Recipe- Kids Will Love To Have Rajma Masala Curry

Rajma Masala aka Kidney Beans Curry is one of the most common and popular curries made in North India.

Kidney beans are cooked with onion, tomatoes and spices in this flavorful vegetarian curry. Rajma is one of the most popular curries in north India.

In fact I always say that chole, rajma and dal makhani are like the 3 most popular north Indian main course vegetarian recipes. Whenever we would invite someone over for lunch or dinner, mom would definitely make one of these. It was inevitable.

However I was not very fond of rajma growing up, I don’t know why but I preferred it much less compared to the dals and chole and all my veggies. Sarvesh on the other hand is a huge rajma fan. It’s probably one of his favorite dishes (that’s a typical Punjabi right there)!

Ingredients

1.5 cups kidney beans 300 grams, raw beans, soaked in 4 cups water
3.5 cups water 28 oz
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons oil 30 ml, use oil of choice
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 cup grated onion from 2 medium red onion, around 320 grams
1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
1 green chili chopped
4 medium tomatoes pureed, around 560 grams
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
1.5 teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder
3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
1.5 cups water 12 oz, divided
1 tablespoon kasuri methi crushed, dried fenugreek leaves
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon ghee 15 ml

Method

* Soak kidney beans overnight in 4 cups water. In the morning, drain the water in which the beans were soaked and then transfer them to a pressure cooker.

* Add 3.5 cups water, 1 teaspoon salt and pressure cook on high heat for 1 whistle, then lower the heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally. If using an Instant Pot, pressure cook for around 45 minutes at high pressure with natural pressure release.

* Beans should be completely soft when done. Set aside..

* To a pan, add 2 tablespoons oil on medium heat. Once hot, add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle.

* Then add the grated onions and mix.

* Cook the onions for around 7 to 8 minutes, stirring often until very light golden in color and there should be no raw smell.
* Compared to chopped onions, (if using chopped, cook for 3-4 minutes only) the grated ones needs to be cooked for a longer time to get rid of the raw smell. Don't rush the step else curry will have raw onion taste.

* Then add ginger-garlic paste and green chili and cook for 1 minute.

* Add the pureed tomatoes and mix. Cook for 5 minutes.

* Then add the spices- coriander, turmeric, kashmiri red chili, garam masala and salt.

* Mix and cook on medium-low heat for around 10 mins until oil oozes out of masala. In total we cooked the tomatoes for around 15 minutes before adding the beans (important step, don't rush it).

* Add the boiled beans along with all the water in which they were boiled. I added additional 1 cup water here. Stir well and set heat to low-medium.

* Let the curry simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. In between use a potato masher to mash some of the beans. This makes the curry creamier and thickens it.

* Then after it has simmered for 20 to 30 minutes, add kasuri methi and cilantro. If you want you can also add bit of cream (optional, around 1 tablespoon I did not add).

* I also added another 1/2 cup water here as it became quite thick while simmering. You can adjust consistency to preference.

* Finally add a tablespoon of ghee and mix. If you want you can fry some ginger julienne in ghee and then add that to the rajma too. Turn off the heat. Serve rajma with rice and enjoy.