Rajma Recipe (Rajma Masala / Rajma Chawal)

Name: Rajma Recipe (Rajma Masala / Rajma Chawal)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 1 cup Rajma (Red kidney beans) (I have used Chitra rajma); ½ teaspoon Salt (to add while pressure cooking rajma); 2 ½ cups Water (for pressure cooking rajma); 1 cup Basmati rice (or your choice of any verity of rice); 1 cup Water (for cooking rice); ½ teaspoon Salt (for rice); ½ teaspoon Ghee (clarified butter) (for rice); 3 tablespoons Oil; 1 Bay leaf; 1 Black cardamom; 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds; 1 cup Red onion (food processed (around 1 large onion)); 1 tablespoon Ginger garlic paste (or crushed (1 inch ginger, 5-6 cloves garlic)); 1 cup Tomatoes (crushed in a food processor (2 medium Roma tomatoes)); ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder; 1 ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder; 1 tablespoon Coriander powder; ¾ to 1 cup water (to adjust the gravy consistency); 1 teaspoon Salt; ½ teaspoon Garam masala; 1 teaspoon Kasoori methi (Dried fenugreek leaves) (crushed between palms before adding); 2 tablespoons Ghee (clarified butter); 2-3 tablespoons Cilantro or coriander leaves (finely chopped)

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Craving for an authentic Punjabi rajma recipe? You are at the right place. This rajma masala is very easy to make with basic ingredients. Not to forget, it makes a delicious, comforting, and healthy meal when served with rice and it’s called rajma chawal.

Rajma gravy served in a bowl garnished with cilantro, rice and onion in the back.

❤️About This Rajma Recipe

Rajma chawal is a popular North Indian dish that is made very often in Punjabi households. Here boiled kidney beans are simmered in a thick, spiced onion-tomato gravy. This rajma masala is served with plain rice and sliced onions to make a complete meal.

Taste: Medium spicy, delicious with typical Punjabi red gravy flavor.
Texture: Thick yet slightly chunky gravy with soft, melt-in-your-mouth kidney beans.

You’ll Love This Recipe

Great for meal prep: Make extra rajma masala when you make it for dinner, it makes a great make-ahead lunch.

Healthy: Rajma with the combination of rice (rajma chawal) is a wholesome meal as rajma is a rich source of protein, dietary fiber, minerals such as copper, iron, manganese, phosphorus, molybdenum and vitamins B1 and folate and is high in GI. It also benefits the gut as slowly digested carbohydrates can help in satiety. Rajma and rice together have all nine essential amino acids!

Dietary info: Vegan, Gluten-free, Nut-free.

🧾Ingredient Notes

Here is a pic of the ingredients you’ll need to make this Punjabi rajma recipe. Ingredients to cook rice are not shown in the pictures but are mentioned in the recipe card below.

Rajma masala ingredients in bowls and spoons with labels.

Rajma (Kidney beans): There are many different kinds of rajma available in the stores.
- Chitra rajma (Shown in the pic): These are light brown (cream) in color with dark lines (or speckles) on them. They turn super soft and creamy texture after cooking. When it comes to Punjabi rajma masala, people mostly use this Chitra rajma.
- Red rajma (red kidney beans): These are widely available in American grocery stores. You can use this variety as well. These will hold their shape better once cooked. You can use I have used this one in the kidney bean burger recipe.
- Jammu rajma: The color is the same as red rajma but they are smaller in size and more aromatic. They are grown in the state of Jammu & Kashmir.
Onion: In the olden days, people mostly grate the red onion to make rajma masala gravy. But here I have used a food processor to resemble a similar texture.
Tomatoes: Again, these are grated and the peel is removed during the grating process. But here I have used a food processor to make a coarse gravy.
- I recommend using Roma or plum tomatoes.
Ginger, Garlic: Punjabi dishes are a little heavier on ginger garlic. I have crushed them together in a wet jar of my spice grinder.
Whole spices: Bay leaf and black cardamom are used. Black cardamom adds a nice aroma as well as a hint of smokey flavor.
Cumin seeds: It helps in easy digestion as beans are heavy on the stomach.
Spice powders: Basic day-to-day spices such as turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala, and kasoori methi are used.
Ghee: It is added at the end, once rajma masala is ready. You can add butter as well.
Cilantro (not in the pic): It is added as a garnish and to add a fresh element.

👩‍🍳How To Make Rajma Masala? (Stepwise Pics)

Soaking & Cooking Rajma & Rice:

1) Take red kidney beans in a large bowl, and rinse with cold tap water 2-3 times by massaging it lightly using your fingers until the water is clear (not cloudy anymore).

2) Soak in enough water (2-3 inches above the beans) for at least 8 hours or overnight. Beans will get double in size.

Collage of 2 images showing rajma beans and soaked beans.

3) Discard the soaking water, and take the soaked beans in a steel insert for instant pot (or in a pressure cooker). Add fresh water and salt.

4) For rice, rinse the rice similarly until the water is clear. Take it into another insert, and add water, salt, and ghee. If using a stovetop small pressure cooker then cook the rice separately in a saucepan like in this basmati rice recipe.

Collage of 2 images showing rajma and rice steel inserts ready.

5, 6, 7) Add a glassful of water to your electric pressure cooker, place a rack in the center, and place a beans insert. On top of that place the rice insert. Cover the rice insert with a lid.

8) Cover the pressure cooker with a lid.
– Pressure cooker: 1 whistle on High heat then reduce to Low and cook for 10 minutes.
– Instant pot: Manual (high pressure) for 8 minutes.

Collage of 4 images showing placing inserts in instant pot and covering with a lid.

9) Let the pressure go down by itself then open the lid. Remove the rice container, fluff up the rice, and keep it aside covered.

10) Check whether rajma is cooked or not by pressing one bean between your thumb and finger. It should be soft and easy to mash. If you notice, some of the rajma will open up.

Collage of 2 images showing cooked rice and cooked kidney beans.

Making Rajma Masala:

1) Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add bay leaf and black cardamom and saute for 30 seconds.

2) Add cumin seeds and let them sizzle a bit.

Collage of 2 images showing tempering whole spices and cumin seeds in oil.

3) Add chopped onions and sprinkle some salt to speed up the cooking process.

4) Mix and cook until the onions are brown in color. Do stir in between to make sure that it is not sticking to the bottom of the pan.

NOTE: pic 4 (left). you can see that the onions have cooked, softened, and are light pink n in color. But we need to cook them further to get the best flavor until they are dark brown in color.

Make sure to saute the onion on medium heat (not high) to caramelize and bring out the sweet flavor.

Collage of 4 images showing sauteeing onion until brown in color.

7) Add ginger, and garlic paste. Mix and saute for a minute or until the raw smell of ginger garlic goes away.

Collage of 2 images showing adding and cooking ginger, garlic paste.

7, 8) Add crushed tomatoes and mix.

9) Cook until all the moisture is evaporated and it looks like a thick paste. This sauteeing technique is called ‘Bhuna’ in the Hindi language. In Punjabi dishes, this bhuna masala is a crucial element to get the best flavor.

10) Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, and coriander powder. Mix and cook for a minute or until the oil starts to ooze out from the sides of the masala.

Collage of 4 images showing cooking tomato until thick and mixing spice powders.

11) Add boiled kidney beans along with its water. Also, add the remaining salt.

12, 13) Mix and bring the mixture to a boil. Let it simmer on medium-low heat for 15 minutes or until the gravy is thickened (not watery anymore). Do stir occasionally to avoid sticking or burning.

Collage of 3 images showing adding boiled rajma, salt, simmering gravy and showing textute with spoon.

14) Add garam masala and crushed kasoori methi. Mix well.

15, 16) Add ghee, let it melt, and mix.

17) Lastly, garnish with chopped cilantro.

Collage of 4 images showing adding spices, ghee, mixing and garnishing with cilantro.

💭Expert Tips To Make BEST Rajma Recipe

Cooking onion and tomato nicely is very important as bhuna masala is a key element in making rajma recipe to get the best flavor and taste. So always saute onion on medium-low until brown or darker in color. And cook tomatoes until all the watery part is gone and the mixture becomes thick.
Soaking beans is an important step. You may find much info about cooking unsoaked beans all around the internet. But I do not recommend that. Soaking kidney beans not only reduces the cooking time but less the loss of water-soluble nutrients due to less exposure to heat. Hence helps in digestion (avoids bloating and gassy tummy issues) plus makes super soft, buttery inside texture rajma.
Slow simmering the gravy after adding kidney beans brings out the most flavor and beans has enough time to absorb the masala flavor plus, beans becomes soft and melt-in-your kind and the gravy becomes thick. So make sure to simmer on LOW heat for at least 15 minutes.
Using canned kidney beans: Please use 2 cans (15 oz each) of kidney beans but skip the soaking and boiling steps. So you’ll just have to make onion-tomato gravy, add canned beans and simmer. For rajma chawal, cook the rice separately in a saucepan or using this instant pot basmati rice recipe.
Earlier I used to add a teeny tiny amount of amchur powder to the gravy. But nowadays I find my rajma recipe more flavorful without amchur. So I have stopped adding it.

Rajma chawal in a plate with a spoon, garnished with cilantro and served with sliced onions.

🥣 Storage Instructions

Refrigerator: It stays fresh for 2-3 days depending on the climate where you live. Rajma masala should be stored in an airtight container after it cools down completely.
Freezer: Store in individual or smaller portions in a freezer-safe container or ziplock bag and freeze. It stays good for up to 2 months.
Thaw the frozen rajma in the refrigerator overnight or keep it on the countertop at room temperature for 2-3 hours. Then reheat in a saucepan or microwave until piping hot.
I recommend making fresh rice for rajma chawal meal if freezing rajma for later use. However, you can freeze rice, but I don’t like the texture of defrosted rice.

🍽 Serving Ideas

The most popular way to serve Punjabi rajma recipe is with a bowl of rice as rajma chawal. Roasted papad and laccha pyaaz is served on the side.
This kidney beans curry can be served with jeera rice or mild-flavored pulao like peas pulao.
Punjabi rajma masala can be served with roti or paratha and you can have a pickle, papad, kachumber salad on the side.

FAQs

Why my rajma masala gravy is watery and not thick?

There are a few things you can keep in mind while making rajma recipe to make the thick gravy.
1. Make sure to food processor or chop the onions very finely (don’t keep big chunks). Or you can grate the onions.
2. Simmer on LOW for good 10-15 minutes.
3. While simmering the gravy mash a few beans using the back of the spatula which helps in thickening the gravy.

Why my kidney beans are hard even after boiling in a pressure cooker?

The old batch of beans will take longer to cook. So when you open the pressure cooker, check the doneness by pressing one bean. If it looks hard then you can add a little more water and cook for 2-3 more whistles.
– Sometimes really an old (stale) batch of beans will never get soft. In this case, you should discard those and need to buy a new fresh pack of rajma.

Rajma masala served with rice and sliced onions with a spoon in the plate.

Check Out Other Authentic Punjabi Recipes

Did you try this rajma recipe (Rajma chawal)? I’d love to hear about it! Leave a review in the comment section below.