Rajma Chawal
I saw this dish on the TV recently as Scottish Sikh chef Tony Singh visited his Punjabi roots and had this delicious bowl of home made Rajma Chawal. He said that a key ingredient was mustard oil, so I wasn't going to cook without it.
The problem was that since the 1990s mustard oil has been banned in Europe as a food product due to comparatively high levels of erucic acid. All bottles sold in the UK have "For external use only" on the label despite being the type of oil you cook with.
Anyway, I decided that 3 tablespoons isn't going to do me any harm.
Ingredients
Serves 4
for the rajma masala
100g red kidney beans, soaked overnight
2 red onions, finley chopped
4 tomatoes - large, finely chopped
2.5cm piece of root ginger, grated
2.5cm piece of root ginger, grated
8 garlic cloves, grated
2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tbsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves
a pinch of asafoetida
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp amchur (dried mango powder)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp amchur (dried mango powder)
2 green chillies, (deseeded) finely chopped
3 tbsp mustard oil
salt, to taste
for the bouquet garni
2 bay leaves
Soak the red kidney beans in water overnight.
Drain and put into a large pan, filled with enough water. Bring the water to a boil.
Create the bouquet garni by placing all the ingredients into a small muslin bag. Then put it into the pan. Alternatively just add the spices to the boiling water without being in a bag. (You'll just have to pick them out later.)
Continue to boil the kidney beans for about 45 minutes until they are just soft but not too mushy as they have another 15 minutes of cooking to go before serving.
Drain the beans, keeping the cooking water in a separate bowl. Remove the bouquet garni (or loose spices)
In a large frying pan on a high temperature heat the mustard oil. When it hot add add a pinch of asofedita and the cumin seeds. Half a minute later, when the seeds begin to sizzle turn the heat down to medium and add the onion, green chilli, ginger and garlic. Fry until the onion softens.
Add red chilli powder, turmeric, ground coriander and stir in well. A minute or two later add the chopped tomatoes and stir. Cover the pan with a lid and slowly cook until the tomatoes have broken down into a sauce. If you prefer a smoother gravy briefly remove from the heat briefly and blend in a food processor before returning it to the pan.
Add the kidney beans plus enough of the cooking water make quite a runny sauce. Bring to the boil then turn the heat down, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add fenugreek leaves, (slightly crushed), amchur (mango powder), cumin powder, garam masala and mix in thoroughly. Taste and season with salt. Simmer for a further 5 minutes or more until the gravy thickens but is still fluid. Add more water if necessary.
Serve immediately with boiled plain rice.
3 tbsp mustard oil
salt, to taste
for the bouquet garni
2 bay leaves
4 cloves
2.5cm cinnamon
3 green cardamoms
5 whole black peppercorns
for the chawal
2.5cm cinnamon
3 green cardamoms
5 whole black peppercorns
for the chawal
350g basmati rice
MethodSoak the red kidney beans in water overnight.
Drain and put into a large pan, filled with enough water. Bring the water to a boil.
Create the bouquet garni by placing all the ingredients into a small muslin bag. Then put it into the pan. Alternatively just add the spices to the boiling water without being in a bag. (You'll just have to pick them out later.)
Continue to boil the kidney beans for about 45 minutes until they are just soft but not too mushy as they have another 15 minutes of cooking to go before serving.
Drain the beans, keeping the cooking water in a separate bowl. Remove the bouquet garni (or loose spices)
In a large frying pan on a high temperature heat the mustard oil. When it hot add add a pinch of asofedita and the cumin seeds. Half a minute later, when the seeds begin to sizzle turn the heat down to medium and add the onion, green chilli, ginger and garlic. Fry until the onion softens.
Add red chilli powder, turmeric, ground coriander and stir in well. A minute or two later add the chopped tomatoes and stir. Cover the pan with a lid and slowly cook until the tomatoes have broken down into a sauce. If you prefer a smoother gravy briefly remove from the heat briefly and blend in a food processor before returning it to the pan.
Add the kidney beans plus enough of the cooking water make quite a runny sauce. Bring to the boil then turn the heat down, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add fenugreek leaves, (slightly crushed), amchur (mango powder), cumin powder, garam masala and mix in thoroughly. Taste and season with salt. Simmer for a further 5 minutes or more until the gravy thickens but is still fluid. Add more water if necessary.
Serve immediately with boiled plain rice.
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