Its base recipe demands largely shelf-stable ingredients, and like the various bean chili riffs of the Americas, is a soothing comfort food for those who grew up with it. You can turn to it when grocery runs are limited and time at home abundant. Like so many of the worldвЂ™s recipes that rely on hardy pantry staples, rajma masala is an ideal pandemic dish.

In the end I had made the perfect dish of rajma masala - a rich North Indian kidney bean curry - even if it took me two extra hours of simmering, since I didnвЂ™t account for the added cook time for old beans. Boiling them turned their surrounding water brown and thick I cooked them with onions, tomatoes, and whatever spices I had, and simmered it for hours, using the liquid from bean boiling to thicken the mix. I soaked them overnight and they bloomed into large, toothy beans already splitting at the seams. Strictly speaking, it was an American brand, so the label on the bag read вЂњkidney beans,вЂќ but their magic was the same. They are a blessing for a vegetarian traveller like me and I am sure to find a Mexican joint everywhere we go.In the first few weeks of sheltering in place, I found a packet of old rajma in my pantry - that is to say, I stumbled upon a small treasure. I lived on veg burrito bowls when I was working in US in 2003 and FeijГЈo sem carne when we were traveling in Brazil as there werenвЂ™t too many vegetarian options outside the city. It is amazing how red kidney beans gravy is cooked in so many cuisines especially Mexican and other South American cuisine. As a result making Rajma for a meal does need some planning the night before. The dried beans need to be soaked for at least 6-8 hours and best if done overnight. Again, trying to stay away from anything that comes in a bottle. I use dry red kidney beans and not the canned ones. She always sticks to simple ingredients and doesnвЂ™t believe in any premix spice blends which are filling the supermarket shelves these days. Actually I say вЂњmy recipeвЂќ but itвЂ™s not my recipe, I borrowed it from my mom, like many others. Whole spices add a lot of aroma and flavour to the masala which is lacking in premixed spice blends. I donвЂ™t normally use spice premixes as I feel they have unnecessary ingredients and arenвЂ™t as fresh. If you prefer, you can also use Rajma Masala spice mix. The spices used in the recipe can be found in almost all kitchens cooking Indian food. My Rajma masala recipe is simple with a few whole and ground spices and a basic onion-tomato gravy. Spicy Rajma Masala with aromatic Basmati rice. Rajma curry goes great with parathas and naan too but the quintessential pairing is of Rajma and rice. Rajma curry, rice and some cut onions - donвЂ™t need anything else. As kids whenever mom made Rajma Chawal, it used to be a feast. I read this somewhere and I so totally identified with it. вЂњMy love for Rajma Chawal is such that my mom makes it one time and I eat it for 3 meals after.вЂќ

Rajma chawal recipe