Rajma - Curried Red Kidney Beans

Welcome Spring. !!! Finally Spring is here and I hope you are enjoying the great weather as much as we are here in Philadelphia. My son had his Spring break and so I took a short blogging break as well. The highlight of my break was that I got to see in person none other than President Obama himself and I'm still in that happy and excited phase. He was rallying for his health reform bill at the George Mason University in Virginia and since we were visiting some friends there it was a perfect opportunity to hear his speech first hand. I was impressed and since I have been and still am a great fan of President Obama , this was a great occasion for me. So thought about sharing this with my blogpals. Hope I'm not sounding boastful..LOL...
Here is a proof I was there, Moi posing for the Big Event!!!!. This only took a few seconds and I did listen to the President for the entire time except when clicking a few pictures...

Alright lets get down to the Recipe part of the post. Today's recipe is one of our favorites at out house. Its Rajma or Red Kidney Beans. Best combination to enjoy Rajma is with Chawal(Rice). Rajma-Chawal is comfort food to me and I'm sure there are many more who will agree with me. This Recipe was requested by one of my friend's daughter Richa, who really encourages me a lot by her feedback and she is also very passionate about cooking and trying out recipes on her. Stay tuned for her recipe in tomorrow's post. So, Dear Richa This is for you ......

Ingredients :

• 1 cup Rajma/Red Kidney beans
• 1 cup onion puree
• 1 1/2 cup tomato puree
• 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 black cardamom
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp cumin-cilantro powder
• salt to taste
• 3-4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp freshly chopped Cilantro

You could substitute 1 cup dried Red Kidney beans for two 14 0z cans of Red Kidney beans. For the onion puree I don't grind it too fine, its like a finely grated texture. You could even just grate the onions.

Preparation :

• Wash the Rajma/kidney beans and soak them in about 4-5 cups water overnight.
• Pressure cook the Rajma with enough water(4-5 cups), turmeric and salt for upto 4 whistles or until cooked. If you were to use canned Rajma/Red Kidney beans you would skip this step. Just wash the canned beans in a colander and discard the stock(canned liquid).
• Heat oil in a pan. Add the Bay leaves and cardamom.
• Next add the onion paste. Saute the onion till it becomes golden brown .
• Add the garlic/ginger paste. Saute for about 2 minutes and then add the tomato puree. Fry for another 2 minutes.
• Add the red chilli powder and the cumin-cilantro powder. Let it cook until the oil leaves the surface (about 5-6 minutes). Now add the Rajma/Red kidney beans with the liquid and let it simmer covered for about 10-12 minutes. (At this step you could add a little water if you think the consistency is too thick and adjust the salt).
• Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro leaves and serve with rice. Enjoy my comfort food- Rajma Chawal with plain Yogurt or Boondi Raita.
• This recipe serves 4.