Recipe: Rajma

Ingredients:

  • For the rajma mix:
  • 1 Whole green chilly
  • To taste Salt
  • 500 Gram Rajma (red kidney beans)
  • 4-5 Pieces Garlic, chopped
  • 1/2 Litre Water
  • 1/2 tsp Ginger, chopped
    For the tempering:
  • 1 Tbsp Butter
  • 3 Tbsp Curd
  • 2 Tbsp Refined oil
  • 1 Onion, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1 tsp Red chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
  • 2 Tomatoes, chopped
  • A pinch of Sugar
  • 1/2 Lime juice
  • 1 tsp Ginger, chopped
  • 1 tsp Cumin powder
  • 5 cloves Garlic, chopped
  • Few Coriander leaves
  • 1 tsp Coriander powder
  • 2 Brown cardamom
  • 1 Green chili, finely chopped
  • 1/2 Tbsp Cloves
  • 1/2 Tbsp Cumin seeds

Procedure:

  • Soak the rajma overnight and pressure cook it.
  • In a kadhai, mix the cooked rajma, half a litre water, chopped garlic, chopped ginger, whole green chili and little bit of salt for taste. Let it boil.
  • While the rajma is boiling, heat some oil in another pan.
  • Add to this cumin seeds, cloves and brown cardamom. Saute, crackle and fry these spices to release their flavors.
  • Now add the chopped onion. Saute till the onions turn brownish.
  • Add to this the chopped ginger and chopped garlic. Saute them all together.
  • Now add the aromatics i.e turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and little salt for taste.
  • Turn up the heat and dry roast all the powdered spices. Mix them all well.
  • Add a little bit of water to this onion-spice mix to bhuno the spices.
  • Let the pan dry up of all the water you added. When the pan screams out for more moisture that’s when you add the tomatoes.
  • Add the tomatoes. Add a pinch of sugar to balance the acidity, to bring out the flavor of tomatoes and also to aid caramelization of the aromatics.
  • Mix the onions, tomatoes and spices well. Add some water to prevent the mix from drying out.
  • Now add the green chillies and some coriander leaves.
  • Mix well for a minute or two.
  • Now remove the pan from the heat and add this spice mix to the kadhai in which the rajma was boiling.
  • For some extra flavor add some water in which the rajma is boiling to the spice mix pan. De-glaze all the flavors and then add it back to the kadhai with rajma.
  • Turn up the heat and add butter and curd. Mix them well with the rajma.
  • Squeeze half a lime into the rajma.
  • Cover it, lower the heat and let the rajma simmer for about 10 – 15 minutes.
  • Stir a bit. You can garnish with coriander leaves as well and then serve the rajma hot with rice.