Rajma Masala Recipe

Rajma Masala is a red kidney bean curry dish popular throughout the north of India, particularly in the Punjab. This simple dish can be served either as a vegetarian main or a side dish.

As with all Punjabi dishes some versions of this recipe call for dangerous levels of cream to be added! In this recipe I have omitted the cream and find that by cooking the onions in paste for i can get away with using less oil than if cooking the onions in a chopped form.

Rajma Masala Ingredients

• 1 tin of kidney beans
• 5 large finely chopped tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 finely chopped medium onions
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 generous piece of ginger
• 1 green chilli
• 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon of ground coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon of red chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon of garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 cups of water

Method

Grind the onion, garlic and ginger into a smooth paste either in a mortar and pestle or a food processor.

Heat some oil in a pan and when hot add the cumin seeds and wait until they start to splutter.  Next add the onion paste, turmeric, ground coriander, garam masala, chilli powder and cook off for a few minutes on a medium heat.

Once the onions are cooked add the finely chopped tomatoes and cook over a low/medium heat until the tomato is soft and cooked through.

Finally add the kidney beans (washed), fresh chilli (slit down the middle), bay leaves, salt and water. Cover with a lid and cook slowly for  at least 40 minutes, the longer the better really. Serve with freshly cooked rice and some chopped fresh coriander.