I really like beans in general and especially red kidney bean, which has a deep and rich flavor that improves with longer cooking time. Red kidney beans pair really well with meat but can also be served as the focus of the main course. The following dish is called “Rajma Masala” or simply “Red Kidney Bean Curry”. “Rajma” means red kidney bean in Hindi and “Masala” is the general name for a spice mixture which is either dry or wet. In this case the Masala is wet and based on onion, garlic, ginger, tomatoes and lots of spices. Once the Masala is ready the cooked red kidney bean is added and they are cooked together.

This curry can be served simply with white rice or as an exotic side dish. There are lots of versions for Rajma Masala out there, this version celebrates ginger, cinnamon and the hotness of red chili.

Cooking red kidney bean is a pretty long process. You need to soak it for few hours (or a night) and then cook it on medium heat for 2.5-3 hours (!!) until it is completely soft. This issue doesn’t pose any problem for the Indian cook since the most common kitchen appliance in the Indian kitchen is actually a pressure cooker, which reduces the cooking time significantly (to 15-20 minutes). If you don’t have a pressure cooker and still want to take a shorter path here you can use frozen cooked beans, or canned beans.

Prep+Cook time: 2.5 hours for the beans + 40 minutes for the curry

Ingredients (4 servings)

• 1 cup dry red kidney bean that was soaked for a night
• 1 onion
• 5 garlic cloves
• 3 cm ginger
• 2-3 tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cm cinnamon stick
• 1/2 to 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tbs garam masala
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions

Soak the beans for  6-8 hours (or for the night). Strain the beans and place them in a pot together with the onion, ginger and garlic. Cover with a lot of water, bring to a boil and cook on low-medium heat for 2.5-3 hours or until the beans are completely soft and break down easily. Check it from time to time to make sure there are still water in the pot, and add more if necessary. If you use frozen cooked beans or canned beans use 1.5 cups (instead of 1) and cook it with the onion, garlic and ginger until the onion is soft, about 15-20 minutes.

Strain and keep the cooking water. Gently take out the cooked onion, garlic and ginger and place in a blender. Add the tomatoes (cut into quarters) and blend into a smooth paste (in the picture below I blended the tomatoes and garlic+ginger+onion separately without any good reason, no need to blend separately).

Quickly wash the pot you used for the beans, heat 1 tablespoon of oil and add the bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Let them cook for a minute or two until they start to spread the aroma. Carefully add the tomatoes and onion paste and all the spices and mix well. Let it cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes or until it starts to reduce and the oil separates, stir occasionally.

Add the cooked beans, the cooking water you saved earlier and some more water until the beans are completely covered. Cook on low-medium heat for 15-20 minutes. The curry will reduce, if it is too thick for your taste just add more water. You can extend this stage and cook the curry on low heat for even an hour, the different flavors will intensify.

Comments and suggestions

The cooking method described below will produce a delicate curry with a smooth texture. There are two other methods for cooking this curry:

• Method A – do you want stronger flavors? don’t cook the onion, garlic and ginger and just blend them fresh with the tomatoes. In this case it is suggested to extend a little the last cooking stage with the beans.
• Method B – don’t like the smooth texture? chop the onion and tomatoes, crush the garlic and thinly grate the ginger. Add the onion after bay leaves and cinnamon, fry until golden, add the ginger and garlic, cook for half a minutes and then add the chopped tomatoes and spices and continue as usual.

Red kidney bean. As stated above, you can use frozen beans or canned beans. In this case put 1.5 cups of beans instead of 1 cup of dry beans.

In short

Soak 1 cup of red kidney beans for a night. Strain and place the beans in a pot together with 1 whole onion, 5 whole garlic cloves and 3 cm ginger. Cook for 2.5-3 hours or until the bean is completely soft and breaks easily. Strain (keep the water) and blend the cooked onion, garlic and ginger together with 2-3 tomatoes cut into quarters. In a clean pot heat 1 tbs of oil and cook 2 bay leaves and 2 cm cinnamon stick for a minutes or two. Carefully add the tomatoes and onion puree, add 1/2 to 1 red chili powder, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp sugar and 1/2 tsp salt. Mix and cook for minutes on medium-low heat until it reduces and the oil separates. Add the cooked bean, cooking water and more water until the beans are covered. Cook on medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes. Serve with rice and yogurt or as a side dish.