Vegetable kurma (korma)

 I love using whatever vegetables I have around for this korma.

Ingredients

Green beans - frozen ( thawed) or fresh cooked ( steamed )- 1 cup

1-2 cups of paneer cubes fried to golden brown in butter/ ghee ( clarified butter) kept aside - or use precut and fried frozen paneer ( thawed)

Mixed vegetables - I have used the frozen peas and carrots ( from walmart) or if I can't find it I use the mixed vegetable (the one with carrot, peas, Lima beans and corn)- thawed - 1 cup

Optional - cooked potato, cauliflower soft but not mushy

Optional - pineapple - sautéed

1 large onion - chopped

2 cups of tomato purée - can cut up fresh tomatoes and just purée it. If you have tomato paste you can dilute it 1 portion of the paste to 2 Portions of water to get a purée consistency

Soak 1/2 cup of cashews in hot water for about 30 minutes , drain and grind into a fine paste

ginger garlic paste - 2 tbsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Chili powder - 1 tsp

Homemade masala - 1 tsp (sauté equal parts white poppy seed 2 tbsp and fennel 2 tbsp with tsp of cloves and grind into a fine powder and set aside)- optional since most of this is in the store bought garam masala ( next)

Garam masala - 1 tbsp

coriander powder - 1 tsp - optional

Cardamom - 2 to 3 pods crushed to release the seeds

Cinnamon stick - 1

Bay leaf - 2

Heavy cream/ whole milk / coconut milk - 1/2 cup - you can use choose one of these but do not use all of these

Cashews and golden raisins - sautéed in butter until golden brown and set aside for garnishing

Oil and or butter for sautéing

Salt - 1 to 2 tsp ( to taste )

Directions:

1. Put 2-3 tbsps of oil or butter in a hot pan. Add the chopped onions and sauté until golden brown and translucent
2. Add the ginger garlic paste and sauté it
3. Add the spices - and sauté them - turmeric powder , chili powder, homemade masala , garam masala, coriander powder, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick , bay leaves and roast them ( make sure they don't burn)
4. Add the tomato purée and mix it in well and let it cook until it starts bubbling up . If it gets thick add water for gravy like consistency
5. Add the cashew paste into the the kurma and stir it in
6. Add the fried paneer , cooked/ thawed vegetables to the gravy and let them cook for about 10 minutes on low heat so they can soak in the kurma flavor
7. Add in the roasted cashews and raisins and optional pineapple and stir it in
8. Finally add in the cream ( or substitutes) and mix well , cook on low heat for 2-3 minutes
9. pull out the bay leaves and the cinnamon stick before serving ( these can be choking hazards)
10. Vegetable kurma is ready to serve with chapathi , basmati rice or it can be served in a chapathi or tortillla as a wrap or it can be served on toasted bread as a indian ' sloppy joe '
    
    
    
    
    
    
11. North Indian Navratna korma is prepared similarly but tomato purée is not used and in its place one can use more cream/ milk and perhaps some yogurt for the same tanginess. Also when making the cashew paste, almonds (1/2 cup)and white poppy seed ( 2 tbsp) is also soaked as well and ground up with the cashews into a paste