Rajma Masala Recipe

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Rajma Masala and steamed rice — rajma chawal — is comfort food of the highest order in North India: soft red kidney beans in a tangy tomato-onion gravy, mellowed with a little cream. The beans must be cooked until they almost melt; that creaminess, plus a properly browned onion-tomato base, is the whole dish. This recipe also explains the one mistake that keeps rajma tough forever, so yours comes out right the first time.

Rajma Masala Recipe

Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Soaking Time 8 hours
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Punjabi
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For boiling the rajma:
  • 1 cup dried rajma red kidney beans, about 200 g, soaked overnight in plenty of water
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 black cardamom pod
  • Salt to taste
For the gravy:
  • 2 tablespoons oil or ghee
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 large onion finely chopped or ground (about 1 cup)
  • 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
  • 3 large tomatoes pureed (about 1.5 cups)
  • 1 to 2 green chillies finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder
  • 1 tablespoon coriander powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon kasuri methi dried fenugreek leaves, crushed
  • 2 tablespoons fresh cream optional but lovely
  • 1 tablespoon fresh coriander leaves chopped

Method
 

  1. Drain the soaked rajma and rinse well. Add to a pressure cooker with 3.5 cups of fresh water, the bay leaf, black cardamom and salt. Pressure cook for 6 to 7 whistles (about 20 to 25 minutes) until the beans are completely soft — a bean pressed between your fingers should squash with no hard core.
  2. Keep the beans in their cooking water; that starchy liquid becomes part of the gravy.
  3. Heat the oil or ghee in a heavy pan and let the cumin seeds crackle. Add the onion and cook on medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes until deep golden.
  4. Add the ginger-garlic paste and green chillies; cook for a minute until the raw smell goes.
  5. Add the tomato puree and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the masala is thick, glossy and leaves oil at the sides.
  6. Lower the heat and stir in the chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric. Cook for a minute so the spices lose their raw edge.
  7. Pour in the rajma with all its cooking water. Mash a ladleful of beans against the side of the pan and stir them back in — this gives the gravy its classic creamy body without much cream.
  8. Simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. Add the garam masala and crushed kasuri methi, adjust the salt, then stir in the cream and warm through for a minute without boiling.
  9. Garnish with coriander and serve hot over steamed basmati rice with a little ghee on top.

Notes

  • The golden rule of rajma: never add tomato (or any acid) to beans that are not fully cooked — acid sets the skins and the beans stay tough no matter how long you cook them.
  • Old, stale beans take much longer to soften. Buy rajma that looks plump and even-coloured, and soak a full 8 hours minimum.
  • A pinch of baking soda in the soaking water helps very stubborn beans, but rinse them well before cooking.
  • Rajma thickens a lot as it rests; loosen leftovers with a splash of hot water when reheating.

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