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Rajma masala
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Rajma masala

Rajma masala is a thick curry made with red kidney beans slowly simmered in onion-tomato paste enriched with authentic & whole Indian spices. 
Prep Time10 mins
Active Time30 mins
Soaking time8 hrs
Total Time8 hrs 40 mins
Course: Curries, Main Course
Cuisine: North Indian, punjabi
Keyword: Rajma masala
Yield: 4
Calories: 286kcal

Materials

For pressure cooking Rajma:

  • 1 cup Rajma or Red-kidney beans
  • 3 cups Water for pressure cooking
  • 1 Bay leaf
  • 2 Green cardamom pods slightly crushed
  • 1-inch Cinnamon stick
  • ½ tsp Salt

For making Rajma masala:

  • 3 - 4 tbsp Oil
  • 1 Bay leaf
  • 1 tbsp jeera/cumin seeds
  • ½-inch Cinnamon stick
  • 2 medium Onions finely chopped
  • Pinch of hing/ Asafoetida
  • 1 Green chilli deseeded & finely chopped
  • ½ tbsp Ginger finely chopped or crushed
  • 3 - 4 cloves Garlic finely chopped or crushed
  • 3 medium Tomatoes finely chopped or pureed or grated
  • ½ tsp Haldi / turmeric powder
  • 1½ tsp Coriander powder
  • 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder/ lal mirch powder
  • 1 tsp Kitchen king masala
  • 1 tsp Amchur powder/ dry mango powder
  • ½ cup Water to adjust consistency
  • ½ tsp Garam masala
  • 1 tsp Kasuri methi/dry fenugreek leaves
  • Fresh coriander leaves finely chopped

Instructions

Soaking and pressure cooking Lobia:

  • Rinse a cup of rajma under running water and soak it in a large bowl with enough quantity of water for a minimum of 8 hours or overnight.
  • After 8 hours, rinse the soaked rajma again under running water and put it in the pressure cooker with 3 cups of water.
  • Add bay leaf, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, salt, and water in the pressure cooker.
  • Cover the cooker with lid and pressure cook it for 5 to 6 whistles.
  • Cook until rajma turns soft and can be mashed easily with your fingers.
  • Strain the rajma in the colander and keep it aside.

Making Rajma Masala:

  • In a thick wide bottom kadhai, heat ¼ cup of oil and add bay leaf, cinnamon stick and cumin seeds.
  • Saute cumin seeds till it starts spluttering, then add finely chopped onions and saute till it turns translucent.
  • Then, add finely chopped or grated ginger-garlic, green chillies and hing (asafoetida) and saute till the raw smell of garlic goes away.
  • Add finely chopped or grated tomatoes in the kadhai and mix and saute till the moisture from tomatoes are evaporated.
  • Cover & cook the onion-tomato mixture for 5 to 7 mins until all the moisture from tomatoes is evaporated.
  • Then add all the dry spices - turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, kitchen king masala and amchur or dry mango powder.
  • Give it a nice mix and saute dry spices with onion-tomato paste for 3 to 4 minutes on medium flame.
  • After a few minutes, spices and onion-tomato paste will be cooked and now add water to your desired consistency and give it a nice mix.
  • Once it starts boiling, add the boiled and strained rajma in the kadhai and mix.
  • Lastly add garam masala, kasuri methi and freshly chopped coriander leaves and mix everything well.
  • Cover & cook for 7 to 8 mins on medium-low flame untill the rajma absorbs all the flavour and aroma from the spices.
  • Turn the flame off and cover and let it sit for a couple of minutes before serving. Serve it with jeera rice or parathas along with onion slices and lemon wedges.

Notes

For thick consistency curry: You don't need to add anything to make curry thicker. Just mash a handful of rajma beans in the curry and cook on low flame for 5 mins. It gets thickened.
Forgot to soak: If you forgot to soak rajma beans a night before, you can do 2 things:
  1. You can use canned red kidney beans. It will save you time.
  2. Or just soak the rajma beans in hot water for around 2 to 3 hours and it is good to go.