Easy Mixed Vegetable Curry
Here’s a quick and easy Mixed Vegetable Curry recipe that’s perfect as a weeknight dinner or simple curried vegetable side dish. This is a Punjabi-style vegetable curry with potatoes and peas, a favorite in the Tea for Turmeric community! Tested to perfection!
“I am so pleased with your recipe, it blew me away, I have been trying for 45yrs+ to cook curries, this was special, thank you.”
Gilbert
Easy Mixed Vegetable Curry
Mixed Vegetable Curry is called “Aloo Matar Gajar” in Urdu & Hindi, which directly translates to “Potatoes, Peas, and Carrots”.
Often, Indian and Pakistani dishes are creatively named after the ingredient list. So Aloo Palak translates to Potatoes and Spinach, Aloo Gobi to Potatoes and Cauliflower, Aloo Keema to Potatoes and Ground Meat, and so on. (Side note: Aloo Recipes).
I’ve named this a Mixed Vegetable “Curry”, but it’s essentially curried vegetables, with no actual sauce or curry. What you have here are vegetables coated in a savory masala, then steamed to perfection.
If you love a good, one-pot vegetarian curry, don’t miss my Chickpea Curry, Vegetable Curry with Zucchini, and Okra Curry.
3 Tips To Help Your Veggies Shine
I truly believe that using the right techniques and fresh ingredients can elevate the humblest of dishes. Here are a few straightforward tips:
- The vegetables are best left to cook in their own juices. That means we’re not adding any water here unless absolutely necessary. Cooking low and slow helps bring out their natural sweetness and complexity.
- Use a nonstick skillet or pan to prevent any possibility of scorching. Stainless steel will also work, but the more you have to uncover and stir to prevent sticking, the more steam will escape, and longer you’ll have to cook.
- The beauty of this dish is in its simplicity, and simplicity often relies on quality. Try to find organic vegetables, especially carrots. I find them to be juicier and sweeter compared to conventional ones.
A Note on the Ingredients
This is a humble, flexible dish that you can adapt to what you have on hand. Some notes on the essentials:
- Basic pantry staples like onions, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, and a handful of spices. I use a food processor to pulse chop the onions, then the garlic and ginger, followed by the tomatoes.
- Green chili pepper: Essential here for flavor and aroma. I use a Serrano or Thai Chili pepper. See FAQ for more info on green chili peppers.
- Potatoes, peas, and carrots – The trifecta I grew up eating but you can use any vegetables you like. I’ve added everything from cauliflower to frozen spinach.
- Potatoes – How you cube them will affect the cooking time. Keeping them smaller in size, 3/4-1″ cubes, will allow them to cook evenly alongside the rest of the vegetables.
- Peas – I use frozen peas and add them along with the rest of the vegetables. If you’d like them a little more firm, add 10-15 minutes after covering to cook.
- Carrots – How you cut the carrots will depend on the size/thickness of your carrots. For thicker parts, halve the carrot lengthwise, then cut into slices widthwise.
- Dried Fenugreek Leaves (Kasuri Methi). This is the “finishing-touch” ingredient that elevates this recipe from ‘delicious curry’ to ‘Wow – my children won’t stop eating their vegetables.” Make a run to your local South Asian store or order it online. It lasts for eternity and you can also use it in my Sarson Ka Saag, Red Lentil Curry, Palak Paneer, or Instant Pot Butter Chicken!
How to make Mixed Vegetable Curry
- Start by sautéing the onions until lightly golden. Add the garlic and ginger and continue to sauté for a minute. If you notice any bits getting stuck to the bottom, deglaze with 2 tbsp water.
- Next, add in the rest of the ingredients, in the order listed, and stir-fry for a few minutes. Lower the heat and cover to allow the veggies steam in their own juices.
- Stir once or twice in between, not too much. If the contained steam escapes, you’ll have to cook the vegetables longer. Stir in the dried fenugreek (methi) and garnish with cilantro, if you’d like.
What to Serve with Mixed Vegetable Curry
Drier curries are typically served with any type of flatbread while saucy curries can be served with both rice and/or bread.
- Since this is more like a sautéed curry, it pairs perfectly with roti, paratha, naan, or any other flatbread.
- I love to serve it with Achaar, or Desi-style pickled relish.
- Try brushing your roti or naan with a little butter to make the meal extra delightful.
More Vegan Curry recipes:
- Chana Masala – (Authentic Chickpea Curry)
- Aloo Gobi (Potato & Cauliflower Curry)
- Aloo Palak (Spinach & Potato Curry)
- Zucchini/Courgette Curry (Toriyan)
- Okra Curry (Bhindi)
- Smoked Eggplant Curry (Baingan Bharta)
Tried this recipe? If you have a minute, please consider leaving a comment telling me how it was! If you’re on Instagram, please tag me so I can see your creations. I truly love hearing from you. Thank you!
Easy Mixed Vegetable Curry
Video
Ingredients
Curry:
- 3 tbsp (44 ml) olive oil, sub neutral oil of choice
- 1 (~175 g) small to medium onion, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/2 inch piece ginger, crushed
- 1 (~120 g) medium tomato, chopped
- 1 small green chili pepper (such as Serrano or Thai chili), chopped
- 3-4 small (~1 cup) carrots, peeled (if necessary) and sliced ~1/3" thick Note 1
- 1 cup (~135 g) frozen peas
- 1 large (~280 g) russet potato, peeled and cubed into 1-inch pieces
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp red chili powder, or to taste
- 3/4 tsp table salt or sea salt, plus more to taste (1 tsp kosher salt)
Garnishing:
- 1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi), lightly crushed between your hands
- 1 tbsp cilantro leaves , chopped – (optional, for garnish)
Equipment
- Nonstick pan with lid
Instructions
- Heat oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until golden brown (~8 minutes). Add the garlic and ginger and sauté until the raw smell disappears, about a minute.
- Add the rest of the ingredients listed under curry and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Lower the heat to low or a little higher than the lowest setting (depending on your stove) and cover the pan with the lid. Let the vegetables steam for about 25 minutes, or until they are well done (Note 1). Check once or twice in between and stir to ensure even cooking. Taste and add salt, if needed. The goal is to let the vegetables steam in their own juices, but if you’re afraid the vegetables will stick to the bottom of the pan, add a splash of water.
- Garnish with crushed fenugreek leaves and cilantro and mix gently to combine. Serve with roti, naan, or any type of bread.
Notes
This post is an update of a recipe that was originally published in July, 2018.
57 Comments on “Easy Mixed Vegetable Curry”
I loved it! It was delicious and will definitely be a meal I cook often. I would love to try some of your other recipes, thank you!
Hi Jessica, The Mixed Vegetable Curry is one of our favourites too! Would love to hear back how you like any other recipes you try 🙂
This is a really great recipe!
Thanks, Rosemary. Glad you liked it!
Made last night and was delicious! Thank you!
Thanks for sharing, Lindsey!
I’ve been trying for a while to find a vegetarian dish that both my husband & I enjoy, mainly so that we can have at least one meat-free day during the week. THIS is that dish! I’ve cooked this three times now and it’s absolutely delicious. We don’t miss meat at all!
Thank you for sharing this recipe.
So nice to hear that. Thanks so much, Susan!
Hi Izzah, just love your recipes. This one turned out lovely and I make it a lot.
One question, though. Should the cumin seeds not go in the pan first, before the onions? Every recipe I ever made so far did so.
I did it with this one (habit, you know) and it was so good!
Thank you again for your delicious recipes!
Hi Christine! Thank you so much!! You certainly could add earlier. Frying in the beginning gives a deeper flavor to the seeds. You could do it either way depending on how intense you want the flavor.
Made this curry this evening Izzah, and it was absolutely delicious! So simple and healthy and VEGAN! Fantastic. Hubby loved it too. Thank you so much for sharing! I look forward to trying more vegan recipes.
Thank you, Anna! Happy you both enjoyed. Hope you get to try more!
Plan to try this week. Do you think I could substitute cauliflower for the potato? Or please recommend a good substitute.
Hi Susan, I haven’t tried it in this case but you can totally try cauliflower in place as it’ll take around the same time to cook. Hope you enjoy it!
Had to use frozen mixed vegetables instead of fresh, along with the potato, and swapped green chili for bell pepper and a splash of siracha. Outstanding!!!