Roadside Rajma

Passport & Plate - Roadside Rajma

India | Friday, March 6, 2015 | 5 photos

Ingredients
(Rajma) Red Kidney Beans – 150 gms
Onions – 2 medium sized - pureed
Tomatoes – 3 medium sized - pureed
Garlic – 6-7 cloves – chopped fine
Ginger – 1/2 inch piece – chopped fine

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Cardamom – 4-5 small
Red Chilli powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder – 1 tsp
Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Coriander Powder – 1 tsp
Green Chillis – 1-2
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste

Ghee (clarified butter) or refined oil – 4-5 tbsp
Salted butter – 1 tbsp

Water

 

How to prepare this recipe
Pre-prep:
Soak red kidney beans for a minimum of 6 hours. Over night would be best
Pressure Cook it

Cooking Process:
Part 1
Take the cooked rajma, add enough warm water to cover it, and boil for 5-10 minutes, along with 1 green chilli, 3 chopped garlic cloves, 1/4 inch of ginger, and salt.

Part 2:
While the Rajma boils, heat 4 tbsps of ghee in a wok. It is hard to stress how important the ghee is, as it is with most Punjabi food. In case you can't find it at all, use a mix of two tbsps of oil, and 2 tbsps of salted butter.

Once it is hot, add 1 tsp of cumin seeds & 4-5 cardamoms. Don't let it get black
Step back, and add pureed onion. It is going to splatter all over, and it will be hot.
Stir, and don't let it stick to the wok.
Add chopped garlic and ginger
Once it is brown, you will see the ghee rise to the top. Now, add the turmeric, red chilli powder, cumin powder and coriander powder
Turn up the heat, and let all of it roast well, but do not let it burn
Once this mix has dried up, and there is little moisture left, add the tomato puree
Add the sugar, so the tomatoes caramelize. This gives it the striking redness
Keep stiring, and let it cook for 2-3 minutes

Part 3:
Add the Rajma, along with the water into the cooked mix. Crank up the heat, and let it cook, till it gets to your preferred consistency. Check for salt and add more if needed
Throw in a dollop of salted butter.
Turn off the heat

Part 4:
Garnish with coriander, or chopped chillis
Add another 1/2 tsp of ghee for extra decadence (if you want)
Serve with curd, and steamed basmati rice

 

The story behind this recipe
On my way down from McLeod Ganj, a Buddhist village in the Himalayas, I discovered I get motion sick. Plummeting down the mountains in circles, driven by a mad man in a rickety tin tub, I knew why the agent apologized for the aisle seat. “But why?” I had wondered. It was at night, in the dead of winter, 0°. I didn't need a view! In the bus, my entrails began rearranging themselves. I tugged at things, doubled up & groaned till a monk gave me his window seat. Outside, the full moon bounced off the fluorescent snow capped peaks. Silhouettes of the dense forests broke the speed of its light. The frozen air snapped against my face like rubber bands. But staring out of the window, I found, was the only way to get through the ride. We stopped for dinner in a tiny highway dhaba; isolated, acres of dark fields on either side, home to hooting, howling things. We were somewhere in Punjab, not exactly India's poster child for women's safety. It was wiser to stay in but I was dying for some air. I entered to the blood shot stares of massive, turbaned, bearded truckers. I turned, but a waiter stopped me. “Sit down,” he barked. “Just water,” I said. “No,” he snapped back. “No?” “It's a long ride.You need food.” The silence crashed with woks clanging on the outdoor stove, spatulas on the hot skillet, the crackle of frying cumin, the smokey hiss of onions, the sizzle of tomatoes in hot oil. Rotis went into the tandoor & in its amber glow, the world thawed. A trucker passed achar, one shouted “chai for madam”. The waiter came out with the food he had decided I should eat. Hot, steaming Rajma-Chawal. I've had Rajma before. But the moment I took in the aroma & the first spoonful of this one, I felt warm & fuzzy. I fell in love. The smell of ghee reached my core, heat of the cardamon made me high, the sweet, tangy gravy exploded in my mouth. When I asked, he was happy to tell me how to make it. “Anything else?” I asked. And in a typically Punjabi fashion he replied, "a Punjabi heart".