NAVARATAN KURMA

There is one vegetarian restaurant named "Green Land" in the Old Souk in Kuwait City. The place is small but they are famous for their tasty and not so rich North Indian vegetarian dishes like palak dal, baignan bhartha,paneer pasanda, sabzi maharaja etc.

It was after visiting Green Land 3-4 times that I gathered the courage to try these dishes at home. As usual I searched all over the net to get a general idea about the recipes. I visited sites like SMTC and sanjeevkapoor.com and came out with recipes which suited my family's likings.

Navaratan Kurma is one such customized recipe tried and tested by me and yes, certified by my husband.  Eventhough navratan means nine gems sometimes I use more/less than nine vegetables/fruits to make the kurma.

INGREDIENTS

1. Diced vegetables - 2 cups (potato, carrot, green peas, beans, cauliflower)

2. Paneer cubes - 1/4 cup

3. Pineapple diced - 1/4 cup (apple, orange and grapes can also be added)

4. Cashewnut - 20

5. Kismis - 2 table spoon

6. Ghee - 1 tea spoon

7. vegetable oil - 1 table spoon

8. Cumin seeds - 1 pinch

9. Cardamom - 4

10. Cloves - 4

11. Bay leaves - 2

12. Cinnamon - 1" piece

13. Milk - 1/2 cup

14. Onion - 1 (cut into very small pieces)

15. Ginger (grated or cut into extremely small pieces) - 1 table spoon

16. Green chilli chopped - 2

17. Cilantro chopped - 2 table spoon

18. Tomato - 1 diced

19. Turmeric powder - 1 pinch (optional )

I use milk instead of cream. To make a richer kurma garnish with fresh cream.

METHOD

1. Cook potato, carrot and beans with 1 cup water. Add fruits, green peas and cauliflower towards the end. Finally add paneer. (grapes if used are to be added along with tomato - step 5)

2. Grind half the cahewnuts with 1/2 a cup of water to get a loose milky paste.

3. Heat ghee in a small pan , fry cashewnuts and kismis and keep aside. (Another option is to fry the cashew and kismis in a big pan, keep them aside, wipe the pan and use it for making kurma)

4 Heat vegetable oil in a big  pan and fry cumin seeds. Add cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaves and stir. Immediately add chopped onion, ginger and green chillis. Saute till the onion changes colour. ( turmeric powder can be added at this point)

5. Add cashew paste and allow to thicken on low heat. Add tomato pieces, salt and the cooked vegetables and fruits.

6. Add milk and continue cooking on low heat for 1 minute, stirring continuously.   Add cilantro and switch off stove.

7. Add  fried cashew , kismis and the left over ghee.