The soaked beans are packed with a lot of nutrients and are a very rich source of protein.These come really handy when we are out of veggies or during the rainy season when we are unable to go out and buy fresh vegetables for our daily cooking.
Why do we have to soak the beans?
- Soaking of beans for min 8 hrs or overnight ensures that the complex sugars present in them are broken down and it makes it easy to digest .
- Soaking also ensures quick cooking and less time and fuel spent in kitchen.
How to soak the beans ?
- Take the beans in a colander and remove any visible pebbles or any other debris.
- Rinse it well under running water and transfer to a wide bowl and fill it with clean water .The beans must be immersed completely in water and ensure there is atleast 2inches water above the beans.
- The beans will swell up nicely after getting soaked overnight , so make sure the soaking bowl is wide enough.
- Before cooking, discard the soaked water , rinse it once again in fresh water and the beans are ready to be cooked.
- These soaked beans can be packed in ziploc bags or freezer safe containers and stored in the freezer for future use .
- Soaked beans stay well for 45 days in the freezer .
Today's recipe is a Vegan-No Onion No garlic version which can be prepared on the days of special pooja or vrat when one is forbidden from partaking onion and garlic.
If you are a rajma lover like me , do try the Rajma Pulao and Rajma Masala (with O n G) featured on my blog. For an International experience, try the yummy and cheesy Bean Corn Quessedila
Today , since it is all about how to prepare Rajma Masala , I will give you the details on how to cook the rajma beans perfectly . Each bean has a different texture and the time taken to cook depends on how hard the bean is .
Which variety of Rajma to use ?
- There are various varieties of rajma available in the market but I prefer to buy the small sized rajma which is dark in color and is a produce of Jammu . It is called as Jammu Rajma having a very nice taste and flavor . This variety gets cooked well too.
- You can use the variety that you are comfortable with and is available in your region.
How to cook Rajma ?
- Soaking rajma for minimum 8 to 10 hrs is a must. This definitely helps in easy cooking and also makes it easy to digest .
- Discard the soaked water , rinse it once again in clean water and pressure cook with enough water for 8 to 10 whistles.
- You can turn off the cooker after 8 whistles and check if it is done else cook for another 2 or 3 whistles if you feel it is underdone.
Soaking Time - 8 to 10hrs
Preparation Time - 30 mins
Complexity - medium
Serves - 2 to 3
Ingredients
150 gms rajma
2 tomatoes pureed
Small piece ginger (skip for jain version)
Salt as needed
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp haldi powder
2 tbsp oil
To roast and grind
1tbsp dhaniya
7 to 8 dried kashmiri red chilli /byadgi chilli
1 tsp jeera or cumin
2 to 3bay leaves/tejpatta
2 to 3 cloves/lavang
1 small green cardamom /elaichi
Small stick cinnamon/dalchini
Method
Soak the rajma for minimum 8hrs and pressure cook until soft . Puree the tomatoes with the ginger and keep ready .
Dry roast all the ingredients mentioned under "roast and grind" and blend it into a fine powder in a blender.
In a kadai heat some oil , pour the tomato puree , add the haldi powder and red chilli powder and let the mixture cook till the oil begins to separate from the gravy .
At this stage , add the freshly ground masala powder and salt and let it cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Lastly add the boiled rajma beans to this gravy , mix well and let it simmer for another 3 to 4 mins. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot with rotis or jeera rice.
Note:
Add the spice powder depending on how spicy you would like your gravy to be. The remaining spice powder can be stored for future use .
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Delicious preparation. Our family favourite. We just had it for dinner last night.
ReplyDeleteWow thats really nice..rajma chawal is my fav too
DeleteWow! I love this delicious rajma masala any particular reason why you discard the water in which you soak the rajma? I use the water hence asking.
ReplyDeleteLove the rajma masala and will definitely try.
Somewhere on a cookery show I learnt that the soaked water contains certain complex sugars from the beans which can cause indigestion/gas .hence better to discard the soaked water , rinse it once and use fresh water for boiling.
DeleteOk Thanks.
DeleteRajma curry looks so delicious. it's making me feel nostalgic as it is my favourite curry. It was the curry I used to ask my mum to make for m on the days I was unwell. I am so thankful that we get ready boiled tins of them here. They don't taste as good as the jammu rajma but work well when you crave them. When I was in Kenya, we used to do what you do - soak the rajma and discard the water and boil them well as they can be quite hard to digest. We also used to discard the water they were boiled in. Do you do that?
ReplyDeleteOh yes ..I strain the cooked rajma through a colander and then use . Thanks for reminding I think I have forgotten to mention that in my post . Do share your mom's rajma recipe when you get time
Delete