Rajma
Punjabi red kidney bean curry, simmered in a deeply spiced tomato-onion gravy. Served the traditional way: rajma-chawal, with steamed basmati rice.
Overview
Dried kidney beans are soaked overnight and pressure-cooked (or simmered for 2 hours) until completely tender. A separate pan builds a base of onion, ginger and garlic browned with whole spices, then a tomato puree is added and cooked down with the ground spices until the oil separates. The cooked beans and a portion of their cooking liquor are folded in and simmered for 30 minutes to thicken; a few are mashed against the pan to thicken the sauce. Finished with garam masala and butter.
Ingredients
Beans
- 300 g dried red kidney beans (soaked overnight in plenty of cold water)
- 1.2 litres water (for cooking)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 bay leaf
Whole spices
- 3 tablespoons ghee (or oil + butter)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 cinnamon stick (small)
- 2 black cardamom pods (or 3 green if unavailable)
- 4 cloves
- 1 bay leaf
Masala
- 2 onions (finely chopped)
- 6 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
- 30 g fresh ginger (finely grated)
- 2 green chillies (slit)
- 4 ripe tomatoes (pureed, or 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes blended smooth)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala
- 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
To finish
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala
- 1 teaspoon kasuri methi (crushed between palms)
- A knob of butter
To serve
- A handful of coriander
- Steamed basmati rice
Method
Stage 1 - Cook the beans
- Drain the soaked kidney beans and rinse.
- Place in a large pot with 1.2 litres of water, the salt and bay leaf.
- Bring to a boil; skim the foam.
- Reduce to a low simmer and cook for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours, until completely tender (a pressure cooker reduces this to 25-30 minutes).
- Test by pressing a bean between your fingers; it should crush with no resistance.
Stage 2 - Build the whole spice base
- Melt the ghee in a wide pan over medium heat.
- Add the cumin seeds, cinnamon, black cardamom, cloves and bay; let them sizzle for 30 seconds.
- Add the chopped onions and a pinch of salt.
- Cook for 12-15 minutes, stirring, until the onions are deep golden brown (the colour of the gravy depends on this).
Stage 3 - Build the masala
- Add the garlic, ginger and green chilli; cook for 2 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste, Kashmiri chilli, ground coriander, ground cumin, turmeric and 1 teaspoon garam masala; cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in the tomato puree and salt.
- Cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring, until the oil separates from the masala at the edges (this means the tomato has cooked through; rajma made before this point tastes raw).
Stage 4 - Combine
- Tip the cooked kidney beans and 400 ml of their cooking liquor into the masala.
- Bring to a gentle simmer.
- Mash about ¼ of the beans against the side of the pan with the back of a spoon (this thickens the gravy and gives the dish its body).
- Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the gravy thickens to coat the back of a spoon.
Stage 5 - Finish
- Stir in the remaining 1 teaspoon of garam masala, the kasuri methi and the knob of butter.
- Cook for 3 minutes.
- Taste and adjust salt.
Stage 6 - Serve
- Scatter coriander and serve with steamed basmati rice and a wedge of lime.
Notes
- Cook the beans through: Undercooked kidney beans are tough and can cause stomach upset (kidney beans contain a toxin destroyed only by full cooking). Boil hard for the first 10 minutes, then drop to simmer.
- Mash some beans: This step thickens the gravy without adding flour or cream. It's the difference between rajma and a thin bean stew.
- The colour: Properly browned onions and properly cooked tomatoes give a deep mahogany-red gravy. Pale rajma is undercooked rajma.
Storage
- Refrigerate up to 4 days; the flavour deepens overnight.
- Freezes well for 2 months.
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