sDish of Kidney Bean Curry
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Kidney Bean Curry


India - North (Punjab)   -   Malala Rajma
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 4 main
**
1-1/2 hrs
Better		 Kidney Beans are native to Central America, but have been enthusiastically adopted in India, along with other beans from the New World. This recipe is easy to make and very flavorful. See also Comments.

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3
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T
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oz
t
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T
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Red Kidney Beans (1)  
Water
Salt (2)
Water
Cinnamon Stick
Onion
-- Tomato mix
Tomatoes
Coriander seed
Chili Powder (3)
Turmeric
Garam Masala
Salt
-- Ginger mix
Ginger Root
Garlic
Chili Serrano
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Oil
Water
Do Ahead   -   (8 hrs - 5 min work)
  1. Soak KIDNEY BEANS 8 hours or overnight with enough Water to keep them submerged and 1 T Salt (see Note-1)
PREP   -   (1 hr - 20 min)
  1. Drain and rinse Kidney Beans. Put in a pot with 3 cups Water and Cinnamon Stick. Simmer until beans are tender (about 50 minutes, but could be longer if the beans are a little old). Set aside without draining.
  2. Cut ONION in quarters lengthwise then slice thin.
  3. Scald TOMATOES one minute in boiling water. Quench in cold water and peel. Chop small. Grind Coriander. Mix together all Tomato mix items.
  4. Slice GINGER very thin and chop fine. Crush GARLIC and chop fine. Chop CHILI fine. Mix all
RUN   -   (30 min)
  1. Heat OIL and fry Onions stirring until light golden, then stir in Ginger Mix and continue frying until garlic shows some color.
  2. Stir in Tomato Mix. Fry stirring until tomatoes are softened and liquid has all evaporated. Stir in Kidney Beans with their cooking water. Simmer 15 minutes or so until the onions have thickened the sauce. Add water if needed (it should not be too dry) and adjust Salt.
NOTES:

  1. Kidney Beans:

      The recipe presumes dried kidney beans. If you're in a hurry you can use 2 14 oz cans of Kidney Beans and skip both the soak and simmer steps.

  2. Salt:

      Recent tests have shown that beans soaked in salt brine will be more tender, cook faster and stay more intact than beans soaked without salt. For details see our Working with Legumes page.

  3. Chili Powder

    Kashmir chili powder would be appropriate for this northern recipe. Kashmir is fairly mild and The amount given will produce a softly spiced dish. For details see our Indian Chilis page.

  4. Chili Serrano:

      Here in California these have gotten a bit large. One will make this dish satisfyingly hot by Southern California standards - but if you're from the Frozen North you may want less. Use your own best judgement. For details see our Indian Chilis page.

  5. Comments:

      This dish can serve as a vegetarian main dish with basmati rice, or as a side dish for either Indian or Western cuisines.
  6. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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