Restaurant-Style Vegetable Bhuna

Vegetable bhuna is a rich, Indian curry with an amazing flavor. Read on for my tips to make the best Indian restaurant style vegetable curry! Tender crisp fenugreek roasted veggies folded in a creamy tomato curry finished with a cumin spiced oil – tadka. You can add your favorite veggies to make this your own!

Bhuna is a spiced, Indian curry typically made with chicken or other meat in a creamy, spiced tomato-yogurt sauce. Bhuna means to-fry or to roast and for the sauce we fry the spices, then fry and caramelize the aromatics and continue adding more ingredients and roasting, deglazing and caramelizing to make this roasted sauce. Here, we’re using cauliflower, beans, carrots and lots of veggies for a vegetable bhuna that’s packed with flavor!

There are 3 steps in the recipe and they serve a purpose. First, we pre cook the veggies, we get a char going on the longer cooking veggies, roast them a bit then add a bit of water to steam and cook them until evenly al dente.

Second, we make the sauce with spices, aromatics, tomato and cream element. Then we fold in the cooked veggies and take it off heat. We do not cook the veggies in the sauce! Cooking them in the sauce adds all the veggie flavor to the sauce. We want the sauce flavor to stand out and not taste like veggie soup.

Third, we make a finishing spiced oil (tadka) with cumin seeds, bay leaf and fenugreek, then add some peppers and onions for crunch and lightly cook and fold those into the dish before serving. The spiced oil adds amazing flavor and the crunch adds texture as well as carries the spice flavor into the veggies and sauce!

This bhuna vegetable curry is a delicious way to use up veggies in your fridge or freezer! This is a restaurant-style curry and hence has more steps than your usual vegetable curry but, the resulting flavor is so worth the extra time.

Why You’ll Love Vegetable Bhuna

• creamy, tomato vegetable curry with cumin spiced oil with an amazing flavor
• versatile – Use your veggies of choice!
• naturally gluten-free with soy- and nut-free options.

More Vegan Curries

Ingredients and Substitutions

• oil – To saute.
• fenugreek leaves – This is your first layer of flavor for the veggies and to the veggie topping. As a substitute you can use line leaves or curry leaves here.
• vegetables – Cauliflower and mixed vegetables of choice are the base for vegetable bhuna. For the mixed vegetables, use whatever fresh or frozen veggies you like!
• aromatics – Onion and ginger-garlic paste add the next layer of flavor.
• dried spices – Garam masala, turmeric, coriander, paprika, and salt add the next flavor layer.
• tomato paste – Adds moisture and umami to the curry sauce.
• non-dairy yogurt – Adds creaminess and tang! Use non dairy cream of choice as a substitute
• chickpeas – For protein. Or use other beans or cubed tofu
• whole spices – Cumin seeds and bay leaf flavor the spiced oil .
• onion and bell pepper – This is the base for the topping, adding flavor and crunch.

Tips

• Because this is a restaurant-style curry, we are using some extra oil. If you want, you can omit the oil. You can use broth to saute in all the steps. Dry-saute the cumin seeds in the skillet then add some broth to saute the onion and bell peppers. 
• Don’t overcook the vegetables in the curry or in the topping! You want fork-tender, al dente veggies in this curry for the best experience.

How to Make Vegetable Bhuna Curry

Start by cooking the vegetables.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. Once the oil is hot add the fenugreek leaves and mix in. Add the cauliflower and a good pinch of salt, cover, and cook for three to four minutes stirring once in between until some edges are browning.

Then add the rest of the vegetables and salt and mix in. If the skillet is too dry then add two to three tablespoons of water and mix in. Cover and cook until the cauliflower is al-dente. If you are using root vegetables, you should add them in the beginning alongside the cauliflower. So they will also be cooked al-dente at this point.

Remove the vegetables from the skillet into a bowl and set aside. 

Make the bhuna masala.

Add the two teaspoons of oil, onion, and a good pinch of salt and cook until the onion is golden. If the onion is starting to scorch too fast, then add a few splashes of water and mix and continue to cook. five to eight minutes.

Add the ginger garlic paste and the spices and mix in for a few seconds. Add the tomato paste, yogurt, and half a cup of water. Mix in and bring everything to a boil. 

Add the reserved cauliflower and the rest of the vegetables back to the skillet along with the chickpeas, toss to coat in sauce and take off the heat.

Make the spiced oil topping.

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot add the cumin seeds and cook until the cumin seeds change color. 2-3 mins. Then add the bay leaves and mix in.

Add the onion, bell pepper, fenugreek leaves, and a good pinch of salt. Continue to cook until the pepper is slightly softened, three to four minutes. You don’t want to overcook the veggies as they should have a little bit of a “bite” to them. 

Transfer the topping to the skillet with the vegetables and sauce and toss everything really well. Cover and place it back on the stove for a minute and switch off the heat.

Let the skillet stay covered for the 5 mins for flavors to meld. Then top with some cilantro and lemon juice. Serve with flatbread, naan, or rice.

Frequently Asked Questions