothing but clean plates by the end of dinner. And that’s exactly what happened with this cauliflower korma curry. I have shared my recipes for both Chicken korma and Lamb korma before and I have to say, this vegetarian, gluten free cauliflower version might just be my favorite.
Served with fluffy steamed rice and naan bread for scooping with a scattering of toasted cashews, this becomes a feast and is the perfect meal for feeding a crowd.
What is korma sauce made of?
Korma is a thick, creamy curry sauce made with nuts (usually almonds or cashews) and warm, aromatic spices like turmeric, coriander, cumin, cardamom, ginger and garlic.
What spices are in Korma Curry?
- Turmeric
- Coriander
- Cumin
- Cardamom
- Garam Masala
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Cayenne pepper/Chili powder
How to make homemade korma?
Toss cauliflower florets and stems with oil and spices then roast until caramelized and tender. You could also steam or blanch the cauliflower but roasting allows for more flavor development. Make a korma curry sauce by sautéing onions, garlic and ginger in butter until soft and fragrant. Add the spices and allow to cook for a minute. Soak cashew nuts in boiling water for 10 minutes then drain and blend with the sautéed onion mixture, stock and cream until smooth.
Pour the sauce into a saucepan, add the roasted cauliflower and season to taste. Allow to simmer gently for 10 minutes (add more stock if the sauce is too thick). Serve with rice, naan bread and toasted cashew nuts.
Vegetarian dinner recipes:
- Cauliflower tikka masala
- Eggplant involtini
- Creamy spinach baked ravioli
- Easy cauliflower biryani
- Pasta with basil cream sauce
Cauliflower korma curry
Ingredients
For the roasted cauliflower
- 1½ kg/ 3.3lbs cauliflower florets and stems (approximately 2 large heads of cauliflower)
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp Garam Masala
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp salt
For the korma curry
- 1½ cups raw cashew nuts
- 2 tbsp butter/ghee
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves crushed
- 3 tsp crushed ginger
- 1 tbsp Garam Masala (you can also use Korma curry powder)
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 2 cups stock/broth
- 1 cup cream
- 2 tsp sugar (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF.
- Combine all the ingredients for the roasted cauliflower and mix well.
- Spread the spiced cauliflower onto a lined baking sheet then place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes or until the cauliflower is caramelized and fork tender.
- In the meantime, soak the cashews in boiling water for 10 minutes.
- Sauté the onion, garlic and ginger in the butter until soft and fragrant. Add the spices and cook for another minute.
- Drain the cashews then transfer to a blender with the onion mixture, stock and cream.
- Blend until smooth then pour into a saucepan and season with salt, pepper and sugar.
- Add the roasted cauliflower and allow to simmer gently for 10 minutes.
- Adjust the seasoning and serve with rice, naan and toasted cashews.
Hope this is not a double
Just found your Lamb version and loved it.
I have a trip away coming up and will need to cook for both veg and meat eaters. The Lamb will be great and then this one for the veg eaters.
How long can I keep the cooked dish.. and any suggestions for preping the two seperate dishes for the same menu ? Could I just make the common sauce and do the two main ingredients seperately.. or is that too weird ??
Cheers
You could do that, the only thing is the lamb would need to be cooked to completion before hand and that will mean losing out on the amazing flavor as it cooks in the sauce. I would suggest cooking the two curries separately from start to finish. They will both keep for 2-3 days, covered in the fridge.
I was wondering if the dish would live up to the ratings…and it definitely did! Delicious!
This has become a go to recipe. Love it and a crowd pleaser. I use coconut milk. Thanks so much!
Utterly superb recipe, thank you. My family fought over the leftovers!
I’ve made this several times, it is so good! Definitely my favourite way to use cauliflower and probably the most flavourful Indian dish I’ve made myself. I use coconut milk instead of cream. Thanks for the amazing recipe!
I’m allergic to nuts, so I omitted cashews and added yogurt to thicken slightly. This is my far the most flavorful dish I’ve ever made at home. I’m a vegetarian and it isn’t always easy to sell my family on meat-free dinners, but this was a hit! I can’t wait to make this again.
‘This was delicious. I substituted the cream for soy milk as we try to eat vegan most of the time. Thank you!
That looks SO GOOD ! I love a korma curry and my fav is either chicken or cauliflower. I always fry the cauliflower but love that you roasted. Definitely a better way.
Thanks Kankana! I love the added flavor roasting the cauliflower adds. 🙂
This was sooo yummy!! I didn’t have cream so used coconut milk and it was still amazing! Will definitely be making again 🙂
So happy to hear that.
Thanks Alida, What a great recipe! Didn’t know what to make for supper last night, and then your post popped up 🙂 While shopping, i saw the korma curry packet sauce and was tempted to buy it but knew it just wouldn’t taste the same but thought to myself ‘i just hope this is going be worth it’ (lol) … well, i can honestly say it was definitely worth it and came out delicious. When I told my husband what was for dinner he pulled a face but in the end, went back for seconds
I am SO happy to hear that Lou. Making your own korma sauce is definitely so worth it. 🙂 And so pleased your husband went back for more, I find people are always dubious when you tell them you’re making vegetarian curry but they always love it in the end.
I’ve been making your recipes for years! I’m excited to try this. What kind of stock do you use?
That’s lovely to hear! I used home-made vegetable stock but you can really use any stock/broth you want.
This is advertised as vegetarian but calls for chicken broth. Just FYI. I’m sure most would just substitute it though.
This is my kind of dish Alida. I’m the only cauliflower lover in our family, so I’ll get to enjoy it all myself!
I’m sure you’d love it Mary Ann!
For the curry, does the Korma Curry Powder only substitute Garam Masala or all the dry spices?
Just the Garam Masala. You can, if you want, use only Korma but then you’d have to up the volume to make up for the other spices.
I don’t see cashews in ingredient list.
I just updated the recipe! Thanks so much for notifying me.
Thank you !
Oops, read it wrong. =)
The recipe calls for cream! What happened to the cashews you mentioned in your description? I was hoping for a non-dairy version.
You can definitely use coconut milk/cream if you want or leave out the cream completely, it just adds more flavor and richness to the finished curry.