Rajma is the Indian name for red kidney beans curry and is mainly eaten in northern India. The dish can be made in many different ways, but the most common way is to soak the beans, boil and then stew with onion, tomato puree, and spices.
Because we don't want to make this dish too complicated, we use canned kidney beans in this recipe.
What do you need for 4 servings?
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 large red onion
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
400 grams finely chopped tomatoes (from a can)
0.5 tsp salt
0.5 tsp turmeric
0.5 tsp chili powder (possibly more to taste)
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp rajma masala
250 grams red kidney beans (drained weight)
100ml water
1 tsp garam masala
10 grams fresh coriander
What should you do?
1. Roughly chop the red onion and place in a deep pan or wok over medium heat. Add the oil and onion and fry until the onions turn brown. Then add the onions to a blender and grind to a fine paste, using a little water if necessary.
2. Reuse the pan and now add the bay leaves and after 30 seconds the ginger-garlic paste. Fry everything for a minute and add the finely chopped canned tomatoes, along with 0.5 tsp salt. Let cook for 5 minutes, stirring intermittently.
3. Now add the turmeric, coriander powder, red chilli powder and rajma masala and stir together. Then add the onion paste and cook it intermittently for about 2 minutes, stirring.
4. Now you can add the rajma (red kidney beans) along with 100 ml of water and cook for about 15 minutes while stirring intermittently.
6. Add the garam masala along with freshly chopped coriander leaves. Add some water if you want a thinner consistency and serve with rice.