Rajma Masala (North Indian Kidney Bean Curry)

Rajma or rajma masala is a red kidney bean curry popular in North India, particularly in the province of Punjab.

A traditional Punjabi meal will usually include rajma chawal, that is, red kidney beans curry and rice.

What is Rajma?

Rajma is a vegan North Indian curry made from red kidney beans. Other terms for this dish are rajma masala where masala means spice.

It can be served with naan, roti or paratha, but it is most often served with chawal (Basmati rice). In fact, it is quite common to see ‘rajma chawal’ as a common menu item in Indian restaurants across the world.

The term rajma is so ubiquitous that red kidney beans are often called rajma. Other terms for red kidney beans in India are ‘laal lobia’ where ‘laal’ means red and ‘lobia’ means kidney beans.

How do you make Rajma?

Rajma masala is made by first soaking raw red kidney beans overnight. This step is super important as it results in a rich and creamy curry in the end.

The kidney beans are then put in a pressure cooker, and cooked untill they are soft.

Rajma is known for its melt-in-your-mouth texture, so the red kidney beans are cooked untill they can be mashed easily with a spoon.

This will take about 15 – 25 minutes depending on the model of the pressure cooker or multi cooker model used. Make sure to let the steam pressure go down or do a natural release before opening the pressure cooker lid.

In case a pressure cooker isn’t available, the red kidney beans can also be boiled with salt and water in a regular pot – it will take about 45 – 60 minutes for them to get soft.

Reserve the water from cooking the red kidney beans as that will be used in the curry base.

While the beans cook, prepare the curry base or masala for the rajma.

Start with sautéing cumin seeds along with ginger and garlic paste in oil. For a richer flavor and for special occasions butter or ghee can also be used.  Add the sliced onions and cook until they become brown.

At this point, add the tomato puree followed by the spices. Cook the onion and tomato gravy for about 20 – 25 minutes the mixture becomes thick and changes color to a rich reddish – brown, and the oil separates from the sides.

Add the pressure-cooked red kidney beans with the reserved water, and cook for about 25 – 30 minutes. It may seem like there is a lot of time spent in just cooking the ingredients, but all these steps are necessary to develop flavor and richness to the curry.

Once the rajma is ready, garnish with garam masala, dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) and chopped cilantro.

What kidney beans to use for rajma?

There are usually two types of red kidney beans available in Indian grocery stores, one light and one dark.

The pinkish colored and striped kidney beans are traditionally used for Punjabi or North Indian rajma masala, but the dark red kidney beans are also used quite often.

In this recipe, I used the dark red kidney beans.

Can I use canned kidney beans?

Though it is always best to use raw, dried kidney beans, canned beans can also be used.

1 cup of dried red kidney beans results in around 500 grams of boiled red kidney beans. So, around 2 cans of canned kidney beans would be a good substitution.

The pressure-cooking step can be skipped if using canned beans.

What can I use instead of fenugreek leaves?

This recipe calls for dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi in Hindi), which is the dried form of fenugreek (or methi).

Dried fenugreek leaves taste different from fenugreek seeds or the fresh leaves.

As a seasoning, it is usually crushed and added at the end in Indian dishes, such as butter chicken to add a savory, earthy, herbal flavor, along with a hint of bitterness.

If dried fenugreek leaves aren’t available, it is possible to simply omit them.

As far as substitutes, it is possible to substitute with fresh celery leaves or watercress leaves, both in the same quantity as the dried fenugreek leaves. 

Is Rajma vegan?

Rajma is usually vegan, however, certain recipes call for the addition of butter, ghee or cream to make it more rich and creamy especially when making it for special occasions.

This recipe calls for oil, so it is vegan and gluten free.

How to serve Rajma masala

Traditionally, rajma is usually eaten with chawal (Basmati rice) especially in the North Indian province of Punjab.

However, it can be eaten with naan, paratha or roti. It can also be eaten on its own or with quinoa or brown rice.

A fresh vegetable salad, pickles or raita can be served on the side.