Rajma (kidney bean curry)
33 min · 17 g protein · 361 cals / serving
North India's favourite home curry: red kidney beans simmered in a thick, deeply savoury onion and tomato masala with ginger, garlic, cumin and garam masala, some of the beans crushed so the gravy turns creamy. Mild and warming, made from tins in about half an hour, and even better the next day. Serve it with rice or chapati.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tbsp canola oil, vegetable or rapeseed oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin, cumin seeds
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 medium onions, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, grated
- a thumb-sized piece ginger, grated
- 1 green chili pepper, slit lengthways (optional, for heat) (optional)
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp paprika, or Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 can (14 oz) canned crushed tomatoes, or passata
- 3 cans (15 oz each), drained and rinsed kidney beans
- 1 2/3 cups water, boiling, from the kettle
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- a handful fresh cilantro, chopped
Steps
- Heat the oil in a large, heavy pan over medium heat and add the cumin seeds and bay leaf. When the seeds sizzle, after about 30 seconds, add the onions and cook 8–10 minutes, stirring often, until deep golden brown; this is where the flavour comes from, so don't rush it.
- Stir in the garlic, ginger and chilli for 1 minute, then the coriander, paprika and turmeric for 30 seconds.
- Add the tomato paste and tinned tomatoes and cook 4–5 minutes, stirring, until thick and the oil starts to shine at the edges.
- Add the beans, the boiling water from the kettle and the salt, bring back to a boil and simmer briskly 10 minutes. Mash about a quarter of the beans against the side of the pan to thicken the gravy; add a splash more water if it gets too thick.
- Stir in the garam masala and lemon juice, taste for salt and scatter with coriander. Serve with rice or chapati. It keeps 4 days in the fridge and freezes for 3 months; add a splash of water when reheating.
Good to know
Can I use dried kidney beans?
Yes, and many cooks prefer them: soak 1 1/4 cups overnight, boil hard for 10 minutes (this is essential with kidney beans), then cook until soft, about an hour, or 15 minutes in a pressure cooker. Use them in place of the tins.
How do I make it more like a restaurant rajma?
A teaspoon of dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi), crumbled in with the garam masala, gives that unmistakable restaurant aroma.
Per
- Calories
- 88
- Protein
- (21%)
- 4 g
- Fat
- (22%)
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- (57%)
- 14 g
- of which sugar
- 4 g
- Fiber
- 4 g
- Sodium
- 264 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 1443 kcal goes into the pot and 1941 g of ingredients comes out as about 1643 g of food: 88 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.