Rad Rajma Chawal
One of the simplest meals that seems to be common with every culture is a basic rice and beans dish. In India, rajma-chawal or kidney beans and rice is my definition of the ultimate comfort food. For me, it is the epitome of a simple home-cooked meal. Below are the ingredients you will need:
Ingredients:
-2 tbsp. of your preferred cooking oil
-3/4 of one very large onion chopped
-1 large tomato cut into wedges
-1.5 tbsp. of minced garlic (or 4 cloves of minced garlic)
-1 tbsp. of ginger paste
-2 cans of kidney beans*
-2 tbsp. of salt
-1/2 tbsp of black pepper
-1/2 tbsp. of coriander powder
-1/2 tbsp. of cumin powder
-2 tbsp. of curry powder**
-1 tsp. of cumin seeds
-3 cloves
-1 bay leaf
-1 dry red chilli***
-1 cup (8 oz.) + 2 tbsp. water
Preparation:
-In a wok or skillet, add the oil and wait for it to heat up. Add the cumin seeds and cloves. Break the dry red chilli and bay leaf in half and add to the oil. Stir until the spices brown up. Make sure you hear the crackling of the spices because it adds to the fun of cooking. :)
-Add the ginger and garlic and stir until brown.
-Add the onions until they are beyond translucent and start to caramelize. Keep an eye on the onion and stir every 3-4 minutes.
Notes:
*You can soak plain kidney beans overnight and then boil them in a pressure cooker for 1 whistle.
**You can use any store brand curry powder. This recipe also calls for garam masala powder, but I improvised with whatever was in the spice cabinet at my summer sublet, so I didn't have any garam masala.
***I didn't have any of these, so I just used red chilli powder
****Cook rice the way you normally would, but add 1 tsp. of cumin seeds to the water and stir well. If you don't have or can't get basmati rice, just use any long grain variety. Tip: Cooking the rice in a vegetable stock will make this dish taste much better.
Ingredients:
-2 tbsp. of your preferred cooking oil
-3/4 of one very large onion chopped
-1 large tomato cut into wedges
-1.5 tbsp. of minced garlic (or 4 cloves of minced garlic)
-1 tbsp. of ginger paste
-2 cans of kidney beans*
-2 tbsp. of salt
-1/2 tbsp of black pepper
-1/2 tbsp. of coriander powder
-1/2 tbsp. of cumin powder
-2 tbsp. of curry powder**
-1 tsp. of cumin seeds
-3 cloves
-1 bay leaf
-1 dry red chilli***
-1 cup (8 oz.) + 2 tbsp. water
Preparation:
-In a wok or skillet, add the oil and wait for it to heat up. Add the cumin seeds and cloves. Break the dry red chilli and bay leaf in half and add to the oil. Stir until the spices brown up. Make sure you hear the crackling of the spices because it adds to the fun of cooking. :)
-Add the ginger and garlic and stir until brown.
-Add the onions until they are beyond translucent and start to caramelize. Keep an eye on the onion and stir every 3-4 minutes.
The onions are almost there at this point. Wait a bit longer until they are more brown.
-Add the tomatoes and stir around. Then add a tbsp of salt and stir again. Cover the pan for 5 minutes with a lid and allow the steam to break down the tomatoes.
The tomatoes starting to break down.
-After 5 minutes, remove the lid and add the remaining salt, black pepper, curry powder, coriander powder, and cumin powder. Stir around and add the 2 tbsp. water to prevent things from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
-Keep stirring every 3-4 minutes until you get a pasty texture and see the mixture leaving of its own oils [see image below]:
-Add 1/2 cup of water and stir. Let the water boil down and allow for a gravy to form. Add the kidney beans and stir. You can taste the gravy at this point. If something seems off, feel free to adjust at this point.
-Add the remaining 1/2 cup of water, stir, and cover the pan with a lid for 5 minutes. Lift the lid and give it a final stir.
-Serve with cumin basmati**** rice and a glass of refreshing minty-watermelon lemonade. See my last post's bonus recipe in the notes section.
-Serve with cumin basmati**** rice and a glass of refreshing minty-watermelon lemonade. See my last post's bonus recipe in the notes section.
Ready to serve. Enjoy!
Notes:
*You can soak plain kidney beans overnight and then boil them in a pressure cooker for 1 whistle.
**You can use any store brand curry powder. This recipe also calls for garam masala powder, but I improvised with whatever was in the spice cabinet at my summer sublet, so I didn't have any garam masala.
***I didn't have any of these, so I just used red chilli powder
****Cook rice the way you normally would, but add 1 tsp. of cumin seeds to the water and stir well. If you don't have or can't get basmati rice, just use any long grain variety. Tip: Cooking the rice in a vegetable stock will make this dish taste much better.
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