Magical Rajma-Chawal

Hello HTS Community

So, who does not love Rajma, right?

And those of you don’t, you probably haven’t made it or had it the right way.

Being born and brought up in hilly areas, Rajma is one of the most loved staples. I remember coming back from school, and the sweet scent of rajma hitting my nose just outside our house. Even after eating it almost every week, the excitement and happiness never became less. Even today, just the thought of cooking Rajma, and enjoying it with Basmati rice, with a dollop of ghee on top, delights me to every core.

So today, we will be cooking Rajma, with this super easy recipe, which is great for beginners and does not need fancy ingredients. Rajma are red kidney beans, that are soaked overnight and then cooked in a tomato based gravy. They are enjoyed all over India with rice, along with simple onion salad.

If you like this recipe, you may also want to try some of my other Indian dishes like, Kheer (Indian rice pudding) , Korma Curry and Spicy Garlic Chutney

Ingredients for Rajma:

• Rajma (Kidney Beans)- 1 cup
• Water (overnight soaking)- enough for rajma to rehydrate
• Water (for pressure cooking)- 4 cups
• Tomatoes- 2 large
• Ginger- 1 inch
• Green chilli (optional)- 2
• Ghee – 2 tablespoon (use oil for vegan)
• Jeera (Cumin)- 1 teaspoon
• Heeng (Asafoetida)- a pinch
• Dhaniya powder (Coriander seed powder)- 1 teaspoon
• Lal mirch (red chilli powder)- 1/4 teaspoon
• Garam masala- 1/2 teaspoon
• Crushed kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)- 1/2 teaspoon
• Taj patta (Bay Leaf)- 1
• Badi Elaichi (Black cardamom)- 1
• Fresh Coriander (chopped)- for garnish
• Salt- to taste and soaking rajma

Steps:

• Wash one cup rajma and soak in a bowl with enough water and teaspoon of salt, to rehydrate overnight, approximately 9-10 hours.
• In a pressure cooker, put the rehydrated rajma, discard the water in which rajma was soaked. Add 4 cups of water and salt and close the lid. Cook on high flame for up to a whistle, after that cook on low flame for 15 minutes. Do not open the cooker immediately, let the pressure settle down.

• In the meanwhile, to prepare the masala, grind together tomatoes, ginger and green chilies in a blender and make a paste.

• Take a kadhai or a large pot, and heat ghee. Add bay leaf and black cardamom to it. Once hot, put jeera and heeng.
• Pour the tomato paste, add red chilli power and a pinch of salt and let cook, till the ghee separates.

• Now to this paste, add coriander powder and the boiled rajma along with the stock.
• Let the curry simmer on low heat for 10-12 minutes, mash a few rajma to give a thick consistency. Once the curry comes to the right consistency, not too thick nor too thin, add kasuri methi and garam masala. Mix well.
• Garnish with coriander and cover for 10 minutes. Enjoy Rajma with a dallop of ghee on top with rice.