Rajma Sundal Recipe
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Rajma sundal is a South Indian dish in which cooked rajma is stir-fried with simple spices, then mixed with freshly grated coconut. It is perfect as a side dish with Indian-style meals, or you can make it as neivedyam for pooja. Here is how to make it.
Here are some more of my favorite rajma recipes: Punjabi rajma masala, Kashmiri rajma, and rajma salad.
Quick Look: Rajma Sundal
Soaking Time: 5–6 hours
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes (plus soaking)
Servings: 4 people
Calories: Approx. 155 per serving
Dietary Info: Vegan. Can be easily made gluten-free (skip hing).
Skill Level: Easy
Tools Needed: Instant Pot or stovetop pressure cooker; pan for tempering.
Table of Contents
What Is Rajma Sundal?
Rajma sundal is a South Indian snack made by tossing cooked kidney beans in a mustard-and-curry-leaf tempering, then finishing with fresh grated coconut, cilantro, and lime juice.
Sundal itself is a category of dishes, not a single fixed recipe. South Indian homes make it with whatever bean or legume is on hand: chickpeas, black-eyed peas, peanuts, green gram. Rajma sundal is the kidney bean version.
It shows up as prasadam (temple offering) during Navratri and Ganesh Chaturthi, and just as often as an everyday evening snack that has nothing to do with any festival.
The dish has no gravy. It’s dry, spiced lightly, and eaten warm or at room temperature. Think of it as the Indian cousin of a bean salad, but warmer, spicier, and finished with coconut instead of dressing.
My recipe serves 4 people, but if you want to make it for a larger group, you can easily scale it up.
I used my 3-quart Instant Pot to cook the rajma. You can also use a 3-liter stovetop pressure cooker.
Ingredients
- Rajma (Red Kidney Beans) – I use chitra rajma to make sundal because it cooks quickly and evenly, but you can use any variety of rajma to make rajma sundal. Recently, I have started using red rajma from Walmart, which I find easy to cook. Do try.
- Coconut – You will need grated fresh coconut. To save time, buy frozen pre-grated coconut. You can find it in the freezer section of an Indian grocery store. You can swap the coconut for desiccated coconut soaked in a little warm water if fresh isn’t available, though the flavor won’t be quite as clean.
- Asafetida (hing) – To make it gluten-free, skip adding asafetida. All the other ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free.
- Others – To make this sundal recipe, you will also need oil, black mustard seeds, white urad dal, curry leaves, cilantro (fresh coriander leaves), freshly squeezed lime juice, and dry red chilies
You can add chopped green chilies if you like your rajma sundal spicy.
To make a variation, you can replace rajma with chickpeas (chole), white peas (safed matar), fresh peanuts, black chickpeas (kala chana), green gram, lobia, or corn.
How To Make Rajma Sundal
Cook The Rajma
Step 1: Rinse 1 cup of dried rajma, then soak it in 4 cups of water for 5-6 hours. Soaking softens the beans, helping them cook evenly and preventing them from turning mushy on the outside while staying hard in the center.
Drain the water and rinse the rajma once again. Add the soaked rajma into the inner pot of a 3-quart Instant Pot along with 2 teaspoons of salt and 3 cups of water. Mix gently using a ladle.
Step 2: Now, secure the lid of the Instant Pot and move the valve to the sealing position.
Step 3: Press the PRESSURE COOK button, then set the timer to 12 minutes at high pressure. The Instant Pot will take a few minutes to build pressure before its timer starts.
Once the timer goes off, you will hear a beep. Let the pressure in the Instant Pot release for 10 minutes without disturbing it.
Now move the valve to the venting position to release the remaining pressure. I always use a spoon to turn the valve to prevent my fingers from getting burned by residual steam.
Now you can open the lid.
The beans are done when they’re soft enough to mash between two fingers but still hold their shape. Drain any extra water; a wet sundal turns soggy fast.
Do not overcook; otherwise, the rajma will become mushy. We need rajma that is cooked well but still retains its shape.
To cook kidney beans in a stovetop pressure cooker, add the soaked rajma, salt, and water. Put the cooker on high heat and cook until it whistles once. Then, reduce the heat to low and cook for another 12 minutes. Transfer the cooker to the kitchen counter and let the pressure release naturally. Open the lid.
Stir-Fry The Rajma
Step 4: Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the following ingredients to the pan to fry.
- ¼ teaspoon asafetida
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 2 teaspoon white urad dal
- 2-3 dry red chilies
- 10-12 curry leaves
Fry until the dal turns golden brown. Stir frequently with a ladle.
The oil needs to be properly hot before the mustard seeds go in, or they’ll just sit there instead of popping and releasing their flavor.
Step 5: Add the drained, cooked rajma to the tempering. Stir gently for 2-3 minutes, just enough to coat the beans in the tempering and warm them through. Stirring too hard at this point breaks the beans apart.
Step 6: Turn off the heat. Finally, add the following ingredients to the pan and mix gently with a ladle until combined.
- ¼ cup grated fresh coconut
- 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
Adding coconut off the heat keeps it fresh and slightly crunchy. Cooking it any further makes it turn oily and lose that just-grated taste.
Step 7: Serve the rajma sundal warm or at room temperature.
Serving Suggestions
Serve warm rajma sundal as an evening snack or alongside South Indian meals like curd rice or lemon rice. It also makes a great neivedyam for Navratri or Ganesh Chaturthi pooja.
It packs well for a lunchbox too, since it doesn’t need reheating and tastes just as good at room temperature.
Storage Suggestions
Rajma sundal keeps in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 2-3 days. Reheat gently in a pan or microwave before serving.
You can freeze it for up to a month, though the coconut’s texture softens a bit once thawed.
For meal prep, cook the rajma up to 4-5 days ahead and store it in the fridge. Grated fresh coconut freezes well too, for up to 3-4 months. Once both are ready, the sundal itself takes about 5 minutes from pan to plate.
Rajma Sundal FAQs
Yes. Drain and rinse the canned beans well, then add them directly to the tempering. This skips the soaking and pressure-cooking entirely and gets you a finished sundal in about 10 minutes.
You can, though it won’t taste like a traditional sundal anymore. Coconut defines the dish; leaving it out turns it into a simple stir-fried bean side.
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Rajma Sundal Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup rajma (red kidney beans)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 3 cups water
- 2 tablespoons oil
- ¼ teaspoon asafetida (hing)
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 2 teaspoons white urad dal
- 2-3 dry red chilies
- 10-12 curry leaves
- ¼ cup grated fresh coconut
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (fresh coriander leaves)
Instructions
Cook The Rajma
- Rinse the rajma, then soak it in 4 cups of water for 5-6 hours.
- Drain the water, then rinse the rajma once again.
- Add the soaked rajma to the Instant Pot along with salt and 3 cups of water. Mix gently using a ladle.
- Now, secure the lid of the Instant Pot and move the valve to the sealing position.
- Press the PRESSURE COOK button, then set the timer to 12 minutes at high pressure. The Instant Pot will take a few minutes to build pressure before its timer starts.
- Once the timer goes off, you will hear a beep. Let the pressure in the Instant Pot release for 10 minutes without disturbing it.
- Now move the valve to the venting position to release the remaining pressure. I always use a spoon to turn the valve to prevent my fingers from getting burned by residual steam. Open the lid. The beans are done when they’re soft enough to mash between two fingers but still hold their shape. Drain any extra water; a wet sundal turns soggy fast.
Stir Fry The Rajma
- Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add asafetida, mustard seeds, white urad dal, dry red chilies, and curry leaves, and fry until the dal turns golden brown. Stir frequently.
- Add the drained, cooked rajma to the tempering. Stir gently for 2-3 minutes, just enough to coat the beans in the tempering and warm them through. Stirring too hard at this point breaks the beans apart.
- Turn off the heat.
- Add coconut, lime juice, and cilantro and mix well.
- Serve the rajma sundal warm or at room temperature.
My neighbour’s dropped off some just now
With some fruit and coconut milk
A desert
From southern India
So delicious 😋