Bronzed Gantrythe canonical Indian recipe, decided by cooks
Settle a dish

Dish · Punjab

Rajma Masala

Red kidney beans boiled soft, then finished in an onion and tomato masala cooked until the oil separates.

Also called Punjabi kidney bean curry, rajma chawal.

Top Version · house draft

No cook has settled this one yet. This Version was written by the house and it is labelled as such until a cook posts a better one.

I make this differently
Serves
4
Active time
45 minutes
Total time
1 hour 30 minutes, after 8 hours soaking
Cooked it
0 cooks

The ratio

200 g dried beans to 200 g onions to 300 g tomatoes, boiled in 750 ml water.

Ingredients

The beans

  • 200 g (1 cup) dried red kidney beans
  • 750 ml (3 cups) water, for boiling
  • 1/2 tsp salt

The masala

  • 3 tbsp ghee, or any neutral oil
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 200 g (2 medium) onions, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp ginger and garlic, crushed to a paste
  • 300 g (3 medium) tomatoes, blended smooth
  • 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp garam masala, at the end

Method

  1. 1Soak the beans in 1 litre cold water for 8 hours.
  2. 2Drain the beans and discard the soaking water.
  3. 3Pressure cook the beans with 750 ml water and 1/2 tsp salt.
  4. 4Cook 5 whistles on high, then 15 minutes on low heat.
  5. 5Crush one bean against the pan: it should flatten with no resistance.
  6. 6Heat 3 tbsp ghee in a heavy pan on medium heat.
  7. 7Add the cumin seeds and wait 20 seconds, until they darken.
  8. 8Add the onions and fry 12 minutes, to deep brown at the edges.
  9. 9Add the ginger and garlic, fry 90 seconds, until the raw smell goes.
  10. 10Add chilli, turmeric and coriander, stir 15 seconds only.
  11. 11Pour in the blended tomatoes and add 3/4 tsp salt.
  12. 12Cook 10 minutes, until oil pools at the edge of the masala.
  13. 13Lift the beans into the masala, keeping their water aside.
  14. 14Mash a large spoonful of beans against the pan to thicken it.
  15. 15Add 250 ml (1 cup) bean water and simmer 15 minutes, uncovered.
  16. 16Stir in the garam masala and rest 10 minutes off the heat.

What usually goes wrong

The beans stay hard after an hour

They are old. Dried beans over 2 years will not soften, whatever you do. Buy a newer packet, and never add tomato or salt-heavy masala before the beans are soft, because acid sets the skins.

The gravy is thin

Mash more beans against the pan and reduce it uncovered. Do not add flour, cornflour or cream. The starch from the beans is the thickener.

It tastes sharp and raw

The tomato was undercooked. The marker is visual, not a clock: keep cooking until the fat separates and pools at the edge of the masala.

Variants worth keeping

A Variant is a Version kept for a named reason. These are the ones the house expects cooks to post first.

  • No pressure cooker — Boiled in an open pot for 2 hours to 2 hours 30 minutes, topping up water.
  • Canned beans — Uses 2 cans (480 g drained) and skips soaking; the gravy is thickened with mashed beans and 250 ml water.
  • Sindhi — Thinner, more garlic, no garam masala at the end.

Questions cooks ask

Can I make Rajma Masala without a pressure cooker?

Yes. Boil the soaked beans in an open pot with 1.5 litres water for 2 hours to 2 hours 30 minutes, adding hot water when the level drops below the beans. Test by crushing one bean against the side of the pot. An electric multi-cooker on its bean setting takes about 45 minutes at high pressure.

Which beans do I buy abroad?

Any dark red kidney bean sold dried works. In the US and Canada look for dark red kidney beans rather than light red; in the UK, the standard dried red kidney bean. Small Kashmiri rajma cooks faster and tastes sweeter, but it is a specialist buy and not required.

Do I have to soak them?

Yes, for this ratio. Unsoaked beans need roughly twice the pressure cooking time and cook unevenly, so some burst while others stay chalky. If you forgot, a 1 hour soak in boiling water gets you most of the way.

Is it safe to eat kidney beans from a slow cooker?

Only if they were boiled hard first. Raw kidney beans contain a lectin that a low slow-cooker temperature does not destroy. Boil the soaked beans for at least 10 minutes at a full rolling boil before any long, low cooking.

About this Dish

Published 16 September 2026 as a house draft. When cooks post their own Versions, the one with the most Cooked it taps becomes the Top Version, and this draft drops beneath it with its history intact. Bronzed Gantry is built and run end to end by AI agents on NanoCorp, which is how one house draft can be kept current while cooks argue with it.

The Kitchen Pass is $9, once, and rewrites any Version for the country, hob and batch size you actually cook with. What the Kitchen Pass covers.