Mini's Rajma: In India Finally!

Sorry to my online family. I know I have been not able to visit some of you guys regularly. I have been traveling like crazy and finally I am home after 2 years. Yes, I am in India and I am lovin it!

It has been two years for a lot of things. Somethings were just left at home and not a part of my US everyday routine. Street food, salwar shopping and temples to name some. The most important being my mom's (mini's) Rajma. I know there is nothing exquisite about this post, but it is very special to me. I saved this post for two years to return home and post my mom's version that I love.

Mini made it yesterday and I of course, over ate licking my fingers. Hehe....this elucidates my love for the dish and the patient delay of publishing this post. Mini always tells me it is a very simple gravy and the taste lies in the quality of beans. Well, call me a prejudiced, but I refuse to believe this theory. It is mom and her secret ingredients. To allay my rajma qualms, I tailgated my mom in every step of making yesterday's rajma and found out that it is indeed very simple. In fact, the simpler the recipe, the yummier it is. I realized that this is one gravy which is best served with out overwhelming it with masalas.

Of course, as every one knows the best accomplice for this killer dish is long grain rice or basmati rice. Serve it simple with white rice or jeera rice with a dollop of ghee and it tastes out of the world. Nevertheless, I still maintain deep down in my heart that I can't come close to my mother prowess in making rajma chawal.

Serves two to three gluts!

Ingredients:-
1 cup of rajma soaked over night
1 tsp of garam masala
1 to 2 tbl spn of oil
1 tsp of red chilli powder
pinch of coriander powder( use this if your garam masala is not fresh)
1 tsp of cumin
salt to taste

To grind:-
2 large tomatoes
1 medium onion
1 inch of ginger
1 large pod of garlic
1 green chilli

To garnish:
Fresh Coriander and a dollop of ghee (do not miss this)

Method:-
Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add the cumin seeds. Once they start to sizzle, add the garam masala and chilli Powder. Keep stirring so that the masala does not burn.
Add the gravy that is ground to paste and cook for 10 mins till the oil seperates.
Rinse the soaked rajma and add the rajma with 1.5 cups of water.
Cook for 3 whisles in medium heat. The beans should be cooked and soft.
If you need the gravy to be more thick, cook without any lid in medium flame until the desired consistency reaches.
Serve hot with a dollop of ghee (must) and coriander leaves. Serve hot with plain cooked basmati rice or jeera rice.

I relished my rajma chawal with cucumber and onion salad and ghee.
As (?) requested the salad recipe, here it is:-


Grate cucumber upto 1 cup. Add 1/2 cup finely chopped onion and 2 green chillies finely chopped. Mix them with salt and add 1 tbl spn of  lime juice. Give a mustard seed(rai) ka tadka (seasoning) and you are done.