There is nothing like coconut milk to give a little lift in flavor and aroma to any dish. Though the regular Rajma is a well known dish that just can’t be replaced in anyone’s hearts, this dish is a great twist and will manage to satisfy and comfort you as well so don’t overlook it. Try this Coconut Rajma Curry recipe and see how yummy kidney beans can get. With its creamy texture and subtle flavor, this vegan curry is fabulous with rice or chapati.
Soak Time: min. 8 hours
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 1 hour
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients:
Dry Kidney Beans (Rajma) – 2 cups, soaked in 6 cups of water for 6-8 hrs or overnight.
Salt – 2 tsp or to taste
Water – 6 cups
Oil – 1 Tbsp
Mustard Seeds – 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon Stick – 1 inch piece
Black Cardamom – 1
Green Cardamom – 2
Cloves – 5
Bay Leaf – 1
Curry Leaves – 1 sprig
Onion – 1/2 cup, finely chopped
Ginger – 1 Tbsp, minced
Garlic – 1 Tbsp, minced
Green Chilies – 1 to 2 or to taste, slit
Pureed Tomatoes – 1 cup (approx 3 Roma tomatoes)
Coriander Powder – 1 Tbsp
Cumin Powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp
Red Chili Powder – to taste
Garam Masala – 1 tsp
Coconut Milk – 14 oz can
Lemon/Lime Juice – to taste
Cilantro – 10 sprigs, chopped to garnish
Method:
1. Drain soaked Kidney Beans, rinse and add to a pressure cooker with Salt and 6 cups Water.
2. Pressure cook for 2 whistles on Med-High, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for additional 45 minutes. Allow pressure to release on its own.
3. Meanwhile, heat Oil in a pan and add Mustard Seeds. Allow them to sputter.
4. Add whole spices and mix for 10-15 seconds.
5. Add Curry Leaves, Onions and little Salt, mix and cook until translucent.
6. Add Ginger, Garlic and Green Chilies. Mix and cook until Onions are golden brown.
7. Add Pureed Tomatoes and cook until oil separates from the mixture.
8. Reduce heat and add powdered spices. Mix well to coat spices with oil and add 1-2 Tbsp of water to prevent burning.
9. Add Strained Kidney Beans (reserving liquid) to the pan and mix well.
10. Add reserved liquid as needed to get desired consistency along with Coconut Milk.
11. Sprinkle Lemon/Lime juice and chopped Cilantro to garnish.
Made this last weekend, and it was absolutely yummy. If you make it on the thicker side, you can add some jack or cheddar cheese and roll leftovers up in a large tortilla for some pretty awesome burritos! My one request is that you would give a conversion factor for the “whistles” of an Indian pressure cooker. My pressure cooker is not an Indian model, hence no whistles! I run into this problem all the time with Indian recipes. If you could tell me how long 1 whistle takes, I can do the math myself. I thank you and my belly thanks you!
Hi Peter,
Excellent tip for the recipe, I am sure some viewers will love it!
Regarding the whistles – once the pressure cooker attains the pressure, every 3 minutes is a whistle…this is an approximation, time it a couple of times and then you’ll get to know your pressure cooker better 😉
Hope that helps 🙂
This looks great, but for those of us without a pressure cooker, how long do you think it would it take for the beans to cook?
Love your recipes! It would be helpful, though, if you could also post whether a particular recipe serves 2, 4 or whatever. Also the prep time and/or total time. Thanks!
Hi Mustangally,
We usually do but sometimes we forget 😉
Fixed now 🙂
What a coincidence! Just 2 days ago, on a whim, I decided to make Rajma with a different taste and therefore added coconut milk to it. Then on another whim, I added Normandy style vegetables from Costco, chopped into smaller pieces, along with some asparagus and bell pepper to it. I did achieve what I wanted to – tasty Rajma with a variation.
I had to google this to see what the vegetable content is, and it sounds like a great addition to rajma! Definitely going to try your suggestion.