Rajma Lobia Matar Pulao

It was one of those days. I had the day off and S had to be at work (on a Saturday). Since it was a no-rush day for me, I offered to drop him at work and also told him that I’d make hot lunch and bring it to the office at lunch time. (That way, I didn’t have to rustle something up in a hurry before he left.) On the way back home, I had some bank errands to run and I used all that time to figure out what I could cook. I even decided to have lunch with a friend. But that friend had other plans. She wanted to visit the Book Fair. Now, I wanted to go too, but I’d promised S hot lunch. I had not only promised to take lunch for S, I’d also promised to take lunch for everyone in the office who was forced to work that day. I thought I had all morning to cook, but as it turned out, my friend was leaving for the book fair within the hour.

I rushed home and bought a tub of Jeera Raita from the store within our complex. I had no idea what I was going to do. When I entered the kitchen, I saw some black eyed peas on the counter that I’d soaked that morning. I decided to make a pulao with those and serve it along with a raita. I opened the fridge to bring out some tomatoes and I remembered the cooked kidney beans that I’d stashed away in the freezer. I also found a bag of green peas. So, I made a sort of “everything in it” pulao. Very impromptu, very tasty (hearsay – I didn’t get to taste even a little) and very simple, given the ingredients I had at hand. Here is the recipe if you’re making it for 2-3 people.

1 cup Basmati Rice, washed and drained

1 cup Red Kidney Beans (Rajma), soaked overnight and cooked

½ cup Black Eyed Peas, soaked for 2 hours

½ cup Green Peas

1 Onion, finely chopped

½ cup Tomato Puree

1 tbsp Oil

1 tsp Cumin Seeds

1 2” stick Cinnamon

3 Cloves

2 tsp Ginger-Garlic-Chilli paste

½ tsp Turmeric

½ tsp Chilli Powder

Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a pressure pan and add the cumin seeds. When they crackle, add the cinnamon and cloves. Add the onions and fry for a minute. Add the garlic-chilli-ginger paste and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add the salt, turmeric and chilli powder and fry for another minute. Add the tomato puree and allow the entire mixture to boil.

Add the rice and allow the mixture to coat the grains. Add the kidney beans, black eyed peas and green peas. Add 2 cups of water and cover and cook for 2-3 whistles.

Open the cooker when the pressure is released and fluff gently with a fork. Serve with a raita.

While the pulao was cooking, I chopped a couple of tomatoes and a cucumber and mixed them along with the contents of the Raita tub. The pulao was transferred into one box and the raita into another. The boxes were delivered to S along with the car and the car keys. And I left with my friend for a fun filled day at the fair.

Rajma Sundal

There are snacks and there are snacks and then there is Sundal. To me sundal has always been a tasty and filling snack. But more than that, it is a guilt free snack. I mean, how many snacks do you know of that would fit the bill here? While I have used kidney beans in a variety of ways. I was surprised to note that I hadn't tasted it in its sundalavatar! I tried it and I was quite impressed.

1 cup Kidney Beans, soaked overnight
1 tsp Oil

7-8 Curry Leaves
1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds
1/4 tsp Urad Dal
1/4 tsp Chana Dal
1 tsp Green Chilli Paste
1/4 tsp Ginger Paste
1 Red Chilli
1/4 tsp Asafoetida
1 tsp Dry Mango Powder (Amchur)
1 tbsp Coconut, scraped
Salt to taste

Pressure cook the soaked kidney beans with salt for 4-5 whistles. Drain when done.

In a kadhai, heat oil. Add the urad and chana dals, mustard seeds and asafoetida. When the mustard splutters, add the curry leaves, ginger and chilli pastes, and the red chilli. Fry for a minute. Add the cooked kidney beans, dry mango powder, and a little salt. Cover and cook 4-5 minutes. Garnish with the scraped coconut and enjoy.

This is perfect for breakfast, as a snack or even as a side with your meal.

Rajma

When I first planned to visit VaishnoDevi in November 2000, some colleagues said to me, "वहाँ पर राजमा चावल और छोले पूरी ज़रूर खाके आना।" (You must eat Rajma Rice and Chhole Puri there.) When I did eventually go a month later, I decided that I would try these two things. When we got there, I figured that these were the ONLY dishes available, on the way and at the venue. If I had to eat, I had to eat one of these. I am told that things have changed a great deal in the last decade.

Anyway, that was probably the first time I tasted rajma chawal outside my office cafeteria. I liked it quite a bit. There's also something about being tired and hungry during the climb in the cold that makes food taste extra special. I didn't try making it at home because our cafeteria made it at least 3 times a week. In fact there's this other story that's linked to Rajma.

One Sunday afternoon, I was rather sick of all the dal makhani, chhole, paneer and rajma. I didn't feel like making an elaborate lunch. (I didn't own a fridge then and stashing away leftovers in the August heat in Gurgaon isn't exactly a cakewalk.) I made myself some Tomato Rice. Just as I sat down to eat my lunch, my landlady's 7 year old rang my doorbell. He said, "मम्मी ने कहा की आप अकेले खाने के बजाय हमारे साथ खा लें।" (Mummy says that instead of eating alone, you should come have lunch with us.) I told him to thank her but also tell her that I'd already made my lunch. He was back in 2 minutes saying, "मम्मी ने कहा की आप अपना खाना लेकर नीचे आ जाएँ। हम साथ बैठकर खायेंगे। (Mummy says that you bring whatever you have cooked and we shall all eat together. Now, there was little I could do. I took my pressure pan downstairs and we got ready to eat. My landlady had made a special Sunday lunch: Rajma Rice. My tomato rice was polished off in no time by the four of them and we can all eat I was served more rajma rice. So much for wanting to not eat something.

1 1/2 cups Kidney Beans (Chitra Rajma), soaked overnight

2 Onions, ground to a paste

1/4 cup Tomato Puree

1 tsp Ginger Garlic paste

1 tbsp Oil

1 tsp Cumin Seeds

1 tsp Coriander Powder

1 tsp Chilli Powder

1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder

1/4 tsp Garam Masala

Salt to taste

Coriander Leaves for garnish

Pressure cook the kidney beans with 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste in 3 cups of water. Drain the beans and retain the water.

In a pan, heat the oil and add the cumin seeds. When they crackle, add the onion paste and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the coriander powder, chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt and fry for a minute. Add the tomato puree and fry until the oil leaves the mixture. Add the cooked beans and the garam masala. Add the reserved water and boil the entire mixture. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve this with plain rice or Jeera Rice. I was serving it with rotis and so made it rather thick. When serving with rice, make sure that it has a pouring consistency.

I made rajma several times before and found that the beans didn't cook. I soaked the beans over night and then pressure cooked them for 20 whistles once. Rock hard! My colleague, P, told me to buy Chitra Rajma and ever since, the rajma I make is creamy. Thanks P.

Kidney Bean Green Chickpea Patties

Snack time. If I'm not prepared for it, I dread it. I dread not having something substantial in my lunch bag. I dread having to reach out for "just about anything" to kill those hunger pangs. It's not fair that the cafeteria downstairs serves samosas, bread pakodas and bread pizza just when the last bit of lunch bids my stomach farewell.

This makes for a great snack. With a salad on the side, it would make a great lunch too. But for now, let me relish it at snack time.

1/2 cup Kidney Beans, soaked overnight and cooked

1/2 cup Green Chickpeas, cooked

1 Potato, cooked and mashed

2 slices Bread

1 tsp Chilli Powder

1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder

1 tsp Ginger Paste (optional)

1/2 tsp Garam Masala

1/2 tsp Paneer Tikka Masala (optional)

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Place the kidney beans, chickpeas, potato and bread in a bowl and mash until you get a homogenous mixture. Add the ginger paste, turmeric powder, chilli powder, garam masala, paneer tikka masala and salt. Shape the mixture into patties. (I got about 6-8 patties from this mixture.)

Heat a skillet and smear a little oil over it. Place the patties on the skillet. Cook on both sides until golden brown. Your perfect snack for those post lunch pangs.

Kidney Bean and Pasta Salad

There is nothing permanent except change. That’s something I completely believe in. About a month ago, our diet plan underwent a complete makeover. The weather has also been very conducive. We eat stuffed parathas, salads, and filling snacks during the day and end the day with hot soup. While I try to plan ahead, there are times when I have no idea what to make. I usually try and buy vegetables for the week over the weekend. I then chop them according to different needs and then freeze them in freezer bags. That way, I can throw in a handful of vegetables into just about anything and turn any dish into a complete meal.


This is one of those “make-it-up-as-you-go” salads. I had a can of kidney beans and wanted to use it up. Rajma wasn’t on my mind. So I decided to pair it with some pasta and vegetables. Nothing unusual about that, I agree. The dressing is what took this salad to the next level. I was in an experimental mood that morning and this colourful salad was the result.



1 cup Pasta, prepared according to instructions on the pack
1 can Red Kidney Beans, drained
1 cup Mixed Vegetables, diced and cooked


For the dressing:

1 tbsp Olive Oil
2-3 pods Garlic, chopped
1 Onion, diced
¼ cup Capsicum, chopped
¼ cup Carrots, chopped
1 Tomato, chopped
2 tsp Chilli Flakes
1 tsp Oregano
½ tsp Basil
½ tsp Parsley
Salt to taste


To prepare the dressing, heat the olive oil in a pan. Add the garlic and onion and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the capsicum and fry for another minute. Add the chilli flakes, oregano, basil, parsley and salt and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the tomato and carrots and cover and cook for 5 minutes. Grind this mixture to a paste.


To proceed, place the kidney beans, pasta and vegetables in a bowl. Add the dressing and toss well.


The dressing is like chutney. It works very well in sandwiches and with crackers. All in all, this is a keeper recipe.

I'm sending this to Sug as she hosts this month's edition of My Legume Love Affair.