Sabziwale Rajma: Kidney Bean and Vegetable Curry

Inspired by the minestrone, sabziwale rajma combines a host of flavors, colors and nutrients to give you a tasty filling meal.

I have used in this recipe carrots and green beans; you could include other vegetables into the mix: zucchini and pumpkin work very well in this recipe.

You Need:

• Kidney beans – 1/2 cup
• Carrots – 2
• Beans – 200 grams
• Tomatoes – 2 large
• Green chili – 1
• Garlic – 2 cloves
• Ginger – 1/2 inch piece
• Cumin powder – 1 teaspoon
• Freshly ground black pepper – 1/2 teaspoon (adjust to taste)
• Salt – to taste
• Oil – 2 teaspoons

How To Make Sabziwale Rajma:

1. Boil the kidney beans:

Soak half a cup of dried kidney beans (rajma) overnight (~8 hours) in three cups of water. Drain. Put the soaked kidney beans in a pressure cooker with 3 cups of water and salt to taste.

Pressure cook on high heat till the first whistle, then on low heat for another 20 minutes, or till the kidney beans are soft. [Note: The cooking time can vary by the size of the kidney beans, the make of the pressure cooker, etc.]

Open the lid of the cooker after it has released its heat naturally.

2. Prepare the vegetables:

[While the rajma boils, you could set the vegetables cooking on the side.]

Chop tomatoes finely.

Cut carrots and beans into bite-sized pieces.

Crush ginger and garlic. Finely chop green chili.

In a pan, heat some oil. When hot, add crushed ginger and garlic. As soon as the garlic turns golden, add chopped tomatoes and green chili. Cook on medium-high heat till the tomatoes begin to soften.

Add cumin powder, salt and continue to cook till the tomatoes are mushy.

Add carrots. Cook covered for five minutes, follow with beans.

Cook for another five minutes.

3. Put it all together:

Transfer the boiled kidney beans, along with the water used for boiling, to the pan in which the vegetables are cooking.

Adjust salt. Add freshly ground black pepper. Simmer it all together till the vegetables are well done.

Serve sabziwale rajma hot, on its own or with plain rice.

Notes:

Try other recipes that use kidney beans: the classic rajma masala, in salad form as rajma chaat, or turned into spicy rajma parathas.

Be creative with the vegetables you use in the recipe. Here’s another favorite combo of mine – kidney beans with tomatoes, yellow zucchini, coriander leaves: