Rajma masala with jeera rice is one of my favorite combinations, and I haven’t met anyone so far who doesn’t like this dish. It is just so wholesome – tasty, nutritious, healthy.

Some recipes don’t call for grinding the masala. Now this, I have found, really pulls down the quality of the dish. I tried very hard to work around it initially, because I was too lazy to do all the grinding, but I have found that the difference is just too much to skip this critical step.

Time taken: 50 min (Overnight soaking required)
Serves 4

Ingredients

1½ cups rajma or kidney beans
4 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
2 tbsp chopped ginger
2 tbsp chopped garlic
2 green chilies

½ tsp haldi or turmeric powder
½ tsp lal mirch or red chili powder
2 tsp dhania or coriander powder
½ tsp garam masala powder
2 tsp kasuri methi or crushed dry fenugreek leaves

1 badi elaichi or black cardamom
1 tej patta or bay leaf
2 tsp jeera or cumin seeds
2 tbsp ghee (or mustard oil in the winters)
Salt to taste

Method

Soak the rajma overnight, atleast 8-10 hours. Drain.

Pressure cook the rajma with salt and 4-5 cups of water, for 15-20 minutes. When the pressure has come to normal, open and check if it is cooked through, or simmer for a few more minutes. (If you’re cooking without a pressure cooker, cook the rajma for about 1 to 1.5 hours). Drain the rajma and reserve the water.

While the rajma is cooking, heat 1 tbsp ghee and add the jeera or cumin seeds. Add the onions and cook until soft.

Now add the ginger, garlic, chilies and tomatoes. Cook until tomatoes are soft and mushy. Take off the heat.

Once cool, grind this into a fine paste.

Heat the remaining ghee in the same pan and add the bay leaf and black cardamom. Add the onion-tomato puree and cook on medium heat with constant stirring, until the paste starts to release ghee. The sides of the pan start to glisten when this starts happening.

Add the spice powders – turmeric, chili, coriander and garam masala.

Add the cooked rajma to this paste, and add 2 cups of the reserved water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10-15 min without a lid.

Check the consistency of the curry and add more water if required. Adjust the salt if needed.

Garnish with cream or coriander leaves, depending on whether you want it rich or spicy. Serve hot with parathas, rice or jeera rice.