I teach cooking classes a couple time a month. I try to come up with a complete and balanced menu that is delicious but easy to make. For last month’s class, I did the chicken malai tikka– I wanted to come up with a vegetable dish people can enjoy. Someone had suggested a navrattan korma- which is a very popular dish in Indian restaurants around here. A korma is a dish with either vegetables or meat cooked in a creamy white sauce. I have never really made a vegetable korma and never really order it at a restaurant either. The reason for not ordering the dish outside is that it is filled with cream and butter. I can’t imagine how many calories are in that small serving!

In my attempt to come up with a healthier version of this dish, I must have looked at hundreds of recipes. I finally came up with the perfect, delicious concoction. In my mind, a korma is creamy, delicate yet full of flavor. I used dry spices to give the dish loads of flavor. The cinnamon, bay leaf, cardamom, cloves and most of all the black cumin give this dish a very delicate aroma and taste. I tend to use black cumin when I am making a white creamy sauce- unlike regular cumin, this variety has a very floral taste- it’s delicate yet full bodied – the flavor is unmistakable! That being said- if you can’t find this spice, regular cumin will be just fine.  Also, any combination of vegetables is great in this dish. I went with a combination with great aesthetic appeal, full of color.  For the white creamy sauce, I decided to use non-fat evaporated milk with a touch of half and half. The evaporated milk gives the dish great body and taste without any of the fat- how clever was that!! The half and half adds just enough richness without going over the top. To finish off the dish, I added chopped raw cashews and golden raisins. The sweetness of the two ingredients goes very well with the mild creamy dish. To take the korma to another level, I added crumbled paneer- it gives the dish great texture. Overall the dish was a big success. My husband loved it! People at the class enjoyed it as well. We at it with fresh homemade rotis and pink lentils cooked with broccoli rabe- recipe to follow soon!!

read more …