A colorful medley of vegetables comes together in this mildly rich navratan korma curry. It has a balanced savory, spicy and sweet flavor without being overly spiced. The vegetables are cooked until tender (while they still hold their shape) along with soft cubes of paneer. The creamy korma sauce gets its richness from splash of heavy cream and ground cashews which gives it a lovely nutty flavor.
Navratan Korma does take a little extra effort since there are quite a few ingredients to gather, chop and prep. But once everything is ready, the actual cooking comes together quite easily. I like serving it with homemade instant naan and cumin flavored rice.
While meat korma or chicken korma doesn't need much of a push when it comes to flavor, a vegetable korma needs a slightly different approach to make sure it tastes great. Since the vegetables themselves are much more delicate, it's all about building depth into the sauce carefully.
My recipe is adapted from the Spice Swad veg korma. I've made a few changes to suit how I cook korma by including yogurt. I simply can't imagine a good veg korma without that slight tang and creaminess from yogurt. I also add paneer, which is always one of my favorite parts of restaurant-style veg korma.
what makes a good korma
- Navratan doesn't necessarily mean that you need nine different vegetables in the korma. Think of navratan as the nine jewels that make up the dish. In my version, I use four vegetables along with potatoes, paneer, golden raisins, roasted cashews and pomegranate arils. I love this combination because you get a little bit of everything in each spoonful.
- The vegetables you choose really do make a difference here. Cauliflower, carrots, green beans and green peas are the classics for a reason. Cauliflower gives the korma some body, carrots bring a little sweetness, and the beans and peas keep things fresh with a bit of bite. Please don't use veggies like cabbage, broccoli, peppers, squash or mushrooms. They just don't taste quite right in a navratan korma.
- I use ghee from start to finish. It's a small thing, but it gives the korma the unmistakably shahi taste that I'm looking for.
- You'll also notice that I don't go heavy on the spices. Like most of my korma recipes, I prefer sweet-smelling Indian spices here. Mace, cinnamon and green cardamom are especially lovely because they gently perfume the sauce without taking away from the vegetables.
- The fried onions are probably the only part that feels like work.You can absolutely use store-bought fried onions if you want to make life easier. Once those are done, the recipe is actually quite simple but still hands on. After that, you're mostly sautéing everything together, building the sauce and letting it simmer.
- And as tempting as it may be, please don't pull out the pressure cooker for this one. You'll save maybe 15-20 minutes, but you lose that lovely texture of the vegetables. Cook them slowly on the stove. It makes such a difference in the finished korma.
Ingredients
- Cut the vegetables roughly the same size (but not necessarily identical) so they cook evenly and you get a little bit of everything in each spoonful. Keep the pieces slightly chunky rather than cutting them too small because start to finish korma takes 25-30 minutes and you don't vegetables to start getting mushy.
- Don't fry the paneer. I actually like the contrast of soft paneer against the vegetables and roasted cashews. Frying it gives you another firm texture that this korma doesn't really need.
- Golden raisins soften slightly in the warm sauce and give you an occasional sweet bite.I prefer them over adding lot of sugar to make the entire korma sweeter.
- Pomegranate is one ingredient you don't want to cook down.Fold it in the luscious sauce at the end of cooking. The fresh, juicy pops against a warm, creamy korma are part of what makes Navratan Korma so lovely for me.
How To Make
- Add fried onions, soaked cashews, green chillies and ¼ cup water to a small blender jar.
2. Grind to smooth and thick paste. This will be base of our korma along with spice powders. Keep aside.
3. Heat the ghee in a cooking pot(3-4 qt) and add the whole spices. Fry for a minute,let them splutter and turn aromatic.
4. Add the sliced carrots, green beans)if using fresh), cauliflower and potatoes. Sauté over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Cover and let steam for 3-4 minutes until 70% cooked.
5. Next, push the vegetables towards the sides of the pan to make a little space in the center. Add the ginger garlic paste, ground spices and tomato sauce along with 1-2 tablespoons water.
6. Mix everything and fry the spices and ginger garlic for 2-3 minutes to do away the raw smell and let vegetables cook with tomato.
7. Add the fried onion cashew paste we made earlier to the cooking pot now.
8. Fry over medium heat for about 2-4 minutes till vegetables are coated well.You will see tiny oil bubbles.
9. Add water. Cover and cook everything over medium heat for another 3-4 minutes, until the vegetables are fork tender.
10. Now add the beaten yogurt. Once the yogurt goes in, keep stirring gently and continuously for about 2 minutes so it doesn't curdle.
11. Stir in the fresh cream, garam masala and roasted kasuri methi powder. Also add the paneer cubes, raisins and green peas. Let the korma gently simmer for another 3-4 minutes.
12. Finally, add the pomegranate arils and chopped coriander leaves. Gently mix and simmer for just 2-3 minutes more. Your navratan korma is ready!
Navratan Korma (Mixed Vegetable Korma)
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Ingredients
Vegetbles, Nuts & fruits
- 1 cup (80g) carrot medium dice
- 1 cup (100g) cauliflower florets cut into small size
- ¾ cup (80g) green beans cut in 1 inch pieces
- 1 (100g) potato medium dice
- 75 g shelled green peas I use frozen peas that come blanched
- 100 gm paneer medium dice
- ¼ cup pomegranate arils
- 15 raisins
- 12 roasted cashew
For the Onion Cashew Paste Nut paste
- 15 whole raw cashwes
- ¼ cup water for grinding
- 1 large (135g) fried onion
- 2-3 green chilli adjust to taste
Whole Spices
- 5 green cardamom
- 2 cloves
- 2 inch cinnamon stick
- 1 small piece mace
- ½ teaspoon shahi jeera
Ground Spices
- 1.5 teaspoon kashmiri chili powder
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- ¼ teaspoon cumin powder
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon kasuri methi
Ingredients of Korma Sauce
- 4 tablespoon ghee
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste
- ½ teaspoon ginger paste
- 2 tablespoon tomato sauce
- ¾ cup warm water
- 2 tablespoon plain whole milk yogurt whisked
- ¼ cup heavy cream ad
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1.5 teaspoon Salt to taste divided
- 1 tablespoon cilantro leaves chopped
Instructions
- Add the fried onions, soaked cashews, green chillies and ¼ cup water to a small blender jar. Blend until completely smooth and thick, scraping down the sides as needed. This onion-cashew paste forms the creamy, flavorful base of the korma along with the ground spices. Set aside.
- Heat the ghee in a 3 to 4-quart heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Once hot, add the whole spices and fry for about a minute. Let them gently splutter and sizzle in the ghee until fragrant making sure not to burn them.
- Add the sliced carrots, fresh green beans, cauliflower and potatoes. Sauté over medium heat for about 3 minutes, tossing occasionally so the vegetables are lightly coated in the spiced ghee. Cover the pot and let them steam for another 3 to 4 minutes, or until they are about 70% cooked. They should have started to soften but still have a slight bite since they will continue cooking in the korma.
- Push the vegetables toward the sides of the pot to create a little space in the center. Add the ginger-garlic paste, ground spices and tomato sauce to this space along with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. The splash of water keeps the spices from catching on the bottom of the pot
- Mix everything together and cook over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir frequently so the ginger-garlic paste and spices cook properly and lose their raw aroma. The vegetables will also begin picking up the color and flavor of the masala during this time.
- Add the prepared fried onion-cashew paste and mix well, making sure all the vegetables are nicely coated. Fry over medium heat for 2 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently. The paste will thicken slightly as it cooks, and you should begin to see tiny bubbles of ghee appearing around the edges and on the surface.
- Pour in the water and mix well, scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen any flavorful bits. Cover and cook over medium heat for another 3 to 4 minutes, or until the vegetables are just fork-tender. Avoid overcooking them at this stage since they will simmer for a few more minutes after the remaining ingredients are added.
- Lower the heat and add the well-beaten yogurt. As soon as the yogurt goes in, stir gently but continuously for about 2 minutes. This helps the yogurt blend smoothly into the gravy without curdling.
- Stir in the fresh cream, garam masala and roasted kasuri methi powder. Add the paneer cubes, raisins and green peas and gently fold everything together so the paneer doesn't break. Let the korma simmer gently for 3 to 4 minutes, allowing the paneer and peas to warm through and the flavors to come together.
- Finally, add the pomegranate arils and chopped coriander leaves. Gently mix them into the korma and simmer for just 2 to 3 minutes more. Keep the heat low at this point so the paneer stays soft and the vegetables don't turn mushy.
- Turn off the heat once the gravy is creamy and the vegetables are tender but still holding their shape. Your navratan korma is ready to serve!
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