Rajma (Indian Kidney Bean Stew)

I hope you all had good holidays! I’m coming off of several very relaxing, restorative days and now I’m trying to get back into the rhythm of getting work done. I have to write a chapter of my dissertation in the next three weeks (no small feat) so that I can workshop it with our animal studies working group at the end of January. The deadline will be a good push to get going on the dissertation writing, I hope. But it does feel a bit daunting to finally begin writing this project that has been such a long time coming.

In addition to couch time, dozens of walks with the dogs, and Skyping with family on the east coast, we did a fair amount of pretty good eating over this mini-break. The cinnamon pull apart bread turned out even better than last year, I think. Perhaps because we were more restrained with eating it, which is a good thing. Last year, I remember feeling pretty sick from eating half a loaf in a day. This year, we interspersed eating it with real food, like some pasta and fresh grapefruits!  

One of my favorite Indian dishes has always been rajma, a tomato based kidney bean stew with spices. It’s surprisingly easy to make and it is flavorful, filling and makes a good main or side dish. I like to buy some vegan naan at the store and toast it up to eat alongside this dish, but you could also serve it with rice or on its own. You can, of course, cook dried beans and/or use fresh tomatoes if you prefer them to canned and have the time to cook dried beans.

The Recipe

Serves 2-3

2 cans kidney beans

1 can crushed tomatoes (fire-roasted are good in this)

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbls minced fresh ginger

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp curry powder (or more garam masala)

3/4 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)

generous grinds of black pepper

1/8 tsp red pepper (or to taste)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

juice of 1/2 lemon

Saute onion, garlic, and ginger in a splash of olive oil (or water) until slightly soft. Add all spices, salt and pepper. Let the spices bloom stirring frequently to prevent burning for 3-4 minutes. This phase should smell amazing! Add the tomatoes and beans and stir to combine. Simmer on low for 20 minutes or so. Taste frequently and adjust seasonings as needed. Before serving, stir in the cilantro and lemon juice and cook for 2-3 minutes more. Serve with some naan, rice, or alone.

What did you do for the break? Are you, perhaps, still enjoying a nice long break?