navratan korma recipe with step by step photos – aromatic, flavorful and mildly sweet vegetable navratan korma recipe.

there are both vegetarian as well as non vegetarian versions of preparing navratan korma. this recipe is a vegetarian version of navratan korma.

navratan korma is one recipe which i always dreaded making. just the name of this dish would scare me. it seemed to me a very royal, rich and time consuming recipe. i was wrong. it is such an easy recipe but yes it is rich, royal and delicious.

you can consider making navratan korma for special occasions like expecting a guest at home, birthday party or during festive times like diwali, holi and so on. few more similar mughlai recipes posted on the blog are:

1. paneer do pyaza
2. paneer korma
3. shahi paneer

do you know why this recipe is called as navratan korma?  the dish is named as a tribute to the original navratan- the nine jewels or the nine courtiers of the mughal emperor akbar.

by the way for all those who do not know hindi, ‘nav’ means nine and ‘ratan’ means a jewel. so the english translation of navratan is nine jewels. and korma or kurma is a dish with a yogurt, cream, nuts and seeds paste or a coconut base. 

so you see this navratan korma recipe is a dish made with nine jewels. these nine jewels can be an assortment of nine veggies or nine garnishing ingredients.

suggestions for making navratan korma

• i usually make this korma with 5 to 6 veggies. you can choose your choice of mixed veggies. you can also choose to have a mix of 9 different veggies.
• i have used 9 ingredients for the garnish. the garnish consists of nuts, seeds, herbs and pineapple. one fruit that is added to navratan korma is pineapple. i have had navratan korma many times in the mumbai restaurants and always without fail, there would be pineapple in the korma. but with pineapple you have to be careful. since we are using yogurt and cream in this dish, the pineapple has to be added in the garnishing. if you mix it with the korma, then you should serve immediately. otherwise even if you serve after some minutes, then you get bitter notes in the korma.
• adding pineapple is optional. so don’t add pineapple if you do not like a sweet taste in a creamy dish. another ingredient that can be added is paneer.
• always soak the poppy seeds before blending. or else they take a lot of time to be ground finely.

what goes in the making of navratan korma is nutritious, but is rich and heavy too. there is cream, yogurt and also an rich paste made with melon seeds, cashew, almonds and poppy seeds.

navratan korma is an easy recipe because after you are done with making the paste. then all you have to do is brown the onions with whole garam masala, add the paste, curd, veggies and let the korma simmer till the veggies are cooked.

all in all this shahi navratan korma is a dish to be thoroughly enjoyed on festive occasions like diwali or holi. so i thought of sharing this rich and royal recipe with all of you on the occasion of holi. the recipe has been adapted from jiggs kalra’s book “prashad – cooking with indian masters”.

serve navratan korma with tandoori roti, naan, chapatis or parathas. it also goes well with jeera rice.

if you are looking for more curry recipes then do check:

• vegetable kurma
• palak paneer
• paneer butter masala
• mix vegetable
• kashmiri dum aloo

4.67 from 15 votes

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navratan korma

navratan korma is a rich aromatic vegetable curry made with nine ingredients.

course main course

cuisine indian, mughlai

prep time 40 minutes

cook time 30 minutes

total time 1 hour 10 minutes

servings 5 to 6

author dassana amit

ingredients (1 cup = 250 ml)

veggies for navratan korma

• 2 medium carrots - peeled and chopped OR 70 grams carrots OR about ½ cup chopped carrots
• ½ cup shelled peas or frozen peas (matar)
• 1 large potato OR 2 medium potato OR ¾ cup chopped potatoes or 150 grams potatoes
• ¼ cup chopped green beans OR 40 to 50 grams beans OR 10 to 12 beans
• 1 cup chopped cauliflower (gobi florets) - optional
• 8 to 9 babycorn - chopped (optional)

other ingredients for navratan korma

• 2 medium sized onions sliced OR ½ cup thinly sliced onions
• 2 to 3 green chilies (hari mirch) - chopped
• ½ tablespoon ginger garlic paste OR 5 to 6 garlic and ¾ inch ginger - crushed to a a paste in mortar-pestle
• ½ cup fresh curd (dahi or yogurt) OR 100 grams curd
• ⅓ cup fresh low fat cream OR 3 to 4 tablespoon whipping cream
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder (lal mirch powder)
• 2 tablespoon ghee
• 1 cup water or add as required
• salt as required

for the royal paste

• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds (khus khus)
• 10 to 12 almonds (badam)
• 10 to 12 cashews (kaju)
• 1 tablespoon melon seeds (magaz)
• ¼ cup water for grinding to a paste or add as required

whole garam masala for navratan korma

• 2 to 3 green cardamom (choti elachi)
• 1 black cardamom (badi elachi)
• 3 cloves (lavang)
• 1 inch stick of cinnamon (dalchini)
• 1 tej patta (indian bay leaf)
• 2 single strands of mace (javitri)

for garnishing navratan korma

• 1 tablespoon ghee
• 6 to 7 almonds - blanched and peeled
• 10 pistachois (pista)
• 10 cashewnuts (kaju)
• 10 walnut halves
• 1 tablespoon raisins (kishmish)
• ½ cup chopped pineapple OR 2 to 3 pineapple slices - chopped
• ½ tablespoon melon seeds
• 1 tablespoon mint leaves (pudina patta)
• a pinch of saffron strands (kesar)
• 2 teaspoon ginger julienne

how to make navratan korma

preparing paste for navratan korma

1. soak all the dry fruits and seeds in hot water for 30 to 40 minutes.
2. remove the peels from the almonds and add the peeled almonds in a grinder jar.
3. then drain the remaining nuts-seeds mixture and also add them to the grinder jar.
4. add 1/4 cup water and grind to a smooth fine paste. add more water if required while making the paste. keep this paste aside.

making navratan korma

1. heat ghee in a handi or a deep pan. add all the whole garam masala mentioned above and fry till they crackle and become aromatic.
2. add the sliced onions and saute them till they turn golden
3. now add the ginger-garlic paste and chopped green chilies. saute till the raw aroma of ginger-garlic goes away.
4. now add the nuts-seeds paste and curd. stir well.
5. then add turmeric and red chili powder. stir again.
6. stir and saute for 3 to 4 minutes on a low flame. do stir often so that the mixture does not get stuck to the bottom of the pan.
7. then add the mixed veggies. stir.
8. next add 1 cup water. season with salt. mix very well.
9. cover and simmer the veggies till they are cooked.
10. once the veggies are cooked, add the cream and stir it with the rest of the korma, switch off the flame.
11. sprinkle garam masala powder. cover and keep aside.

garnishing navratan korma

1. heat 1 tbsp ghee in a small frying pan. add 6 to 7 blanched almonds (you can soak these almonds when soaking the nuts for the paste).
2. saute almonds till they turn a pale golden.
3. take them to one side of the pan and now add 10 pistachios, 10 cashews, 10 walnut halves. saute till the cashews turn a light golden.
4. now add 1 tbsp raisins & ½ tbsp melon seeds. saute for some seconds.
5. then add ½ cup chopped pineapple cubes. saute for a minute.
6. next add 1 tbsp mint leaves, a pinch of saffron strands/kesar and 2 tsp ginger julienne.
7. saute for half a minute.

serving navratan korma

1. while serving garnish the korma with the sauteed garnishing ingredients. serve navratan korma with tandoori roti, naan, chapatis or parathas. it also goes well with jeera rice.

recipe notes

tips for making navratan korma

1. if you do not have melon seeds, still you can make the korma with the rest of the ingredients. just increase 1 tbsp of almonds and 1 tbsp of cashew.
2. always soak the poppy seeds before blending. or else they take a lot of time to be ground finely.
3. adding pineapple is optional. so don’t add pineapple if you do not like a sweet taste in a creamy dish.
4. you can also add paneer in it.
5. you can choose your choice of mixed veggies or you can also choose to make navratan korma with a mix of 9 different veggies.

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how to make navratan korma recipe

there are 3 main steps to make navratan korma

• step 1 – preparing the royal paste
• step 2 – making korma
• step 3 – preparing garnishing ingredients

lets start with step 1 – preparing the royal paste

1. take 1 tbsp poppy seeds/khus khus, 10 to 12 almonds/badam, 10 to 12 cashews/kaju and 1 tbsp melon seeds/magaz in a bowl.

2. add enough hot water and soak for 30 to 40 minutes. when the nuts-seeds are soaking, you can chop the veggies.

3. then from this soaked mixture, remove and peel the almonds. add them to the grinder jar.

4. drain the remaining nuts-seeds and add them also to the jar. add ¼ cup water.

5. grind to a smooth fine paste. add more water if required while grinding to a paste. keep the nuts and seeds paste aside.

making navratan korma

6. heat 2 tbsp ghee in a deep bottomed pan.

7. add the whole spices – 2 to 3 green cardamom, 1 black cardamom, 3 cloves, 1 inch stick of cinnamon, 1 tej patta and 2 single strands of mace. saute the spices till they become aromatic.

8. then add ½ cup thinly sliced onions.

9. stir and saute the onions on a low to medium flame.

10. when the onions are caramelizing, take ½ cup fresh curd/dahi/yogurt (100 grams) in a small bowl, with a spoon or a small wired whisk, beat it till smooth. keep aside.

11. saute the onions till they turn golden.

12. then add ½ tbsp ginger-garlic paste and 1 chopped green chili.

13. stir and saute till the raw aroma of ginger-garlic goes away.

14. add the ground nuts and seeds paste.

15. then add the beaten curd and mix well.

16. now add ½ tsp turmeric powder and 1 tsp red chili powder powder.

17. stir and saute for 3 to 4 minutes on a low flame. do stir often so that the mixture does not get stuck to the bottom of the pan.

18. now add the mixed veggies.

19. stir and mix very well again.

20. add 1 cup water.

21. mix very well.

22. season with salt as per taste. cover the pan and allow the veggies to cook.

for garnishing navratan korma

23. when the veggies are cooking, you can prepare the garnish and keep aside. for the garnish – heat 1 tbsp ghee in a small frying pan. add 6 to 7 blanched almonds (you can soak these almonds when soaking the nuts for the paste or separately blanch them).

24. saute almonds till they turn a pale golden.

25. take them to one side of the pan and now add 10 pistachios, 10 cashews, 10 walnut halves. saute till the cashews turn a light golden.

26. now add 1 tbsp raisins & ½ tbsp melon seeds. saute for some seconds.

27. then add ½ cup chopped pineapple cubes. saute for a minute.

28. next add 1 tbsp mint leaves, a pinch of saffron strands/kesar and 2 tsp ginger julienne.

29. saute for half a minute and keep aside.

30. it will take 25 to 30 minutes for the veggies to cook. while cooking, if the gravy becomes too thick then do add some water.

31. when the veggies are cooked, add ⅓ cup cream.

32. stir and mix very well with the rest of the korma. switch off the flame.

33. lastly sprinkle ¼ to ½ garam masala powder and stir.

34. while serving garnish the korma with the sauteed garnishing ingredients. serve navratan korma with tandoori roti, naan, chapatis or parathas. it also goes well with jeera rice.

dassana amit

Founder, Designer, Recipe Developer, Food Photographer || MORE ABOUT US

i started vegrecipesofindia.com in feb 2009. it is a pure vegetarian blog and shares recipes with step by step photos that will help you to make delicious and tasty vegetarian food easily.

i am passionate about cooking from childhood and learnt cooking from my elders. having a home science degree greatly enhanced my cooking & baking skills and took it to a different level which i now share as foolproof recipes. i was trained both in mainstream indian as well as international cuisines.