Red Kidney Beans (Rajma) Recipe - Bush’s Best

Red Kidney Beans (Rajma)

Recipe By: MEDHALEE   Photo By: Mark P
Write a Review | Read Reviews (26)
Enjoy this Indian recipe for rajma (red kidney beans) with jeera (cumin) rice. You can spice this up according to your taste! If you have an Indian grocery store in your area, you could add a great taste to it by adding one spoon of 'garam masala' which is a special blend of mixed spices...But it's just as great without it!
 
  • Prep: 15 Minutes
  • |
  • Cook: 5 Minutes
  • |
  • Total: 20 Minutes
 
2
 
 
  • 3 tablespoons canola oil
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  • 5 whole cloves
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  • 10 black peppercorns
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  • 1 (1 inch) piece cinnamon stick
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  • 1 bay leaf
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  • 1 whole cardamom pod (optional)
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  • 2 onion, chopped
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  • 6 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
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  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
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  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root
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  • 1 teaspoon powdered red pepper or dried Cajun pepper (optional)
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  • 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
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  • salt to taste
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  • water
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  • 6 sprigs cilantro, minced
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  1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Stir in the cloves, whole black peppercorn, cinnamon, cardamom and bay leaf. Cover the pan as the pepper tends to splutter right out of the pan and can cause burns! Let heat for 1 minute.
  2. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the sliced onions. Saute until the onions are soft and almost translucent. Mix in the tomatoes and saute well. (For a great taste, saute until almost dry.)
  3. Raise the stovetop's temperature to a medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in the chili powder, red kidney beans and salt; mix well. Slowly add water a small amount at a time. You are adding water to create a gravy, only add water until the gravy has reached the consistency that you would like. For a smoother gravy, cool and blend the sauteed mixture before adding the red kidney beans. Garnish with cilantro.
Nutrition Information
 
 
More Reviews (26)
Reviewed By: Niche
Hi! thanks for the basic instructions, the recipe turned out swell. Just some minor changes to keep in mind: - add the ginger and garlic after the onions have browned, with 2 slit green chillies - I added a little garam masala along with chilli powder - I added just a cup of water (warmed up in the micro) Topped up with lots of fresh cilantro. Tasted great with brown rice.
Reviewed By: CookinBunny
Absolutely awesome. Ever since the first time I've made it, it's become a household staple.
Reviewed By: Mark P
Decent at first; the leftovers were better/good. There were too few kidney beans compared to other stuff in the recipe -- it doesn't look anything like rajmah I've had in restaurants. Once I understood that the dish was not what I think of as rajmah, I appreciated it. I think the recipe was underspiced: I needed to add more spices at the end, probably ending up doubling the amount of spices. (Incidentally, the spices I added at the end were in ground form). On the other hand, judging by how much my apartment smelled of spices the next few days, perhaps my complaint about the lack of spicing could simply be from getting used to them from standing by the stove for too long. Also, the taste ended up oddly interestingly sweet. The cilantro garnish didn't do much. The timing of the recipe is surprising. The recipe says to "saute until almost dry." Maybe my tomatoes were unusually juicy, but that took me 45 minutes of simmering. Later the recipe suggested adding water if necessary. I didn't bother. Also, the onions took ten minutes to become translucent. By the way, it takes a few inches of ginger root to make two tablespoons of minced ginger. Incidentally, I used a non-stick skillet and so only used one tablespoon of oil. Also, I skipped the optional powdered pepper.