Rajma

-



Rajma is a thick Kidney Beans curry popular throughout North India & Nepal. Kidney beans were brought to the Indian subcontinet by early travelers who been to Mexico. Some of the best Rajma in India is grown in the Himachal Pradesh & Jammu regions.
It is generally served with rice and Rajma Chawal is a staple in north Indian diet.

In this recipe we are going to follow the Punjabi way of cooking Rajma.

Prep Time:
Soak Overnight + 10 mins
Cook Time:
45 mins

Ingredients:
This recipe serves 4 persons and ingredients are listed accordingly.
  1. Rajma - 200gms
  2. Tomatoes -2
  3. Onions - 3
  4. Green Chilies - 2
  5. Ginger - 1 inch stick
  6. Garlic - 5-6 cloves
  7. Red Chilli Powder - 10 gms
  8. Turmeric Powder - 10 gms
  9. Coriander Powder -10gms
  10. Salt
  11. Cumin Seeds
  12. Cinnamon - 1 inch stick
  13. Star Anise - 1 piece
  14. Cloves - 5-6
  15. 3 Table spoons of Ghee
  16. Chole Masala - 10 gms
  17. Fresh Cream - 1 table spoons
Procedure:


  • Soak the Rajma overnight.
  • Next morning strain it and put it in a pressure cooker and add whole spices including Star Anise, Cinnamon & Cloves.
  • Also add half of the red chili powder, turmeric powder, the green chilies and salt.
  • Pressure cook for about 20 mins.

  • Chop the onions & tomatoes in a food processor or manually into very very small pieces.
  • I recommend using a food processor to chop as it will result in better experience.
  • We shall grind the onions and tomatoes into a paste as it will not give the grave any texture.
  • In a fry pan take 2 heaped table spoons of ghee.
  • To it, add the remaining red chili powder, turmeric powder, cumin seeds & coriander powder.
  • When the cumin crackles, add chopped ginger, garlic & the finely chopped tomatoes & onions.
  • Sauté till the mixture becomes a thick paste and ghee leaves from the sides.
  • Now add the cooked rajma along with all the water remaining in the pressure cooker.
  • Add the fresh cream, mix well.
  • Add the chole masala and cook for another 10 minutes.
Your Rajma is now ready and it is best had with rice and pickles. If you have liked my recipe, please follow my blog and stay tuned for more recipes. travel logs & much more.

    Comments

    Post a Comment

    Popular posts from this blog

    Tomato Ketchup

    -
    Image
      Various varieties of Tomato Ketchup have been around since the first one was published in a cook-book by James Mease in 1812 more than 200 years ago. American cooks later started adding sugar to ketchup in the early 20th century. It was the F&J Heinz company that started selling ketchup in 1876 and made it the household item it is today by the early 1900s. Since Sodium Benzoate was banned in 1906 for use as a preservative, the current version of ketchup using sugar & vinegar as natural preservatives was developed. Like every year, I sowed hybrid tomato seeds in my kitchen garden, and I maintain 20 plants which yield up to 5kg per plant easily. Since the past 3 years, to preserve these high-quality organic home-grown tomatoes, I started making ketchup so that it may be stored for up to 6 months easily. Mind you, this recipe is lengthy, easy to get wrong and tedious, so not for the faint of heart. This recipe also uses onions & garlic, but they are optional.   Prep Time: 20
    Read more

    Chettinad Spice Mix

    -
    Image
      Chettinadu is the land of  the Chettiars who are the mercantile, weaving & agricultural people to the south of India mainly in the states of Tamil Nadu & Kerala. Chettinad cuisine is the cuisine of the Nattukotai Chettiars or Nagarathars. In addition to the traditional Southern Indian Staples like Coconut, Legumes & Pulses, during their centuries of participation in the spice trade, the people of Chetiinad added many spices to their cuisine like Indonesian Nutmeg, Ceylon Cinnamon, Madagascar Cloves, Tellicherry Pepper and sometime even blue Ginger from Vietnam & Laos. Chettiars were traditionally vegetarian, and to this day, their traditional & festive feast remain vegetarian. Centuries over centuries of delicately mixing & layering spices, we got the our beloved Chettinad Spices Mix which can be used in a variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.    I always recommend getting the choicest whole spices from your trusted market and making all kinds of gr
    Read more

    Veg Biryani

    -
    Image
    It is said that Biryani is India's most preferred take-out or order at home dish. This has to do with the general notion that biryani is very difficult to make and must be ordered from a restaurant to save the hassle. Even those who do make it at home reserve it for very special occasions.       Here we will be learning a relative quick and easy way of making Biryani but with vegetables. There basically two types of Biryani i.e. Kacchi & Pakki. In Kacchi Biryani, layers of marinated meat or vegetables with alternating layers of partially cooked rice and condiments are steamed and cooking happens by the ingredient's own moisture for at least an hour. A yoghurt based marinade at the bottom of the cooking pot provides additional moisture and flavor. Potatoes are in the bottom most layer (borrowed from Iranian cuisine) and provide moisture for cooking.      In pakki Biryani which we shall be making, the meat or in this case vegetable and rice are partially cooked separately wit
    Read more