Rajma (Kidney Beans Curry)
A rich, delicious, healthy kidney bean curry filled with nutritious proteins and nutrients.
Ingredients
- 2 cups rajma (pick, clean, and soak overnight in about 4 cups water)
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- 2 medium yellow onions (chopped finely)
- 1 green Serrano chili (to your taste)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste (or one 8 oz can of tomato sauce or 3 Roma tomatoes)
- 1 tbsp heaped ginger paste (preferably fresh)
- 1 tbsp heaped garlic paste (preferably fresh)
- 1½ tsp salt (or to your taste)
- 6-7 cups water
Whole Spices
- 1 large black cardamom
- 2 Bay leaves
- 4-5 cloves (or ¼ tsp clove powder)
- 4-5 peppercorns (½ tsp cracked pepper)
Masalas
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp red chili powder (or to your taste)
- 1-2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro (coriander) leaves
Instructions
Overnight Preparation
- Pick, clean, and soak the beans overnight in about 4 cups of water.
To Prepare
- Heat the oil in a 4-6 quart cooking pot or deep saucepan on medium heat.
- Add whole spices, stir for 30 seconds, and now add the onions.
- Sauté until three-quarter brown, about 8 minutes.
- Add all the masalas and sauté for 3 minutes or until the oil starts to surface on the sides of the pan.
- Add the kidney beans, water, and tomato paste. Cover and bring to a boil.
- Boil for 30 minutes, then lower heat and simmer for about another 30 minutes, until nice and tender.
- If the beans are drying out, add more hot water to sustain a nice amount of gravy.
- When nearly done, mash some of the beans against the side of the pot to make a thicker gravy. Cook for another 5 minutes.
- Pour into a serving dish and garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.
- Serve with plain boiled rice, any pilaf, or roti. I have even eaten it poured over a plate of noodles!
Notes
You can boil the beans separately and then add them to the curry mix or use them after soaking.
If using a pressure cooker, you can do the tempering, then add the raw-soaked beans and bring it to pressure. Using a pressure cooker cuts the cooking time. I follow the time given on the chart for beans, but times will vary depending on the heat source and altitude, so I always cook it for less than the time indicated on the manual chart.
A Simple Variation
Boil the soaked beans with a tablespoon of chopped ginger, garlic, and salt. Cook until done. Then temper the beans.
Tempering/Tadka
1 medium onion chopped
2 medium tomatoes chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp chili powder or to your taste
¼ tsp garam masala, or to your liking
2-3 tablespoons oil
In a sauté pan, heat the oil on medium heat. Add the onions, sauté 4-5 minutes, then add the spice powders and stir for a minute. Add the tomatoes. Cook for 7-8 minutes, and add the cooked beans. Stir and let simmer for 5 minutes to absorb the flavors of the tadka. Mash a few beans against the side of the pot with the back of the ladle. Stir and simmer for another 2 minutes.