Rajma Chawal brings a bright shiny twinkle in my eyes. The smell of Rajma smearing in the onion tomato gravy with whole spices lures me deeply to
Rajma's are beautiful Red Kidney Beans which are packed with protein and serve so many health benefits that I almost put them in my superfoods bucket which gives us a good amount of iron, vitamins, fats, fiber,
I was never obsessed with Rajma growing up since they were not made quite often at my home. I think I started loving them absolutely when I was in my undergrad. I tasted them in this restaurant called Mirch Masala when I was visiting with my friends and that truly did some magic for me. Ever since then, I haven't stopped eating them.
My take on Rajma curry is very simple with an added twist of adding herbs in ghee while all the whole spices temper. I experimented with a lot of different takes on Rajma Masala before this recipe that happened in my kitchen 4 years ago. I have been using it ever since, and it is lip-smacking delicious. If you try this recipe, I legit guarantee, you will be making it again and again. Because you just can't have enough of Rajma Chawal! Am I right or am I right!
Vegan Rajma Masala
Want Vegan Rajma Masala? Then get it!! All you need to do is replace oil with luscious Vegan Butter. I like to use Earth Balance Vegan Butter to replace ghee in my recipes to make them Vegan!! Voila! get yourself a comforting bowl of Vegan Rajma Masala, Papad, and Rice!
Rajma Masala
These nutrional values are automatically generated. Use them for estimation only.
Ingredients
Boil The Rajma
- 1 Cup Red Kidney Beans Rinse, Drain and Soak them Overnight
- 2 Cups Water
- 1 Tsp Salt
- ½ Tsp Baking Soda (optional)
For Rajma Masala
- 1 Tbsp Oil I use grapeseed oil for all my cooking as it is healthier than other oils, but you can use vegetable oil, or any oil of your choice
- 1 Tbsp Ghee
- 1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 Small Cinnamon Stick
- 2 Dry Red Chilies
- 1 tablespoon Cilantro Finely Chopped
- 1 Tbsp Kasuri Methi (Dry Fenugreek Leaves) Crushed
- 1 Tbsp Green Garlic (Optional)
- 2 Tbsp Scallions Finely Chopped
- 2 Tsp Ginge Garlic Green Chlli Paste Freshly pounded
- 1 Large Red Onion Finely Chopped
- 1 Large Tomato Pureed
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 2 teaspoon Red Chili Powder if spicy reduce it to 1 Tsp. My Chili powder is not very spicy
- 1 teaspoon Coriander Powder
- 1 Tsp Garam Masala
- 1 Tbsp Cilantro Finely Chopped
Instructions
- Rinse, Drain and Soak 1 Cup of Red Kidney Beans overnight in 2 cups of water
- Drain the water next morning and pressure cook the soaked Rajma with 2 cups of water + Salt for about 7-8 whistles.
- In a Heavy Bottom Pan, heat oil and add cumin seeds, bay leaf, a pinch of asafoetida (hing), a small cinnamon stick and a whole dry red pepper.
- Once the Cumin seeds start to splutter, add chopped scallions and kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves). Sauté them until it starts smelling nice and roasted.
- Add finely chopped onions and salt. Adding salt at this stage will help onions cook faster. Let them caramelize a little.
- Add Ginger Garlic and Green Chili Paste and sauté until the raw smell goes away.
- Add tomatoes, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, and ½ tsp garam masala. We will use another ½ teaspoon of garam masala in the end. Sauté well untill tomatoes are nice and mushy.
- Keep 1 cup of Boiled Rajma Rajma separately and mash them using a masher or your hands.
- Once the tomatoes are mushy, add the mashed rajma and mix them well with all the spices.
- Now add the whole boiled Rajma and give it a nice mix.
- Add ½ cup of water. I use the same water using which I boiled my Rajma. This water will have all the nutrients present from Rajma and I don"t like to throw it away. Add Kasuri Methi and Garam Masala. Give it a mix and let it boil for another two minutes and enjoy with Jeera rice or Plain Rice.
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