Description
A healthy one-pot Indian curry made with red kidney beans simmered in onion tomato gravy seasoned with roasted spice powders. Instant Pot Rajma Masala is a fulfilling vegan and gluten-free dish served best with basmati rice or any Indian flatbread.
Ingredients
- 1 Cup dry red kidney beans soaked overnight or at least 5 hours
- 2 Big onions finely chopped
- 4 big tomatoes pureed or a can of diced tomatoes blended
- 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
- 1/2 tablespoon vegetable or sunflower or sesame oil
- 2.5 cups of water
Spices
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- 1/2 tablespoon cumin powder
- 1/2 tablespoon red chilli powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves or Kasuri methi
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the beans well under cold water and soak for at least 5 hours.
- Blend 4 or 5 large tomatoes and make a fine puree.
- On the Saute mode at ‘NORMAL’ mode which is equivalent of medium heat Please note that you may need to switch between NORMAL and LOW modes while sauteeing the ingredients as using less oil means more chance of burning. usually, the bottom will be burnt with NORMAL mode esp using less oil.
- Once you see ON on the display, add oil which will be heated in few seconds.
- Splutter cumin seeds and add in slit green chilli and fry for few seconds.
- Add in chopped onions, season with salt and fry until they turn soft. If needed use splashes of water t avoid burning the bottom.
- Add ginger-garlic paste and fry until the raw smells go off.
- Then add in spice powders like cumin, coriander, red chilli, turmeric and saute well by scraping the bottom. This should take a couple of minutes on low flame.
- Then add in tomato puree, adjust salt and cook for 5 minutes to take off the raw smell, you can skip cooking this puree but I prefer to do so.
- then add in soaked rajma/red kidney beans and mix well so the flavours are all incorporated well. Pour in 2 to 2.5 cups of water and adjust any salt.
- Close the lid, turn the pressure valve to sealing mode and cancel the saute mode.
- Press the MANUAL OR PRESSURE COOK mode and set the timer for 35-40 minutes.
- Once done, allow the pressure to release normally which should take 15-20 minutes.
- Optionally put the saute mode again at LOW, add in garam masala, kasuri methi and bring the curry to your desired thickness if there is excess water.
- Serve hot with basmati rice or roti along with some cucumber and tomato salad or raitha.
Notes
No need to blanch tomatoes in hot water to make a puree, just blend them in a blender. You can also prefer to use finely chopped.
Make sure you toggle between Low to Normal modes while on Sautee mode of the instant pot. As we are not using more oil, we need to make sure the bottom is not burnt at all. If required use splashes of water.
always ensure you scrape the bottom while closing the lid as the instant pot will give you burnt message and stop cooking if the bottom is burnt.
For a more creamy texture, use onion paste instead of chopped onions.
also, you can use a few tablespoons of milk while simmering at the end if you want a rich texture.
You can use ghee/butter in place of oil but stick to the portions mentioned to protect your weight loss.
Can use canned beans as well and reduce the cooking time to 8 minutes.
If you haven’t soaked the beans overnight or for 5 hours, increase the cooking time to 55 minutes at least.
Green chillis can be skipped if you can’t handle much heat but since tomatoes are used this curry will not be very spicy.
Serve with basmati rice or jeera pulav or roti with plenty of salad or cucumber raitha.
- Category: Mains
- Method: Pressure Cook
- Cuisine: Indian
Keywords: rajma masala, kidney beans, vegan, gluten-free, instant pot, curry