Nutty Vegetable Korma

Since D's birthday was kind of a wash-out as we were all sick with some viral thing, I decided to make him a special meal the following weekend when we all felt a little better.

This is a rich gravy, so, I don't make it often. We usually have a jar of mixed nuts at home as snack for Ana (and for us adults, of course). Rather than just rich almond or cashew curries, I decided to throw in a batch of the mixed nuts we have - hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, brazil nuts, plus of course almonds, cashews, pecans and walnuts - and it turned out quite yummy that I decided to post it here :)

Ingredients
for the gravy:
1½ cups mixed nuts:hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, brazil nuts, almonds, cashews, pecans and walnuts
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium tomatoes, diced
3-4 serrano chilies
3 Tbsp grated ginger
5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
spices:
1 star anise,
1 tsp black cumin seeds (shahi jeera)
a 2" piece Indian cinnamon bark (dalchini)
1 Tbsp poppy seeds (khus khus)
1 small clove

1 cup whipping cream or heavy cream or half-and-half(optional)
Vegetables: red/green bell peppers, carrots, green beans, broccoli, potatoes, peas
(or chicken pieces, if preferred)
salt to taste
1 Tbsp ghee or oil

Preparation

1. dry toast the spices and allow to cool a bit; then, combine the gravy ingredients with the toasted spices and grind to a fine paste
2. heat ghee in a pan, add the ground paste and sauté till rawness of onions and garlic mellows out, add the veggies, some salt, cover and simmer till veggies are cooked through but not mushy
3. stir in the whipping cream or heavy cream if using; adjust salt to taste
4. serve warm with basmati rice or roti or naan