Name: Nine-Jeweled Medley with a Cashew-Raisin Sauce (Navratan Korma)
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: ¼ cup cut-up yard-long beans (½-inch pieces); or ¼ cup cut-up frozen French-cut green beans (no need to thaw; ½-inch pieces); ½ cup cut-up cauliflower florets (½-inch pieces); ¼ cup frozen green peas (no need to thaw); 1 small carrot, peeled, ends trimmed, cut into ½-inch cubes; ¼ cup cut-up bottle gourd squash (½-inch cubes; see box); 1 small white potato, such as russet or Yukon Gold, peeled, cut into ½-inch cubes, and submerged in a bowl of cold water to prevent browning; 2 tablespoons Ghee or canola oil; 1 small green or red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into ½-inch pieces; ¼ cup golden raisins; ¼ cup raw cashew nuts; 1 small red onion, coarsely chopped; 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems for garnishing; ½ teaspoon Punjabi garam masala; 4 ounces Doodh paneer, cut into ½-inch cubes and pan-fried (see box); 1 tablespoon tomato paste; 1½ teaspoons coarse kosher or sea salt; 1 or 2 fresh or dried bay leaves; ½ teaspoon cayenne (ground red pepper); ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric; ¼ teaspoon cardamom seeds from green or white pods; ¼ teaspoon whole cloves; 1 teaspoon Garlic Paste; 1 teaspoon Ginger Paste; ¼ cup cut-up fresh green beans (½-inch pieces)

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

660 Curries

By Raghavan Iyer

Published 2008

About

A special-occasion curry, this exemplifies the flavors that emanated from the royal palaces’ kitchens in Moghal India. Today this nine-jeweled (navratan) offering is found on every north Indian restaurant menu around the world, often in a tomatoey and nutless rendition. My nut-based version stays true to the rich sauce that graced the royal table, as it will yours.