Cue Up The Episode!

Make sure you listen to Lopamudra's episode of The Storied Recipe Podcast, "The Boisterous Landlady and Her Transformative Rajma Chawal" while you make her amazing Rajma Chawal. 

Make The Recipe

Prepare and Cook the Beans

• Soak rajma in water overnight or for at least 4-6 hours.
• Once soaked, wash the rajma and drain the water.
• Boil the rajma in a pressure cooker with a pinch of salt for 20 minutes. This will be about 4-5 whistles depending on your pressure cooker. After the first whistle on a medium high flame, turn the heat to low-medium and cook the rajma for 20 minutes.
• OR if using an instant pot, cook on high pressure for 30 minutes.
• OR if boiling on the stove, cover with 1 inch of water, add a little salt, cumin, and a bit of julienned ginger and boil until tender to the touch but meets some resistance when pinched.
• When the rajma is done, you can literally smell it from the cooker/pot. That's when you know it's ready.
• Take the pressure cooker off heat but don't open it yet. Let the steam escape on its own. Same applies to instant pot.

Make the Gravy

• While the rajma is getting boiled, start making the gravy.
• Heat oil/ghee in a wok or large skillet which is deep enough, and then add cumin seeds.
• Once the seeds sizzle, add the ginger garlic paste and sauté for 10 seconds.
• Then, add the onions and continue sautéing for the next 12-15 minutes on medium heat. The onions will start turning golden brown now with some oil oozing on the side.
• Add the turmeric, red chilli powder, coriander powder and some salt in that order, and mix everything. Keep sautéing patiently. The onions should all be golden brown. To ensure no burning, keep splashing water if needed and de-glaze the wok/skillet and scrape any spices sticking to the bottom.
• Add the tomatoes now and stir to combine. Now let the tomatoes cook on medium heat. As soon as you add tomatoes, the skillet will automatically get de-glazed.
• Once the tomatoes start wilting, add garam masala, mix and then cover and cook on low to medium heat to ensure that the tomatoes are fully done.
• Uncover the pot and check if the masala is done. Oil should be releasing on the sides and you should have a thick consistency of the gravy.

Assemble

• Open the pressure cooker/instant pot.
• Add the boiled rajma along with the water to the gravy in the wok/skillet Stir and adjust the salt if required.
• Bring everything to a boil and then leave it to simmer on low heat for 7-10 minutes. Using the back of a ladle, crush some of the rajma (only some) to give a homelike thick consistency to the gravy.
• Turn off heat, add the chopped coriander leaves with stems and let the rajma sit in the pot/pan covered for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Serve

• Don't forget to get the rice ready on the side. Serve hot and enjoy!