Navratan Kurma (9 Gems Curry) and Corn Palav (Corn Rice)

Navratan Kurma (9 Gems Curry) and Corn Palav (Corn Rice)

One of the suggestions we got for the xmas menu (check our previous post for a vegetarian chirstmas menu recommendations ) is Corn Palav and Navratan Kurma. Both dishes are colourful, festive, tasty and mild for a change!

I have always wanted to make ‘hotel style’ navaratan kurma,or at least like the MTR ready to eat one! I looked up a number of recipes, and finally landed up making Vah Chef’s recipe, minus shahi jeera (I used just normal jeera) and pomegranate (This would have been toooo fruity for my taste – especially for a curry dish!)!! It’s truely a very very delicious dish! I made around 8 serves, and wish I had made LOTS more! Here is how I made it.

Ingredients
3 cups chopped vegetables – I used Potato, Carrots, Beans, Cauliflower, Peas (5 vegetables)
2 tablespoons Almonds and Cashews whole or chopped into large pieces. (2 nuts)
½ cup paneer (Indian Cheese) diced.
1 Tbsp – raisins
1 Tbsp - Chopped Pineapple (I used canned pineapple, of course well washed to remove the sugary syrup)

Navratan means 9 gems, and are represented in this dish by the 9 main ingredients; however, I landed up with 10 instead, as you can see!

You will need 1 tbsp oil to fry the paneer , and 1tsp ghee to fry the nuts

Ingredients for the gravy
Oil – 3.5 Tbsp
Cardamom – 4
Cloves – 6
Cinnamon – 1 inch piece
Jeera (Cumin seeds) – ½ tsp
Bay Leaf – 2
Chopped Green Chillies – 1 tsp (more if you want more heat!)
Onion – one large
Cashew nuts – 2
Ginger Garlic Paste – 1 tsp
Jeera (Cumin) Powder – 1tsp
Dhania (Corriander) Powder – 1.5 tsp
Pepper Powder – ½ tsp (more if you want more heat!)
Salt – 1.5 tsp (or to taste)
Fresh Cream – ½ cup
Fresh chopped Corriander – for garnish

Method
Prepare the nine gems first!
1. Semi boil all the vegetables. I have this lovely Tupperware microwave steamer presented by my aunt! I steamed potatos, beans and carrots for 8 minutes. Then I added the cauliflower, and frozen peas, and steamed again for 4 minutes (microwave on high power)

2. Dice paneer, and deep fry in oil till its starts turning pale brown in patches. Drain well and remove into a bowl of warm water. This removes excess oil and makes the paneer soft.

3. Fry cashew and almonds in ghee till they change colour and smell aromatic.
4. Wash raisins and pineapple and set aside.

Now for the gravy!
5. Boil onion and cashew nuts in water until cashew is soft, and onions are translucent. Drain them and grind to a smooth paste in a mixer. Don’t discard the water if any remaining, as it is full of flavour and can be used later in the gravy.

6. Heat oil, and add cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, jeera seeds and bay leaf. When they splutter add green chillies and the onion cashew paste. Keep stirring on a low flame. Its best to use a non stick pan, and cook the entire dish on a low flame, as the cashew burns very easily! I had to rescue my dish two times by changing vessels, as the gravy started sticking to the bottom of the dish!

7. Add the jeera, dhania and pepper powder, and continue frying. The mixture will turn dry and colour changed to a pale brown. The mixture should smell cooked! Now add a little water. You can add what you may have preserved from boiling the onion and cashews.
8. Add the vegetables and salt and let the whole mixture cook, until the vegetables are well cooked.
9. Add fresh cream, nuts, raisins and pineapple. Stir well and switch off the flame after a few seconds.
10. Garnish with coriander and your amazing "hotel style" Navratan Kurma is ready!

Boiling onion and cashew to make the masala paste is very new to me, and I am all excited about trying this out on other dishes too ....maybe malai kofta! Yum!

Here is how I made a very easy corn palav.

Ingredients
Oil - 1 Tbsp
Cardamom - 2
Cloves - 4
Cinnamon stick - a piece
Finely chopped ginger - 1 tsp
Finely Sliced Onion - 1 Tbsp
Finely Chopped Green Chillies - 1 tsp
Basmati Rice - 1cup
Milk - 1/2 cup
Water - 1and 1/2 cups
Salt - 1 and 1/2 tsp
Corn - 1/2 cup (You can use the canned corn or Boiled fresh corn)

Method
1. Heat oil in a pan.
2. Add cardamom, cloves and cinnamon.
3. When the spices splutter, add onion, green chillies and ginger and stir well.
4. When the onion is slightly translucent, add rice and mix well. Note: If you let the onion brown, then your palav will loose its nice white colour!
5. Stir well, till the rice is well fried, and starts sticking to the pan. Again, be careful not to overdo this, as the palav will loose colour.
6. Add the corn, water, and milk and stir well.
7. When the mixture starts boiling, add salt, reduce the flame to small, and cover the pan tightly.
8. Cook in this manner, undisturbed, until all the liquid is absorbed.

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