Rajma Masala

Tender red kidney beans in a thick, spiced onion and tomato gravy, a Punjabi comfort classic.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 8h 20m
Cook: 1h 40m
Total: 10 hours
Vegetarian
✅
Nuts
❌
Serves
4 people
Difficulty
Easy

Ingredients

  • 300g dried red kidney beans
  • 1 litre water, for cooking
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp fresh root ginger and garlic paste
  • 2 green chillies, slit lengthways
  • 400g tin chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi), crushed
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt, for the gravy
  • 3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Method

  1. Rinse the kidney beans and soak them in plenty of cold water for 8 hours or overnight. Drain.

  2. Put the beans in a large pan with the 1 litre water. Boil vigorously for 10 minutes, as red kidney beans must be boiled hard to be safe to eat, then reduce the heat, add 1 tsp salt, cover and simmer for 1 hour until completely tender.

  3. Heat the ghee in a heavy pan over a medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and bay leaf for 30 seconds, then the onions, and cook for 10 minutes until golden.

  4. Add the ginger and garlic paste and green chillies and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, turmeric, ground coriander, ground cumin, chilli powder and 1 1/2 tsp salt and cook for 8 minutes until the oil separates.

  5. Add the beans with 300ml of their cooking liquid. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, mashing a few beans against the pan to thicken the gravy.

  6. Stir in the garam masala, fenugreek leaves and fresh coriander. Serve with steamed basmati rice.