Punjabi Rajma Masala Recipe| Kidney Bean Masala Recipes| Side Dish For Rotis

Now, if you have ever been to an authentic Punjabi household, you would not have made an exit without gorging on two things – Lassi and Rajma masala. All Punjabi folks love rajma and the rajma takes an elevated spot if it has been whipped up by a mom or grandmom. Doubtlessly, the Punjabis make the best rajma masala. Mr. P and i love rajma. Especially when  we get bored of eating the same old veggies or during the summers when not many veggies are around. I make it a point to eat legumes like rajma atleast once a month to make up for the protein requirements in our meals. I have two versions of making this. The first one involves a wee bit of grinding and pounding. But this version is not that demanding. Its quite forgiving and you can just about add anything you feel will give the rajma a nice kick.
Coming to things other than rajma, radhika, roshni and i have decided to have some palooza in our pans every month, starting this week. Wondering what the palooza is all about? Well, we ve decided to hone our culinary skills a tad bit more and add to our repertoire by posting 4 different dishes based on a single theme in no particular order. To kick start the palooza, we picked legumes. So you can expect 3 more recipes along with this rajma masala in our pans this month.

Recipe For Punjabi Rajma Masala
( Easy stew with kidney beans, tomatoes and onions.)

Prep Time: Overnight for soaking the beans
                  10 mins for the rest
Cook Time: 20 mins to pressure cook the beans
                   20 mins for the rest
Serves 3 to 4 generously
Level: Intermediate
Allergy Info: Gluten free, Vegan, Nut Free

Ingredients

Pinkish brown kidney beans 1 cup
Water 4 cups
Tomatoes 2 large pureed or 1/2 c tomato puree
Oil 3 tbsp
Bay leaf 1
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Salt to taste

For The Onion Paste

Onion 1 large
Garlic 4 cloves
Ginger 1″ chopped coarsely
Green chilies 2

Spice Powders:

Coriander powder 1 tbsp
Chili powder 1.5 tbsp ( I used kashmiri and hence this much)
Punjabi garam masala 2 tsp

For The Garnish

Coriander leaves 2 tbsp chopped finely

Directions

Wash the beans thoroughly. I have particularly mentioned pinkish brown beans because the dark brown ones dont cook quickly even after soaking. In case you want some color, remove 2 tbsp of these beans and add 2 tbsp of dark brown kidney beans.
Soak the beans in 4 cups of water overnight.
The next morning, pressure cook the beans with some salt and the same water in which they have been soaked, for about 6 to 7 whistles or until cooked thoroughly.
Once done, drain the water and reserve. Remove a handful of the cooked beans and mash thoroughly. Set aside.
Grind onions, green chilies, garlic and ginger to a fine paste without adding any water.
Heat a pan with oil.
Crackle the cumin seeds and add the bay leaf.
Now, add the ground onion paste and saute till light brown. Make sure you do this on low medium flame and that you keep stirring the mixture in between. You will know its done when you see oil leaving the sides.
Now, add all the spice powders and mix well.
Saute for 30 secs.
Next add the tomato puree and mix well. Cook till oil leaves the sides.
Now, add the cooked beans and the mashed beans and salt. Combine gently taking care not to mash the beans too much.
Now, add 1 cup of the reserved water and mix well.
Let it simmer for 5 mins on medium flame.
If you find the mixture thickening too much, add a little more of the reserved water.
Once done, garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with steamed rice or rotis. We enjoyed it with jeera rice( recipe coming soon) and boondi raita