Pahadi Rajma Masala aur Chawal!

This is my ultimate comfort food. I remember overeating “rajma-chawal” even as a 4 year old kid! 😋😜 I still do…and I call it “dedication”. 

Pahadi Rajma Masala aur Chawal is regular feature in my house. My hubby and I, we both enjoy it thoroughly…and I diligently follow my mom’s recipe to the ‘T’. It tastes heavenly. Just the right blend of creaminess…luxuriously rich curry…..the texture is absolutely divine..just like the ones you get in restaurants. Clichéd as it may sound…but it actually melts in your mouth!

Let me tell you while I am at it…it is also one of the quickest recipes’ for cooking Rajma Masala/ Kidney Bean Curry!! I took about 45 mins to make this as I always do when this is on my menu…👌😁

Now that it sounds so good… And has made me drool all over again..I am getting on with the recipe …☺️ a few basic ingredients… a touch here and a stir there …..and you’ll be kissing your own hands 👏 💕

Yield: 3-4 servings

Equipments: a ladle, a medium sized pressure cooker, measuring spoons / cups.

Ingredients:

2 cups kashmiri rajma (I used the small dark maroon variety, you can use any variety of kidney beans, even baked beans out of a can)

2 nos large onions peeled and quartered

10-12 cloves of garlic peeled

3″ pc of ginger peeled

3 nos medium tomatoes (I used ripe ones as they give a good colour to the curry)

3 nos green chillies

2 tbsp fresh coriander chopped

1/2 tsp turmeric pwd

3/4 tsp red chilli pwd

1 tbsp roasted cumin pwd

3/4 tbsp coriander pwd

1/2 tbsp garam masala pwd

2 tsp lemon juice

4 tbsp oil

1 tbsp ghee

salt to taste

a pinch of asafoetida (hing)

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

approx 3 cups of water

Method:

Soak the raw rajma for 6-7 hours in water. Drain and set aside after the stipulated time.

Next, purée the onions with ginger, garlic and green chillies. Heat oil in the pressure cooker, add the in the cumin seeds and let them crackle. Next, add the asafoetida. Stir a bit and add the onion purée. Cook on medium flame until the purée turns brownish in colour. It will leave a bit of oil on sides. Now add all the dry spices except the salt. Also,add the ghee. Cook for 8-10 mins on medium flame.

Now, purée the tomatoes and add that to the masala in the pressure cooker. Keep stirring it and cook until the colour darkens to a rich brown and the oil has separated from the sides, it will take 5-7 mins. Add the salt to taste & chopped coriander leaves. Stir and add the drained rajma/ kidney beans and mix everything well and sauté for 2-3 mins. Add approximately 3 cups of water, add more or less depending on the consistency you desire.

Cover the pressure cooker, set the weight of the cover and cook on sim for the first 5 mins. Then bring the flame to medium and wait for the first whistle to blow..then again lower the flame to sim and wait for another 5-6 whistles. Turn off the flame then and wait for the pressure to settle before you open the pressure cooker. Add a the lemon juice right before you serve and garnish it with some chopped fresh coriander 👌 I usually serve my Pahadi Rajma Masala with some steamed rice, onions and some curd! Bliss 😊

That was fast right?!

P.S. I do not use Rajma Masala spice mix out of a box…never needed to. You can add some as per your preference.

Hope you will enjoy this recipe!

Love,

Shreya 💓