Rajma Rasmisa (Red Kidney Bean Curry)

This is my all time favorite . In my childhood whenever my mom made this dish she used to make it in surplus and refrigerate it so that I could eat it for 3-4 days . Now S and both the kids have become huge fans of Rajma. Here ,in North India ,we get very good quality Rajma as it gets produced largely in this part of the country. But out of the various varieties available I like the Kashmiri variety the most. It's small and bright red in colour and looks elegantly beautiful.

Though in my childhood I was a huge fan of my mom's Rajma , over a period of time I have tried making it in different ways . This particular way makes the preparation in very less oil and using minimum spices. Now a days it's my conscious effort of reducing the oil content in the preparations . This dish I had cooked recently when another cousin P had come down with his wife A for lunch, and like all of us he also likes the Rajma.

Ingredients

4 large handsful of Rajma

3-4 large onions

1 pack tomato puree

5-6 large pods of garlic

1 potato (cut into cubes)-optional

an inch of ginger

2 bay leaves

3 cardamoms

1 small spoon garam masala(optional)

1 spoon red chilli powder

2 tbsp coriander powder

Method

• 
  
  Wash the Rajma with water and then soak it overnight or for 6-8 hrs.
• 
  
  Cook it in pressure cooker with salt . Bring 5 whistles, simmer and cook further for 10 mins or till it is well cooked .
• 
  
  While boiling Rajma , in a separate bowl keep the peeled onions.
• 
  
  Once the beans are cooked remove the onions, cool it and grind.
• 
  
  Grind or crush together ginger and garlic ( I used my stone pestle and mortar )
• 
  
  Heat very little oil and throw in the bay leaves and cardamom , followed by boiled onion paste and saute for few seconds as the onions are already cooked.
• 
  
  Put crushed ginger & garlic and saute till the raw smell disappears.
• 
  
  Now add tomato puree (I used Kissan) and saute till oil separates.
• 
  
  Add chilli pwd, coriander pwd and a little salt (it is also added while cooking beans).
• 
  
  'Bhuno' the masala and then add the potato and the Rajma. Bring it to a boil and then adjust water based on your liking. I personally like it with more water (thinner gravy) but be careful not to make it too watery.(I put the entire thing in the cooker once again and give one more whistle)
• 
  
  Once the Rajma is cooked and boiled properly add the garam masala and mix
• 
  
  Garnish it with ginger juliennes and freshly chopped cilantro.

This is my entry to Spill the Beans- Sunday Snacks Hosted by Priya of Akshayapatram