Kashmiri Rajma

Kashmiri Rajma Masala is a delicious recipe with flavors from dry ginger powder and fennel powder. Here is how to make it.

What is comforting food for you? Something that takes you back to your childhood or rather your precious memories.

Well, Rajma Chawal is that memory for me.

I remember those Summer vacations when we used to visit our granny and every Saturday night she used to feed us this delicious combination of Rajma Chawal with some chopped onions on to.

Aah, those good days!

Till now, Rajma Chawal is my comforting food and thus I make it very often at home.

Yes, it is delicious but it is also filled with the goodness of protein as Rajma is rich in protein, making it a perfect choice to include in my everyday meals.

Punjabi Style Rajma is a regular at home, but this time I tried a variation, this Kashmiri Rajma Masala.

It is extremely simple to make and it’s not as spicy as the Punjabi street-side special, in fact, it is quite different from the regular Punjabi curries with the flavor of fennel and dry ginger standing out.

It’s a delicious recipe with a cacophony of flavors and the use of Kashmiri red chillies that give it a lovely red hue.

So, what are you waiting for?

Make this delectable Kashmiri Rajma and enjoy it with rice or Indian bread of your choice. 

Here are some more Kashmiri recipes, that can be included in your everyday meals – Kashmiri Dum Aloo, Kashmiri Methi Chaman, Kashmiri Pulao, Kashmiri Al Yakhni, Kashmiri Dahi Baingan, and Kashmiri Shufta. 

What is Kashmiri Rajma?

It is a delicious Kidney Beans Curry which is made in Kashmiri households.

It has a burst of flavors from other ingredients, mainly ginger, fennel, and Kashmiri red chilli powder.

It is not very spicy, as the chilli powder used is Kashmiri and it only gives a nice red color to the curry with a hint of subtle spiciness. 

So if you want to give your usual Rajma recipe a break, you should definitely try this Kashmiri version of the same. 

Ingredients

In this Curry, Rajma is cooked in a yogurt-based gravy.

Unlike other Rajma Curries, Tomatoes are not used in this dish. 

Make sure to cook this curry in Mustard Oil, as it lends beautiful flavors to the same.

But if you don’t have mustard oil, you can use any other vegetable oil or even ghee to make this curry.

Other than Rajma and Curd, you will need onions, salt, fennel seed powder, dry ginger powder, cloves,  cinnamon, cumin seeds, hing, ginger paste, coriander powder, Kashmiri red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, and fresh coriander leaves. 

I also like to squeeze lemon juice on the top after serving it with rice and finely chopped onions. 

Process

To make this Authentic Kashmiri rajma recipe, first soak the Kashmiri Rajma for a few hours, you could also leave it to soak overnight.

Then drain the water and pressure cook the soaked rajma with water, salt, fennel seed powder, dry ginger powder, cloves, and cinnamon until it’s cooked and softened.

Once the rajma is cooked well, remove from the heat and keep it aside.

Next, some vegetable oil is heated in a pan and to this, cumin seeds and hing are added and allowed to crackle for a few seconds.

Once done, chopped onions are added and it’s fried until slightly browned.

If you are making a Kashmiri Pandit version, skip adding the onion.

Next, the ginger paste is added to the fried onions, followed by the addition of yogurt.

I generally mix yogurt with a little maida or all purpose flour so that it doesn’t split while cooking. Try this trick!

Leave it to cook for a few minutes and then add the spice powders like coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and fry until the oil starts to separate.

Then cooked rajma is added in and allowed to boil in a pan.

Finally, the rajma is mashed a little and cooked on low heat. As a garnish, add some garam masala and fresh coriander.

Serving Suggestions

This Kashmiri Rajma is very versatile and can be served with a bowl of Steamed Rice, Kashmiri Pulao, or mopped up with some freshly made Rotis.

I like to serve it with Tawa Paratha or Bakarkhani Roti.

Step By Step Recipe

Wash the rajma and soak in enough water for 6-8 hours.

Drain the water and add the rajma in a pressure cooker along with 3 cups of water, 2 teaspoon salt, fennel seed powder, dry ginger powder, cloves, and cinnamon. Pressure cook until rajma is nicely cooked and softened. Remove the pressure cooker from heat and keep aside.

Heat mustard oil in a pan.

Once the oil is hot, add cumin seeds, and hing and let them crackle for a few seconds.

Add onion and fry until slightly browned.

Add ginger paste and fry until onions are nicely browned.

Now add yogurt and cook for 2-3 minutes on very low heat.

Add coriander powder, turmeric powder, Kashmiri red chilli powder and fry until oil starts to separate from the sides of the pan.

Add the cooked rajma along with the water in which it was boiled in the pan.

Mash a few rajma pieces with the back of a ladle. Add salt to taste. Cook for 10-12 minutes on low heat. Add garam masala and fresh coriander and mix well. Serve hot with steamed rice or saffron rice.

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