Spicy Vegetable Korma with Chana Dal in a Cashew Coconut Tomato Sauce

Regular readers will know that I like to experiment with various types of Indian cooking. I use different spice mixtures and ingredients, and also enjoy trying dishes from various regions of India. This vegetable korma was inspired by Indhu's Spicy Creamy Vegetable Korma. A unique fusion of Northern and Southern cooking styles, Indhu started off with a South Indian dish in mind based on the idea of coconut blended with cumin. She then shifted to ingredients common to North Indian dishes, so she made the paste with cashews, garam masala, coriander and chilies along with the coconut, but she ended up tempering the dish South Indian style. I just knew I had to try this.

I've taken a few liberties with Indhu's recipe. I wanted a legume component, so chana dal got incorporated into the korma, and I added some hot dried red chilies because I wanted more heat. I omitted the garam masala, and dry roasted the seeds before blending them into the paste. Thanks Indhu for the inspiration. This is one of the tastiest kormas I have ever made.

Serve with rice for a healthy and balanced vegetarian meal.

Spicy Vegetable Korma with Chana Dal in a Cashew Coconut Tomato Sauce

2/3 cup of chana dal (or yellow split peas), soaked for at least three hours
2 tablespoons of ghee, or a mixture of butter and oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
2 1/4 cups of water
1 large potato, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2/3 cup of peas (fresh or frozen)
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne
1 1/2 teaspoons of sea salt
handful of dry curry leaves (optional)

For the paste:

1/2 cup of dried coconut
1/4 cup of cashews
1 teaspoon of coriander seeds
1 teaspoons of cumin seeds
3 - 4 whole dried red chilies
2 green chilies, seeded and chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped

For the tadka:

1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
2 teapoons of urad dal, rinsed
pinch or two of asafoetida
2 - 3 whole dried red chilies

Begin by making the paste. Soak the coconut in 1/2 cup of hot water for 10 - 15 minutes. Drain. Soak the cashews in some warm water for 10 - 15 minutes. Drain. Dry roast the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and dried red chili over medium heat for a few minutes. Transfer the coconut, cashews and roasted seeds to a food processor or blender along with the ginger and green chilies. Process until you have a fairly smooth paste. Add a bit of water if desired.

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. When hot, toss in the onion and stir and fry until it is translucent. Add the tomatoes to the pot and cook for another 5 minutes or until they thicken up and have a sauce-like consistency. Now drain the chana dal and add to the pot along with 2 1/4 cups of water. Simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the chana dal is just tender. Add the carrots, potato and peas (if fresh), turmeric and cayenne. Continue to simmer until the vegetables are tender. You can add more water to achieve your desired consistency.

Now add the ground paste to the pot and the sea salt. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for another 10 - 15 minutes. If you are using frozen peas, add them, and the curry leaves, to the pan near the end of the cooking time.

To prepare the tadka, heat a few teaspoons of oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. When hot, toss in the mustard seeds, urad dal, dried red chilies and the asafoetida. Stir and fry until the mustard seeds begin to pop and the urad dal turns a reddish colour. Immediately pour into the vegetable pot, stir and cover and let sit for 5 minutes to allow the flavours to blend.

Serves 6.

If you like this recipe, you might also enjoy:
Curried Indian Vegetable Soup
Chopped Cabbage with a Crumbly Chana Dal Sauce
Scalloped Potatoes with Coconut Milk and Mushrooms