Nine ‘jewels’ in a creamy gravy served with paper thin flat breads – Navratan Korma. Your Diwali feast shall be brightened with the presence of this korma. I think its slight sweetness represents the Diwali spirit.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
1 cup fox nuts (makhana), fried
50 g tablespoons cashew nuts, split
1 cup refined oil
1tbsp raisins (kishmish)
4-5 french beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
1medium carrot, cut into ½-inch cubes
1medium potato, cut into ½-inch cubes
¼ cup small cauliflower florets
¼ cup shelled green peas
50g cottage cheese (paneer), cut into ½ inch cubes
50g button mushrooms, halved
Ingredients – Korma
3 tbsp desi ghee (clarified butter )
2 cloves
1 cinnamon
2 green cardamoms
½ cup boiled onion paste
½ tbsp ginger paste
½ tbsp garlic paste
1tsp white pepper powder
2 tbsp yoghurt
2 green chillies, slit
3 tbsp thick cream
1 teaspoon salt
(Note: for the boiled onion paste, roughly chop 2 medium onions and add ½ cup water. Bring to a boil and simmer covered for 10 minutes. Cool and grind into a paste.)
Method:
Fry the fox nuts and then half of the cashew nuts.
Soak the remaining cashew nuts in warm water for 20 minutes. Drain and grind to a smooth paste along with the raisins.
In a pan, bring 2 cups of water with half a teaspoon salt to a boil. Add the beans, carrot potatoes, cauliflower and peas and cook for 5-6 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Drain and refresh the vegetables in cold water.
For the korma, heat 3 tbsp of oil in a pan and add the cloves, cinnamon and split cardamoms and sauté for 30 seconds.
Add the onion paste and sauté over a low heat until the raw flavour disappears. The onion paste should remain a translucent pink and not turn brown.
Add the ginger and garlic pastes, white pepper powder and yoghurt – stir well. Cook on a low heat for 2 minutes.
Add the green chillies and cashew paste and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, cottage cheese and vegetables, half a teaspoon of salt and 150 ml water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the fox nuts and cream and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.
DOSTI ROTI:
Ingredients
1cup refined flour
1cup whole wheat flour
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tbsp oil, plus for brushing the dough
Method:
Mix together the refined flour, whole wheat flour and salt and knead into a soft dough. Set the dough aside, covered, for 10 minutes.
Add the oil to the dough and knead until all the oil is absorbed. Divide the dough into lemon-sized balls.
Dust the balls with refined flour and roll out into 6-inch rounds. Brush one round liberally with oil. Place another round over it. Dust well with flour and roll out the twin rounds (dosti) into 12-inch circles.
Heat a large tawa. Place a dosti roti on it and cook, pressing down lightly with a piece of cloth. Flip the roti and cook the other side as well, taking care not to cook it for too long or the roti will become crisp and hard.
Remove from the tawa and immediately separate the two roti. Fold each one twice into a triangle and cover with a cloth immediately to keep it warm and soft.
By Chef Pankaj Bhadouria