Kashmir Rajma

Kashmir Rajma

How to make Kashmiri Rajma .

Rajma, one of my all time favorite comfort foods.it was the one thing I always requested my Grandmother to make for lunch on every picnic day.Rajma also happens to be one of Ro’s favourite dishes. Probably that explains the fact as to why I revere these tiny shiny kidney shaped beans even more than before.

Kashmiri Rajma come out best when you are able to soak the beans for at least 4-hours prior to cooking them. I usually soak them over night. Also, I usually make Kashmiri Rajma with dark red kidney beans; although I am sure this recipe would be just as good with the light pink kidney beans.wonderfully flavourful and delicious and so 

comforting that you would be reminiscing about it, long after you have relished it! It is also one of those menus I love to serve my guests for lunch and dinner.

When this is on the cards, you only have to think what you have to serve for dessert.

Kashmiri Rajma is made a little differently in every household, some use onions some don’t. My recipe is a mix of how my mom makes it along with some tips she got from the dhabe wala (street food vendor) where we happened to try the best Rajma we had ever experienced.

Method:

Wash and soak the rajma beans in water overnight or for 6 to 8 hours. Discard the soaking water and place the beans in a pressure cooker along with the bay leaf and 6cups of water. Pressure cook until the first whistle and then lower the heat and cook for 15to 18minutes more until the beans are properly cooked and some of them split open. The cooking time depends on the quality of the beans. Once the beans are cooked, drain the water over a colander and reserve it. In a wok or kadai, heat the oil over a medium flame. Pop in the cumin seeds and when then change colour, lower the heat a little and add the asafetida and the ginger. Stir for a few seconds and then add in the tomato puree. Mix well with a ladle or cooking spoon and then put in the coriander seed powder and the red chilli powder. Cook until the spices get incorporated into the tomatoes and the oil separated from the tomatoes. Take a ladle full of the drained beans (about 1/2 a cup) and add it into the tomatoes. With the back of a spoon mash the beans well. Put in the remaining beans into the pot and stir well. Add the reserved water, salt and the coriander leaves, raise the heat to medium and bring to a boil. Lower the heat a little and cook stirring in between until the gravy thickens to the desired consistency, about 15 minutes. Assemble all the spices in a mortar and pestle and pound into a powder. Alternatively use a coffee mill or dry spice grinder. Put in the garam masala, stir and serve hot with rice or rotis.

*You can also grind the coriander along with the tomatoes