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.
1teaspoonKasoori methi (Dried fenugreek leaves)crushed between palms before adding
2tablespoonsGhee (clarified butter)
2-3tablespoonsCilantro or coriander leavesfinely chopped
Instructions
Soaking & Cooking Rajma & Rice:
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).
Soak in enough water (2-3 inches above the beans) for at least 8 hours orovernight. Beans will get double in size.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Let the pressure go down by itself then open the lid. Remove the rice container, fluff up the rice, and keep it aside covered.
Check whether beans 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 them will open up.
Making Rajma Masala:
Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add bay leaf and black cardamom and saute for 30 seconds.
Add cumin seeds and let them sizzle a bit.
Add chopped onions and sprinkle some salt to speed up the cooking process. Mix and cook until onions are brown in color (not light pink). Do stir in between to make sure that it is not sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Add ginger, and garlic paste. Mix and saute for a minute or until the raw smell of ginger garlic goes away.
Add crushed tomatoes and mix. Cook until all the moisture is evaporated and it looks like a thick paste.
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.
Add boiled rajma along with its water. Also, add the remaining salt.
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.
Add garam masala and crushed kasoori methi. Mix well.
Add ghee, let it melt, and mix.
Lastly, garnish with chopped cilantro.
Notes
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 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 rajma brings out the most flavor and rajma has enough time to absorb the masala flavor plus, rajma 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.
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.
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.