What is Navratan Korma

Navratan Korma is a creamy and delicious Indian Mughlai vegetable dish. It is a delicious mixed vegetable curry dish loaded with veggies, nuts and fruits. It is slightly sweet in taste and is an excellent way to get your kids to eat veggies. This dish is very popular in North India and often is made for festivals and special occasions. 

Why the curry is called NAVRATAN KORMA

Traditionally, navratan korma has a blend of 9 different vegetables as the name of this dish means 9 gems. You don’t have to use 9 different vegetables if you don’t want to but use your favorite mix of vegetables. I used cauliflower, potato, carrot, green beans,green peas, green and red capsicum to make the korma. For the sweetness I used fresh pineapple, cashew and raisins.And for creaminess I used whole milk to avoid using cream. But you can use fresh or cooking cream to make the korma richer and creamier. If you want your korma to be completely vegan, you can use thick coconut cream .

Recipe

• Preparation time: 20 min
• Cooking time: 45 mim
• Difficulty level: Easy
• Serves: 6-8 portions

Ingredients

For Korma

• 1 small Cauliflower
• 1 big Carrot
• 1 big Potato or 2 small potatoes
• 1 handful of green Beans
• 1 green Capsicum
• 1 red or yellow Capsicum
• 1 tablespoon Ghee
• 2 teaspoon Cooking oil
• 1 teaspoon Kasuri methi/dry Fenugreek
• 2 Bay leaves
• 2 whole Cardamom
• 1 handful of chopped Coriander leaves
• 1/2 cup whole Milk/ fresh  cooking cream/ thick Coconut milk

For Onion-Tomato-Cashew paste

• 1 big chopped Onion
• 1 big red Tomato
• 1/4th cup Cashew
• 1 tablespoon Ginger-Garlic paste
• 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon Coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon Garam masala powder
• 1 tablespoon Cooking oil
• Salt to taste

Other Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh Pineapple chunks
• 2 tablespoon golden Raisin
• 2 tablespoon Cashews
• 1 tablespoon Ghee

Procedure

Cut vegetables in small pieces.

Also chop onion and tomato in small pieces.

With 1 tablespoon of cooking oil fry the cauliflower florets in high heat for 2-3 minites or until light golden brown.

Remove from pan and set aside. This will help the cauliflower not to break into small pieces while cooking.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a broad pan and saute chopped onion for 3-4 minutes or until translucent.

Next add in ginger-garlic paste and saute for a minute.

Add in cashews and fry for a minute. Next add in chopped tomatoes and mix.

Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add in.dry spices like kashmiri red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder and salt.

Stir well and cook in medium low heat with 1/4th cup of water for 5-6 minutes or until the raw smell of tomato and spices goes off.

Remove from heat , set aside to cool down and then make a smooth paste with the help of a food processor or blender.

Heat 1 tablespoon of ghee to a pan and fry raisins and cashews for a couple of minutes and set aside.

Also fry pineapple pieces for 2-3 minutes and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of ghee in the same pan and temper with bay leaves and cardamom.

Pour the prepared onion-tomaro-cashew paste.

Pour 1/2 cup of hot water. When the mixture comes to boiling point, add in the potato, carrot and bean pieces. Don’t add in capsicum and cauliflower at this moment. These are relatively soft veggies , so we will add in later.

Mix nicely with a spatula, cover and cook in medium heat for about 20 minutes. Stir 1/2 times in between to avoid burning from bottom. Add in hot water if necessary.

When potato becomes 70% cooked, add in sauted cauliflower, stir nicely, cover and cook again for 10-12 minutes in medium low heat.

When all the vegetables are almost cooked completely, add in colourful capsicum. I like capsicum and cauliflower little cruncy, so added to the curry accordingly. It’s your choice how soft you want your vegetables and add in accordingly.

Check the seasoning in this state and add in more if necessary. Also check the consistency of the gravy, it should be little thick creamy gravy. Also add in kasuri methi/dry fenugreek.

Finally add in milk/cream or coconut milk. Cook for a couple of minutes in low heat.

Finally add in dry fruits, pineapple and chopped coriander leaves.

Give a last stir and remove from heat. Delicious, creamy and rich navratan korma is ready now.

It goes well with any kind of flat bread or rice.

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