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Rajma (Kidney Bean Curry)
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5 from 4 votes

Rajma (Kidney Bean Curry)

While most of us use kidney beans as a filler ingredient in chillies, stews and salads, this Rajma (Kidney Bean Curry) makes the humble red bean the star of the show. The sauce is deeply aromatic, smooth and robust enough to take the beans from basic to beautiful. This is North Indian comfort food at its best.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: beans, curry, kidney beans, north indian, vegetarian
Servings: 0

Equipment

  • Large cooking pot
  • Blender

Ingredients

For the curry:

  • 3 x 400g tins kidney beans in water
  • 2 tbsp oil (any flavourless)
  • 3 large onions peeled and sliced
  • 400 ml water
  • 5 cm piece ginger peeled and chopped
  • 2 large cloves garlic peeled and chopped
  • 1 whole green chilli chopped
  • 2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/2 tsp ajwain
  • 1/4 tsp asafoetida (optional)
  • 1 dried bay leaf
  • 4 green cardamom pods skins removed
  • 1 black cardamom
  • 2 cloves
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 2 tbsp double concentrated tomato purée
  • 60 g vegan butter
  • 1/2 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp kasoori methi
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • Juice of 1 large lemon
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 2 tsp salt

To serve:

  • Cooked basmati rice
  • Sliced red onions
  • Green chillies
  • Vegan butter
  • Poppadoms
  • Lemon wedges

Instructions

  • Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onions and 1 tsp salt and cook over a medium heat until light golden brown, about 8 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic and green chilli cumin seeds, green chill, ajwain, bay leaf, cloves, green cardamom (seeds only), whole black cardamom, asafoetida and turmeric. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomato puree and cook for 30-40 seconds before adding 200ml of water. Cook until reduced by half. Allow to cool.
  • Blend the onion and spice mixture in a high-powered blender until smooth, about 2 minutes.
  • Rinse the same pan used for the sauce and wipe with a paper towel. Heat the butter in the pan and then add the chilli powder, kasoori methi and garam masala. Sizzle for a moment and then add the blended paste. Pour the remaining 200ml water into the blender jar and shake to remove any sauce left inside — pour this into the pan, too.
  • Add the beans (along with the cooking liquor) and season with salt, sugar and lemon juice. Bring to the boil and cover with a lid. Simmer over a medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring halfway to prevent the beans sticking to the bottom of the pot. Remove the lid and cook for a further 10 minutes to evaporate excess water and thicken the sauce. Serve with rice, papad (poppadoms), sliced onions, chillies, lemon wedges and butter (optional).

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