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Rajma Curry with Brown Rice
4.7 from 39 votes

Rajma Curry with Brown Rice

Richly spiced red kidney beans curry in a flavorpacked tomato based gravy

Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
50 mins
Soaking
6 hrs
Total Time
7 hrs
Calories: 385 kcal
Course: Lunch, Dinner
Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 cup red kidney beans soaked for 6 hours or overnight, dry rajma
  • 1 tablespoon ghee or oil for Vegan
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 yellow onion diced finely
  • 1 teaspoon ginger grated, paste
  • 1 teaspoon garlic minced, paste
  • 1 teaspoon green chili minced, hot
  • 1 cup tomato puree
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • ¼ teaspoon Turmeric ground
  • 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1½ cups water
  • ½ cup cilantro chopped, for garnish
Pot in Pot Brown Rice (optional)
  • 1 cup brown rice rinsed and drained
  • 1¼ cup water
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Rinse and soak dry Rajma for 6 hours or overnight in a covered container.
  2. Set Instant Pot to Saute mode and heat ghee. Add cumin seeds and allow them to sizzle, for about 1 minute. Press the Cancel button to turn off the Instant Pot.
  3. Add onion, ginger, garlic, green chili, onions, tomato puree, kidney beans, salt, coriander powder, turmeric, red chili powder, garam masala, and water. Give a quick stir.
  4. Optional Pot in pot brown rice: Add rice, water, and salt in a stainless steel bowl. Place a tall trivet inside the Instant Pot. Place the rice bowl on top of the trivet.
  5. Close the Instant Pot lid with Steam Release to Sealing. Set Instant Pot to Bean/Chili mode and adjust the cooking time to 30 minutes. Allow natural pressure release.
  6. Open the Instant pot, take out the rice bowl, and trivet.
  7. Garnish the rajma with cilantro. Serve hot with rice or parathas.

Notes

  •  
  • Organic beans or older/poor quality beans may need an extra 5 to 10 minutes of pressure cook time
  • Use filtered water for soft-cooked kidney beans 
  • You can substitute store-bought tomato puree with homemade by roughly chopping 2 ripe tomatoes and pureeing them in a blender
  • Forgot to soak the beans? Add an extra half a cup of water and increase the pressure cook time to 50 minutes followed by natural pressure release
  • No time to soak the beans for 4 to 6 hours? To instantly soak rajma, bring 3 cups of water to a gentle boil. Add rinsed beans and keep covered for 30 minutes. 
  • Want to use canned kidney beans? Saute the onions and cumin seeds in ghee for 5 minutes or until the onions get translucent. Then add the remaining ingredients, reduce the water to half a cup and add only one teaspoon of kosher salt. Pressure cook for 5 minutes followed by natural pressure release. You can cook pot-in-pot white rice with the shortened pressure cooking time
  • To make Vegan Rajma, use oil instead of ghee.
  • Stove Top Recipe - Rajma masala can also be cooked in a stovetop pressure cooker. Follow the recipe up to step 3. Then pressure cook for 4 whistles on medium heat. Garnish with cilantro. 

Nutrition Information

Calories 385kcal (19%) Carbohydrates 69g (23%) Protein 15g (30%) Fat 6g (9%) Saturated Fat 3g (15%) Polyunsaturated Fat 1g (6%) Monounsaturated Fat 2g (10%) Cholesterol 10mg (3%) Sodium 1775mg (74%) Potassium 886mg (19%) Fiber 10g (40%) Sugar 4g (8%) Vitamin A 454IU (9%) Vitamin C 11mg (12%) Calcium 74mg (7%) Iron 4mg (22%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1 Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 385

% Daily Value*

Calories 385kcal 19%
Carbohydrates 69g 23%
Protein 15g 30%
Fat 6g 9%
Saturated Fat 3g 15%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g 6%
Monounsaturated Fat 2g 10%
Cholesterol 10mg 3%
Sodium 1775mg 74%
Potassium 886mg 19%
Fiber 10g 40%
Sugar 4g 8%
Vitamin A 454IU 9%
Vitamin C 11mg 12%
Calcium 74mg 7%
Iron 4mg 22%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.