Rajma masala is very popular Punjabi dish which goes well with roti, parathas, naan and rice. Rajam- Red Kidney beans is high in protein packed with vitamins and minerals and is really healthy side for your rice & roti. Kidney beans comes in a different variety, you may use any, I’ve used the light pink shade kidney beans. Making this masala is very easy and can be made like typical homestyle way or restaurant style… the only difference being the restaurants load them with butter and cream plus dry fenugreek (kasuri methi leaves are added for additional flavor). My recipe here is more like a home style preparation , you may perk it up with more butter & cream to make it rich!
RAJMA MASALA RECIPE / RAJMA GRAVY RECIPE / RED KIDNEY BEANS MASALA / RED KIDNEY BEANS GRAVY / NORTH INDIAN GRAVIES / HEALTHY RECIPES / CHAPATI SIDE DISH RECIPES / NORTH INDIAN SIDE DISHES / PUNJABI RECIPES / PUNJABI DISH / POPULAR NORTH INDIAN SIDES / RESTAURANT STYLE RAJMA MASALA / NORTH INDIAN SIDES / GRAVY RECIPES / VEGETARIAN GRAVIES / VEGETARIAN GRAVY DISH / HOW TO MAKE RAJMA MASALA?
| Ingredients | |
|---|---|
| 1 cup | Kidney beans (light pink) |
| 1 cup | Onion (finely chopped) |
| 1 cup | Tomato (chopped) |
| ½ teaspoon | Ginger garlic paste |
| 2 | Green chili (small) |
| ¼ teaspoon | Turmeric |
| 1/2 teaspoon | Kashmiri red chili powder |
| 1/2 teaspoon | Regular hot chili powder |
| 2 teaspoon | Coriander /dhania powder |
| 1/2 teaspoon | Chole masala (optional) |
| 1 teaspoon | Salt (or to taste) |
| 2 teaspoon | Butter or ghee |
| 1 teaspoon | Oil |
| 2 teaspoon | Cumin seeds |
| 2 | Cloves |
| 1 | Cinnamon stick |
| 1 | Bay leaf |
| 2 tablespoons (chopped) | Coriander leaves (for garnishing) |
1.Soak Kidney beans in water for atleast 6 hours or overnight. Next day…drain, wash twice and pressure cook them upto to 3 whistles with 3 cups of water and little salt (2 pinches).
2.Heat oil and ghee in a pan and add all the fresh whole garam masala (Bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves) and cumin seeds. Let it sizzle to release the aroma.
3. Add the green chilies, chopped onions and fry until it turns golden.
4. Now add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes away.
5. Add in the chopped tomatoes, cover and cook for couple of minutes to make them nice and mushy.
6. Once done, add turmeric powder, regular hot red chili powder, Kashmiri chili powder, coriander powder, chole masala powder and saute until the oil separates.
7. Now add the cooked beans (including stock) and salt to the gravy.
8. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes over low flame.
9. When everything blends well, garnish with coriander leaves and switch off.
10. Serve hot with chapati /roti / naan or plain rice.
Notes
- Ghee or Butter is optional, use oil instead if very particular about diet.
- Chole masala is one of my favorite Punjabi spice blend, so use them in most of my Punjabi dishes.
- Any Chole masala powder has a hint of amchur / dry mango powder and all the masala needed for this recipe. If you skip try to add 1/8 teaspoon of Amchur powder for a light tang.
- Adding kasuri methi can enhance the flavor, touch of restaurant style… its optional.
- Kashmiri Chili powder is for little color, you may add regular chili powder and more heat.
- Kidney beans shown above is the Light Red variety.
- I’ve added enough Cumin seeds for easy digestion, you may also add little hing / asafoetida if you want.
- This recipe serves 4 people (approx).
15 Comments
I made this for lunch today for the second time. Tasted amazing with soft chapathis. This time managed to click a photo too. I’ll share it with you on Instagram. Thank you so much Mullai.
Looking forward Loshanya 😊thank you dear!
Thanks Mullai,its too delicious ..
Hi…i tried yesterday and it came out really well…thanks a lot for sharing your excellent recipes….it's good and has a unique taste….
Hi Mullai, Thanks for the above recipe. I started seacrching for the recipe after soaking rajma and luckily i found that here.Thanks to you once again. Vimala
Fabulous taste…. Thanks Mullai
Regards,
Ramya
its me!! thanks again 🙂 Great work !!
Learner in veggie dishes. thanx for one of the favourates at my home!
Glad you liked it and keep visiting for more veggie recipes.
Hi Mullai,
Thanks for the recipe. Whenever I soak dry red/pale red kidney beans in water for 8 hrs ,as I do for anyother bean, the kidney beans’s skin shrink and each bean open up showing the white portion of the bean inside,giving them an unpleasant look. I am having this problem only with kidney bean,not for whole moong dhal,garbanzo,mochai etc..would u help me?
Hi there,
Kidney beans skin are naturally very tender and thin, this makes them shrink. Even I encounter the same, not really sure what exactly happens…not all of them, but only some tend to rupture after soaking. Sorry for not being that helpful.
thank you so much for the recipe..i tried it and it came out very well..this is the best rajma recipe i’ve found so far
Hi there, Actually don't have great rajma fans at home so got to come up with something simple and tasty to include in our meal and landed with this recipe. Glad it worked in your home too. Umm…. BTW who is this?????????????
Hi Mullai, I tried this Rajma Masala today for Chapathi. It was too delicious!! too good. thanks a ton for ur excellent posting. Keep up ur good work!! God Bless!! Smiles Ayesha
Thankyou for your kind words, keep visiting for more exciting recipes.