I live in a country that grows tomatoes almost all year round. Yet for some reason green tomatoes are not that easy to come by. Green tomatoes are after all the unripe version of the red ones! We like green tomatoes and I try to make the most of them when I can find them. This Green Tomato Korma is one dish I make often when there are green tomatoes on hand. It goes well served with rice or flatbreads like chappati or paratha. Korma is also spelt as Khorma, Kurma, Qorma, etc depending on which part of India you’re in.
Korma is a typically North Indian Mughlai dish and very popular on Indian restaurant menus. It probably came to India with the Mughals and was then adapted by the court cooks using local ingredients. A white korma, supposedly garnished with silver foil, is said to have been served to the Emperor Shah Jahan and his guests at the inauguration of the Taj Mahal! Korma is traditionally a mildly spiced non-vegetarian meat preparation.
The traditional Korma has been be adapted by vegetarians creatively to make vegetarian versions. For example, there is the Navratan Korma made with nine different vegetables. Navrathan means “nine gems”. Green Tomato Korma is not a traditional dish as green tomatoes are not part of the Mughlai cuisine.
There are different ways to make Korma of course. Mughlai Kormas use a small amount of nuts ground to a paste with yogurt to add richness to the gravy. Kashmiri Korma uses nuts, yogurt, saffron, cardamom and dried fruits. Shahi or Royal Korma is made with lots of cream. The South Indian versions tend to use coconut or coconut milk.
This Korma recipe used yogurt and fresh coconut. I have made this same recipe using thick coconut milk instead of the yogurt. Both work very well. Cooking the Korma on low heat after adding the yogurt will prevent it from curding.
This post was originally published in September of 2008 and since been updated with text and images.
Green Tomato Korma
Ingredients
- 4 green tomatoes medium sized
- 3/4 cup yogurt
- 2 green chillies slit lengthwise
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
- 2 bay leaves
- to taste salt
Grind the following into a fine paste:
- 1 big onion chopped
- 1/2 inch piece of ginger
- 1/2 tsp garlic paste (adjust to taste)
- 3/4 tsp white poppy seeds
- 2 tbsps fresh grated coconut
- 2 tbsps chopped coriander leaves
- 2 cloves
- 2 cardamoms
Instructions
- Cut each tomato into 8 pieces and keep aside.
- Heat the oil, add the bay leaves and green chillies. Add the ground coconut-spice paste and fry for about 2 to 3 minutes till the raw smell of the onions and garlic disappears. Now add the turmeric powder and fry till the oil appears at the sides of the paste.
- Add the tomatoes and about half a cup of water. Add the salt and curry leaves. Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat. Allow the tomatoes to simmer till they are cooked but not mushy.
- In a bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, garam masala and coriander leaves till well blended. Once the tomatoes are done, add the yogurt mixture and mix well so everything is blended but do not allow to boil, or the yogurt will split. Take off the heat.
- Serve warm with chappathis, puris or rice.
I'm Aparna and My Diverse Kitchen is my ovo-lacto vegetarian food blog where you'll find recipes, food stories & photography. I've been blogging since 2007 and believe the kitchen, and the dining table (by extension) is really the heart of a home. 
I would be perfectly happy if u served this for me with rice. yumm
Kurma looks delicious. To use green tomatoes is a good idea.
Not sure why we don’t see these often but we don’t. I am always at a loss to know what to make with them but I keep trying anyway. I found one other recipe in the blogs, this is the second.
i love green tomatoes but only make thoran with them. i had posted that a long time back. this look like a nice variation 🙂
yeah as my sister had said just above, we make thoran which is really very yummy…this is pacha thakkali avial..and as you said this is unfortunately not available in our market..Curry looks really yummy!..lovely Olan down there too :)…hope you had a wonderful Onam celebration
I am not much of a Kurma fan…But definitely loved yours. What a lovely color it has. I hope I can find the green tomatoes soon.
I love the tanginess that these lend…I knew I could make a thoran with it..this is a nice option.
See I told you,Rain of awards :D,Yummy korma
That looks like one amazing medley of flavors!
Nice looking Kuruma. I have never had it with green tomatoes. We do get some green tomatoes from time to time.Will try this one.Congrats on the awards.
Nice tangy khorma with green tomato, should have tasted great! Congrats on ur award 🙂
This looks delicious! I love the food from India.
I make salsa with green tomatoes..this is a great recipe to try..
What a tasty sounding dish. I have been keeping my eye out for green tomatoes, but so far,no luck. Will try this if I come across them.
Looks delicious…green tomato is rare to see here too..lovely dish with green tomato…
I have made veg kurma before. This version sounds good. Thank you for sending it to me:)
I am a sucker for a good curry – this sunny yellow one looks wonderful.
I love green tomatoes. I don’t see them in grocery stores here. The korma sounds really yum and the picture looks great!
Tried this and loved it!
the korma looks lovely am really tempted
bunch of tomatoes will have no chance to ripen. last year we made fried green tomatoes, which turned out great. looks like we’ll try your recipe this time!-jai
We don’t get any green tomatoes here but it sounds delicious. Aparna, I don’t get your posts in my google reader so I remember to check you out when you visit me. Does this have to do with your feed or is there something I have to do?
Mmmmmm… Aparna, this sounds great to me! Beautiful colours in a lovely photo. I had lunch at the Indian restaurant close to Rossio the other day, and I couldn’t help thinking of you. 🙂
Thanks, I do tend to overstock them on seeing green tomatoes at the market. As my daughter says, “Now its going to be green tomatoes in everything for a few days.”Very happy to see that you are back from your long vacation, HC.I don’t understand it either, Sra, considering our markets are overflowing with the red ones.Never made green tomato thoran before, Nags.Yes, Bharathy. I guess its a sort of Avial.Thanks, Monica. Indian food is yummy, but then I’m Indian.:)A&N, that was quick. Glad you liked it as much as we do.I make the pan-fried version too. Let me know how you like the Khorma, Jai.Don’t know why, Ivy. No one’s told me this before. As far as i know , others are able to read me on their readers.Perhaps, you could subscribe to my blog by e-mail. Just use the button for it on the left side column.Thanks Suzana. Its nice to know I come to mind, once in a while.:)
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe! It got really cold here this weekend and I pulled the last of my green tomatoes off the vines. I didn’t have quite enough for pickling or canning, and was at a bit of a loss for what to do with them. This wonderful Khorma fit the bill perfectly! I also made a nice simple dal and some spiced sauteed cabbage and basmati rice and we had a feast fit for kings!
Good to know you love this as much as we do, Emily.
korma is a mild dish cooked with yoghurt and sada (white) masala .There are many variations but that’s the core.”khorma” is the name given to dried dates(the fruit).