Vegan Shahi Korma with Tofu
This vegan shahi korma makes the perfect weeknight meal, coming together in just 30 minutes. With tofu, peas, and a deliciously spiced sauce, this curry is rich, creamy and not without flavour! A healthy, gluten free vegetarian recipe, this is a tasty dinner idea for your next Meatless Monday.
Ingredients
For the paste
- 1 medium brown onion roughly chopped
- 4 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 1 inch ginger roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
For the sauce
- 35 g cashews ¼ cup
- 60 ml warm water ¼ cup
- 120 g dairy-free plain yoghurt ½ cup
- ½ tbsp tomato paste
- 1 400g can coconut milk (14 oz)
For the curry
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 block firm tofu* pressed and cubed
- 2 tbsp raisins
- 35 g cashews ¼ cup
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves (optional)
- 150 g frozen peas 1 cup
- 640 g / 4 cups white or brown basmati rice to serve
- 1 handful toasted cashews to serve
Instructions
- Before you start, put 35g (1/4 cup) cashews in a small bowl with the warm water. Leave them to soak for a short while whilst you prepare the other ingredients.
- In a blender, food processor, or mini chopper, blend the onions, garlic, ginger and lemon juice to make a thick paste. You can add a little water to the paste if your blender is struggling.
- Spoon the paste into a small bowl, then make the sauce in the same blender. Add the soaked cashews and water, yoghurt, tomato paste and coconut milk. Blend until this makes a smooth sauce.
- Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium high heat, then add the cubed tofu. Fry for 3-4 minutes, turning the tofu pieces regularly until they are golden all over.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the raisins and the remaining cashews and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
- Add the blended onion mix to the pan and stir everything to combine. Cook the paste onto the tofu, cashews and raisins for a minute.
- Add the curry powder, garam masala, turmeric, cinnamon and ground cloves to the pan, toast for 30 seconds, then pour in the sauce. Add the peas to the pan and stir everything to combine.
- Simmer for 15 minutes, covered, until the sauce is thick and rich.
Notes
*For this recipe you need to make sure you use a firm or extra firm tofu. Some varieties of tofu will need pressing, and some will be fine straight out of the packet. Make sure that you don’t use a silken or soft tofu in this recipe, as it will fall apart in the curry.
You can prepare this shahi korma up to 3 days in advance and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat, bring it to a simmer over a low-medium heat, adding a little bit of water to loosen the sauce to your desired consistency. I have given microwave and freezing guidelines in the post above.