Indian Dry Vegetable Curry

If you're looking for a delicious side dish to serve with a curry and remind you of the dry vegetable curry from Indian restaurants then this is it. It's packed full of vegetables plus it's easy to adapt both how spicy it is and what goes in it! It's also vegan, nut-free, gluten-free and dairy-free.

When we get a takeaway curry we quite often get a dry vegetable curry side dish to go with it. It's delicious and makes us feel like we're being a little bit healthier by eating a few extra vegetables with our takeaway.

I just had to recreate it at home and this homemade vegetable curry is just as good, plus it's probably healthier as it's low in fat and still full of flavour. It's spicy but not too hot, which means it's great for our kids too. They are not huge fans of vegetables but they do love the potatoes and hopefully end up eating some of the other vegetables in the curry too.

So, if you're a fan of recreating your favourite takeaway dishes at home, why not make this next time you're planning a homemade curry night?

What ingredients are in dry vegetable curry?

To make this simple vegetarian curry you'll need:

• Cooking oil - I usually use plain vegetable oil. You can also use ghee or whatever cooking oil you normally use.
• Cumin seeds - These are fried in the hot oil at the start of the curry and release lots of flavour. If you don't have any, add a teaspoon of cumin along with the other spices.
• Potatoes - Any kind of pototato works in this. You could even use sweet potato.
• Onions - One onion is finely diced and added to the curry at the beginning along with the garlic and ginger, the other one is sliced and added with the other vegetables.
• Garlic - You can crush fresh garlic cloves or use a garlic paste
• Root ginger - Just like with the garlic, you can use fresh ginger and grate it or use a ginger paste.
• Green chilli peppers - I add these along with the ginger and garlic. You can use red chilli peppers if you don't have green ones. If they are really spicy then scrape out a few of the seeds before dicing them
• Tomatoes -These are finely diced and help to make the sauce. It's a dry curry so I don't add too many tomatoes.
• Ground spices - Turmeric, coriander, garam masala and chilli powder
• Vegetables - You can adapt the vegetables you use but I have used cauliflower, carrot, green beans and peas.

How to make dry vegetable curry

This curry is very simple to make. First I parboil the potatoes a little as I like the potatoes to be nice and soft. However, you can skip this step and just make sure the curry simmers for long enough that the potatoes are cooked through.

Then heat a little oil in a large saucepan and when it is hot, add the cumin seeds. They will start to smell fragrant in about a minute and at that point, add the finely diced onion, chilli pepper, crushed garlic and grated ginger.

Cook these gently for about 5 minutes until soft. Then add all the ground spices. If the pan is a little dry add a tablespoon of water to stop the spices sticking and burning. Stir the spices into the onion mixture.

Then add the diced tomatoes and cook for a few minutes until they begin to break down.

You can then add all the vegetables except the peas. Stir them in along with a little water. Cover the pan and leave to simmer for about 45 minutes.

Finally stir in the peas and cook for another 5 minutes. I also like to stir in a little fresh diced coriander at the end.

What can you serve with dry vegetable curry?

I like to serve this as a side dish along with one of my chicken or lamb curries. Why not also make one of these:

• Lamb vindaloo
• Chicken bhuna
• Chicken madras

It's also lovely with rice, raita, mango chutney or kachumber salad as well as Indian breads.

Can you serve it as a main meal?

Yes, you can serve this as a main meal vegetable curry. Why not add some chickpeas for some extra protein. It makes a really tasty vegan curry just by itself. If you are looking for more vegetable curries then do check out my roasted cauliflower curry.

Can you adapt this dry vegetable curry?

Yes of course! The easiest way to adapt it is to vary the vegetables you add. Just use whatever you have in the fridge. You can add broccoli, sweetcorn, peppers, aubergine or courgette.

You can also adapt the level of heat. Add more chilli peppers for a more fiery vegetable curry or leave them out for a much milder one.

If you like a sweeter curry, stir in a tablespoon of mango chutney.

Storing and reheating the leftovers

Any leftover vegetable curry can be stored in the fridge for up to three days in a covered container. To reheat, put it in a saucepan with a splash of water and reheat until piping hot, stirring occasionally as it reheats. Alternatively you can reheat it in the microwave.

Can you freeze leftover dry vegetable curry?

Yes you can. Put it in individual airtight containers and you can freeze it for at least three months. Defrost in the fridge overnight and then reheat in the microwave or in a saucepan.

More vegetable curry recipes

If you like this dry vegetable curry then do check out some of my other vegetable curries:

• Dry curried okra
• Roasted romanesco curry
• Butternut squash and chickpea curry

Recipe

Dry Vegetable Curry

Corina Blum

If you're looking for a delicious side dish to serve with a curry and remind you of the dry vegetable curry from Indian restaurants then this is it. It's packed full of vegetables plus it's easy to adapt both how spicy it is and what goes in it! It's also vegan, nut-free, gluten free and dairy free.

5 from 4 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Anglo Indian, Indian

Servings 8 as a side or 4 as a main meal

Calories 132 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 tablespoon cooking oil Use your regular cooking oil. It can be vegetable oil, olive oil or coconut oil
• 2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 520 g potatoes peeled and diced into large chunks
• 2 onions 1 sliced and 1 finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves crushed
• 1 tablespoon root ginger grated
• 3 green chilli peppers finely diced
• 2 tomatoes finely diced
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 teaspoon garam masala
• ½ teaspoon chilli powder
• 210 g cauliflower cut into florets
• 80 g carrot peeled and cut into slices
• 80 g green beans diced into pieces about 2cm long
• 80 g peas

Instructions

 

• Parboil the potatoes for about 3-4 minutes
• Heat the oil in a large saucepan. When it is hot, add the cumin seeds.
• After a minute they will begin to smell very aromatic. At this point, add the diced onion, ginger, garlic and chilli peppers.
• Cook for about 5 minutes until softened. Stir in the ground spices. If the pan is too dry, add a splash of water too. Cook for a couple of minutes
• Stir in the chopped tomatoes. Cook for about 3 minutes.
• Add all the vegetables except the peas and about 50-70ml of water. Stir and then cover the pan and leave to simmer for about 45 minutes.
• Add the peas and leave to finish cooking for another 5 minutes.
• When serving, stir in some fresh coriander.

Video

Notes

Nutritional information is approximate and a guideline only.

Nutrition

Calories: 132kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 4gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gSodium: 82mgPotassium: 569mgFiber: 5gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 2118IUVitamin C: 40mgCalcium: 40mgIron: 2mg

Keyword dry vegetable curry

Tried this recipe?Tag me on Instagram @Searchingforspice

Pin for later

I'm linking this recipe to #CookBlogShare Sisley and Chloe and hosted by The Gluten Free Alchemist

Keep in touch

Do let me know if you make this dry vegetable curry or any of my other recipes. I love to get feedback from readers.

You can also stay up to date by following on Instagram, Facebook  and Twitter.