A tasty recipe for rajma, a north Indian curry of tender kidney beans in a tangy tomato onion sauce. Pair this bold-flavored dish with naan or rice.
Table of Contents
What is rajma?
Kidney beans are called rajma in north India and rajma, sometimes called rajma masala, is an eponymous dish of kidney beans in a spicy, tangy tomato onion sauce.
If you have eaten chana masala, you will love rajma. Both are Punjabi dishes, both have a base of tomatoes and onions, both are spiced similarly, and both can be eaten with rice, roti or naan for a complete, wholesome meal. But don't expect rajma to taste like chana masala: the kidney beans bring their own distinctive identity to this exquisite dish.
Making rajma at home is easy and you will need no more than 35 minutes to get it from scratch to the table if you use canned kidney beans. The few ingredients needed for this recipe can be easily sourced if you don't already have them in your pantry. The recipe is soy-free, nut-free and gluten-free, and the legumes add a healthy hit of protein and fiber.
Ingredients
- Vegetables: onions and tomatoes. Red onions are preferred. Use ripe tomatoes and puree them. You can use canned pureed tomatoes.
- Spices: ajwain seeds (carom seeds), turmeric, cayenne or any red chilli powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, amchur (mango powder) and either chana masala powder or garam masala.
- Herbs: ginger garlic paste, kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) and fresh cilantro. If you don't have ginger garlic paste crush four large cloves of garlic and an inch-long knob of ginger into a paste for this recipe.
- Rajma or kidney beans. You will need a cup of dried kidney beans, if cooking from scratch or two 15-oz cans of kidney beans, drained. If you cook the beans, don't discard the cooking liquid - you can use it in the recipe.
- Vegan butter (optional). The butter adds a smooth finish to the rajma. I like it in here but you can absolutely skip it.
How to make rajma
Follow along with the step-by-step instructions below and see exactly how the recipe should look through the various stages of cooking. You can skip to the recipe card below for a more compact version of this rajma recipe.
Heat oil in a wide skillet or saucepan. Add the ajwain or carom seeds and sauté for 30 seconds.
Add the onions to the pan along with some salt. Sauté over medium high heat until they are browned, about 5-7 minutes.
This is what the onions should look like after browning. Caramelizing the onions this way adds an undertone of sweetness to the rajma and also helps the onions melt into the sauce.
Add ginger garlic paste and mix it in for 30 seconds.
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Pour in all of the tomato puree.
Add the turmeric, cayenne, ground cumin, ground coriander and amchur (mango powder).
Mix in all the spices and cook the tomato onion sauce, stirring frequently, until almost all the moisture has evaporated.
This is what the tomato onion sauce should look like. Reducing the tomatoes deepens their flavor and adds a lovely tang to the recipe. At this point you can proceed to the next step.
Add the kidney beans to the pan along with two cups water or, if you cooked the kidney beans from scratch, the cooking liquid. If you don't have enough cooking liquid from the beans just add more water until you have two cups.
Bring the rajma to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 10 minutes. If the curry feels too thick for your liking you can add more water. Rajma should be a little soupy but not watery. If you are serving it with bread you can make it thicker; to serve with rice make it a little soupier.
Add the kasoori methi and the chana masala powder or garam masala and mix them in.
Add fresh cilantro, mix, and check for salt. Stir in the optional butter, if using. Turn off heat and serve hot.
Serve
Dig into the rajma with roti, paratha or vegan naan. In the Punjab you'd most probably eat rajma with rice or chawal - a dish that goes by the name of rajma chawal - and it is, quite simply, rajma served with steamed rice. You can pair the rajma with basmati rice or jeera rice.
Recipe FAQs
If starting with dried kidney beans, soak them overnight in water to cover by two inches. This hydrates them and they will cook more quickly. For more flavor you can add a couple of bay leaves to the beans. Discard the bay leaves before using the beans.
Stovetop: Place the soaked and drained kidney beans in a saucepan. Cover with an inch of water. Bring to a boil, turn down heat to a simmer, and let the beans cook for an hour or until very tender but not falling apart.
Instant Pot: Pressure cook the rajma beans with two cups of water for 30 minutes. You can also use dried beans directly without soaking in the Instant Pot, but increase water to three cups and pressure cooking time to 35 minutes.
Stovetop pressure cooker: Cover the soaked kidney beans by two inches of water and pressure cook for five whistles.
You can make this entire dish in the Instant Pot or pressure cooker using dried beans that have been soaked overnight.
Instant Pot: Use the "sauté" function to step 5, then add the soaked, drained rajma beans to the pot with three cups water. Cook on high pressure for 30 minutes. Force-release after 10 minutes or do a natural release, then add the garam masala, kasoori methi, cilantro and butter, if using. Check salt and serve.
Pressure cooker: Follow instructions in the recipe until step 5. After adding beans in step 6, add three cups water and pressure cook for five whistles. Once pressure has release, stir in the kasoori methi, garam masala, cilantro and optional butter, and check for salt before serving.
You can use pink beans or pinto beans instead of the kidney beans. North Indian cooks do sometimes use pinto beans, which go by the name of "chitra rajma" locally, to make this dish with no significant change to the flavor and texture.
Two cups of water should not make the rajma too soupy but if it does look a little more watery when you are cooking it, don't worry because the rajma will thicken up as it stands. You can also expedite this process by mashing some of the rajma beans with a ladle.
Spiced dishes like rajma taste even better the next day, when the flavors have had a chance to sit together and mingle. Store leftover rajma in the fridge for up to four days or freeze it for up to four months. Reheat on the stovetop, adding more water and salt if needed.
Recipe card
Rajma Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil (any neutral oil is fine. If using coconut oil use refined oil, which has no flavor).
- 1 teaspoon ajwain (carom seeds, optional)
- 1 medium red onion (finely chopped)
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste (or crush together four large cloves garlic and a one-inch knob of ginger)
- 3 large tomatoes (pureed. Or use 2 cups canned tomato puree)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ to 1 teaspoon cayenne (or any red chili powder, like Kashmiri chili powder. If very sensitive to heat, you can use paprika.)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon amchur (mango powder)
- 30 oz red kidney beans (from two 15 oz cans, or 1 cup dried kidney beans, cooked)
- 1 teaspoon chana masala powder (or garam masala)
- 1 tablespoon kasoori methi (or dry fenugreek leaves, optional)
- 2 tablespoon cilantro (finely chopped)
- Salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter (optional)
Instructions
- Heat oil in a wide skillet or saucepan. Add the ajwain or carom seeds and sauté for 30 seconds.
- Add the onions to the pan along with some salt. Sauté over medium high heat until they are browned, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add ginger garlic paste and mix it in for 30 seconds.
- Pour in all of the tomato puree, then mix in the turmeric, cayenne, ground cumin, ground coriander and amchur (mango powder).
- Cook the tomato onion sauce, stirring frequently, until almost all the moisture has evaporated.
- Add the kidney beans to the pan along with two cups water or, if you cooked the kidney beans from scratch, the cooking liquid. If you don't have enough cooking liquid from the beans just add more water until you have two cups.
- Bring the rajma to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 10 minutes. If the curry feels too thick for your liking you can add more water. Rajma should be a little soupy but not watery.
- Add the kasoori methi and the chana masala powder and mix them in. Finally, add fresh cilantro, mix, and check for salt. Stir in the optional butter, if using. Turn off heat and serve hot.
Nutrition Information
To print recipe card without images, uncheck "instruction images" after clicking the "print recipe" button.
More recipes you might like
- This Instant Pot kidney beans curry is an even more nourishing spin on rajma. It has no added oil and it has spinach and potatoes for yum.
- Vegan dal makhani, also a north Indian favorite, uses kidney beans to add texture and flavor to a velvety dal. This is a delicious dish for company or for a special meal.
- One of my favorite kidney beans recipes is Portuguese vegan caldo verde, a soup of collards, potatoes and kidney beans.
- Try these simple but delicious Mexican potato and bean cakes, or this red beans and rice recipe: a Louisiana version of rajma chawal!
- Kidney beans are also divine in this delectable vegan chili recipe.
First published on June 27, 2015. Updated and re-published on Feb. 14, 2025.
LisaH says
This was so easy and really delicious. I was looking for a recipe to use some wonderful large beans that I had cooked a few days earlier. I made this in my instapot, replacing the 10 minutes cook time for 3 minutes on pressure cooker. Definitely going to make this again!
Van says
Hi Vaishali,
I live in Argentina and it is difficult to get some of the spices for your recipes here.
I can't find dried fenugreek leaves, so I'm wondering if I could use ground fenugreek seeds instead.
Same with curry leaves, impossible to find here. What can I use instead? (this question is for another recipe)
Thanks for your hep.
Van.
Vaishali says
Hi Van, can you find dried mint? If yes, use that and not the ground fenugreek seeds. In most recipes cilantro would work as a sub for curry leaves--the flavors are very different but each is appealing in its own way.
Anonymous says
thanks a lot Vaishali!
I have dried mint leaves from my garden! And I love mint, so wonderful.
I'll try this Rajma and the Masoor Dahl tomorrow and let you know.
Thanks again for your prompt response (you always answer in time!)
Saludos
Van.
Vaishali says
Awesome, look forward to hearing how it goes!
Catherine Long says
I made this last night and my partner said he’d be happy if that was his last meal ?
Sharon says
This recipe is outstanding - restaurant quality for sure. Didn’t need any salt. Question: your ingredients list has turmeric but the directions do not (the directions have paprika but the ingredients list does not). Do you add the turmeric where it says to add the paprika, or...? Thanks!
Cathy says
Hi - could I skip steps 1-5 and just use your Basic Tomato Onion Sauce instead? I already have it in 1.5 cup portions in the freezer.
Vaishali says
Hi Cathy, absolutely. You can use the tomato onion sauce but be sure to add some amchur or squeeze in a lemon for some lovely tang.
ruhrstyle says
Sounds very good and delic tasty. Thanks for this recipe!
best regards
Peter says
When you say 2x 15 oz (425 g for most of the world!) tins do you mean the beans from those tins, which are usually 60% by weight beans so effectively 18 oz (~500 g) beans, or do you mean 30 oz (850 g) beans?
Vaishali says
Just use the beans from two cans, after draining.
Anonymous says
Thank you! I love your blog! I can't believe it's taken me this long to read it. Hope you are doing well!
Vaishali Honawar says
Thanks for your kind words! Always happy to see a new reader. 🙂