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Rajma Chawal

This Rajma recipe is a lightly spiced, creamy and delicious Punjabi style curry made with protein rich kidney beans, aromatics like onions, ginger, garlic, fragrant spices and tangy tomatoes. My Mom’s recipe for restaurant-style Punjabi Rajma Masala is a staple in our home, and after you try it I’ll bet it becomes one at yours, too.

I also share a homestyle one pot Rajma Masala (which many of our readers had requested) that will remind you about the comforting and satisfying Rajma Curry (or Rajma Chawal) made in Punjabi homes.

Sort dried beans and discard any misshapen or discolored beans. Rinse a couple of times, and then soak 1 cup rajma (kidney beans) in enough water to cover them. Soaking should ideally last for 8 to 9 hours, so I usually soak them the night before I cook.
Once the beans are well soaked, discard the soaking water. Drain and rinse the soaked beans a few times to remove any leftover grit, if any.
Add the rinsed and drained kidney beans to a 3 litre pressure cooker.Add 3.5 to 4 cups of water and stir. Pressure cook the rajma for 18 to 20 whistles (or for about 15 to 20 minutes).
For the paste, you need to crush or grind 1 inch ginger, 5 to 6 small garlic cloves (or 3 to 4 medium garlic cloves), and 1 to 2 green chilies to a paste in a mortar-pestle or a small grinder.
When the pressure settles down on its own in the cooker, open the lid. Check if the rajma is cooked or not by eating or pressing a bean with your fingers./li>
Cool completely, transfer to the blender and blend to smooth paste.
Heat either 3 tablespoons of butter (or 2 tablespoons butter + 1 tablespoon oil), in another pot or pan or kadai. Keep the heat to low or medium-low.
Add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds first and let them crackle and get browned.
Then add the finely chopped onions.
Keep on stirring the onions while sautéing them. This will ensure both uniform cooking and also that they don’t get burnt.
Sauté the onions till they are caramelized and golden brown.
Add the finely chopped tomatoes.Mix very well.Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes until the tomatoes become soft on a medium-low to medium heat.¼ teaspoon turmeric powder½ teaspoon red chilli powder (or cayenne pepper or paprika)Mix again very well.
dd 2 cups of the fresh water to the pan. If you like then you can also add the cooked rajma stock instead of fresh water.
Serve your completed rajma masala with steamed basmati rice, jeera rice, saffron rice, Roti, paratha or naan. The combination of rajma and rice or rajma chawal is quite famous in North India.