Rajma Recipe (Easy Rajma Masala)

Rajma Masala served in a blue bowl with chopped coriander sprinkled over

Rajma Recipe (Easy Rajma Masala)

Rajma Masala is comfort food at its best. Kidney beans or rajma is cooked and then simmered in a luscious onion tomato gravy till thick and tasty. Best served with steamed rice and ghee!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian, North Indian

Diet Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 45

Total Time 55

Servings people

Calories 195kcal

Author Richa

Ingredients

¾ cup Rajma
2 tablespoons Oil
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 Bay leaf
2 Cardamom Pods
2 Cloves
2 Onions grated
1 tablespoon Ginger Garlic Paste
3 Tomatoes pureed
1 teaspoon Chilli Powder
1 tablespoon Coriander Powder
½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
1 ½ teaspoon Salt
3 cups Water divided

For tempering

1 tablespoon Ghee
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 tablespoon julienned Ginger
1 teaspoon chopped Garlic
1 teaspoon Kasuri Methi
½ teaspoon Garam Masala
2 tablespoons chopped Coriander

Instructions

Soak rajma overnight or use my quick soaking method to soak it in an hour.
Drain the soaking water, and add rajma to the pressure cooker with 2 cups of water. Cook on a medium flame for 5-6 whistles or about 30-35 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally while you make the gravy.
Heat oil in a kadhai and add cumin, bay leaf, cardamom and cloves. Once the cumin seeds start spluttering add grated onions. Cook these for 2-3 minutes and add ginger garlic paste. Cook this mixture on a low flame for 10-12 minutes till the onions turn a golden brown colour and soften.
Add tomato puree, chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric and salt. Saute this on a high flame for a minute or two and then reduce the flame and let this cook partially covered for 8-10 minutes till the oil starts coming on the top and sides.
Add cooked rajma (along with cooking liquid), and one cup of water to the pan. Mix well and let this simmer gently for 10 minutes or longer till the gravy thickens.
To make the tempering, heat ghee and add cumin, ginger and garlic. Saute for a minute or two and add kasuri methi and garam masala. Turn off the flame and pour this all over hot rajma.
Sprinkle it with fresh coriander and serve hot with steamed rice!

Video

Notes

This is typical punjabi style rajma masala recipe made with a spicy onion tomato paste. You can also swap the entire onion tomato paste with my bhuna masala if you have some in your freezer because it cuts the cooking time considerably!
You can choose to use any variety of Rajma or kidney beans. I like to use red beans versus the striped or light brown ones because I prefer the flavour of those.
Make sure you use new rajma or kidney beans. Beans older than 6-8 months can take longer to cook, although there is nothing wrong with them. So check your packaging date when buying
Soaking is an important step when making any beans. It makes beans easier to digest by removing phytic acid. I've detailed this in my article about soaking beans which also has a quick soaking method (beans soaked in 1 hour).
Cook the rajma till really tender. Rajma in any rajma curry or gravy should be so tender that it should melt in your mouth without any resistance. In this recipe, we cook the rajma first and then add it to the curry. You can also make the curry, add soaked rajma and pressure cook everything together. Both methods work really well!
I use grated onions because they caramelise beautifully without becoming too pasty and give volume to the gravy
Kasuri Methi adds a smoky, nicely rounded flavour at the end in the gravy. If you can't source it, skip it but it's highly recommended.
Swap the onion tomato paste for ¾ cup Bhuna Masala if you have that ready!
This recipe is naturally gluten friendly and can be made vegan by swapping the ghee in tempering for oil

Nutrition