Try this Vegetable Korma recipe, or contribute your own.
- 1 tablespoon ginger
- 15 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 tsp . salt
- 1 tablespoon ble oil
- 2 small white or yellow onions (sliced)
- 1 tablespoon p. yellow curry powder
- 6 c . cauliflower florets
- 1/2 c . yellow lentils (can substitute red lentils)
- 1 c . hot water
- 6 oz . fresh spinach
- 15 oz can chickpeas
- 1 c . plain (non-fat greek yogurt)
- 1/4 c . unsalted cashews
- Carbohydrate 115.620613458648 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 5.60764415097009 g
- Fiber 23.3981141174257 g
- Protein 24.6837911050939 g
- Saturated Fat 0.645842271376971 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (1024g)
- Sodium 1880.68698153226 mg
- Sugar 92.2224993412223 g
- Trans Fat 1.30937396883003 g
- Calories 590 calories
Step-by-step
- Heat oil in large skillet.
- Add onions, and cook until translucent.
- Stir in ginger, and continue cooking about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in curry powder, tomatoes, cauliflower, lentils, salt, and water.
- Simmer, covered, about 15-20 minutes, or until lentils are soft.
- Stir in spinach and chickpeas, and cook until spinach is wilted.
- Add Greek yogurt, and stir in to combine.
- Top with cashews, and serve over basmati rice or with naan.
Adding cold yogurt directly to a simmering pan causes the dairy proteins to coagulate into unappealing curds rather than forming a smooth sauce. Temper the yogurt by whisking a tablespoon of the hot cooking liquid into the dairy before incorporating it off the heat. Blooming ground spices like curry powder in oil for 60 seconds draws out fat-soluble flavor compounds that water-based simmering misses entirely. Raw onions contain sulfur compounds that require gentle heat to break down into sweet, translucent rings without browning, which takes about 5 to 7 minutes in a wide skillet.
Scaling Ratios and Pan Physics
Multiplying recipe quantities requires adjusting surface area to maintain proper moisture evaporation rates during the 20-minute simmer phase. Doubling the cauliflower florets and lentils means water volume must scale sub-linearly, typically adding only 50 percent more liquid rather than doubling it, because a wider or deeper vessel retains steam more efficiently. Crowding a skillet drops the pan temperature below 212 degrees Fahrenheit, turning a simmer into a steam bath that prevents onions from softening properly. Batch-cook large quantities in a wide 12-inch Dutch oven to ensure adequate heat transfer across the base.
- Substitute red lentils for yellow ones at a 1:1 ratio, noting that red lentils break down faster and yield a smoother sauce texture.
- Use full-fat yogurt instead of non-fat greek yogurt to drastically reduce the risk of sauce separation under low heat.
- Raw cashews provide crunch, but toasting them in a dry pan for 3 minutes at medium heat activates Maillard reactions for deeper nutty flavor.
