Curries are a staple dish in the Indian kitchen, be it curries made of lentils or meat it is everybody's favorite because they are versatile, easy to make, contain a huge amount of nutritional benefits and the best part they are tasty, more like "finger licking good".

Rajma also called as Kidney beans are a good source of several vitamins and minerals, such as molybdenum, iron, copper, manganese, potassium, vitamin K1, and phosphorus.

Rajma curry is cooked in various parts of India with the method of cooking varying from region to region, but this curry finds its roots in the Rajasthani (north west part of India) household. Served with flattened bread or rice this dish is a delight to one's taste buds.

Step 1: Ingredients

200 grams Rajma (soaked overnight)
1 cup water
1 cup tomato puree (5-6 medium size tomatoes)
1/2 cup onion puree
6-8 cloves garlic
1/2 inch ginger
2-3 red chili
4 pieces of fresh coconut
1/2 tbsp coriander powder
1 tbsp garam masala
1/2 tbsp cumin powder
Salt (as much as required)
Coriander leaves (for garnish)
1/2 tbsp turmeric
2 tbsp oil/ghee
2 dry bay leaves
4 cloves
1 cinnamon stick (2 inches)

Step 2: Soaking

Take the required quantity of Rajma and let them soak in water overnight.
Soaking is an integral part of this dish. If this step is avoided then it would take very long time to cook the beans and the texture would not be soft and smooth.
So soak the beans for a good amount of time and don't throw away the water, as this water added back into the curry would bring out its natural flavor.

Step 3: Boiling

After you have let the Rajma soak overnight, now you need to boil it.
I would recommend using a pressure cooker to boil it.
You should boil it in medium flame and until the Rajma is soft, do not throw away the excess water as it will be used in the later steps.

Step 4: Tomato Puree

First, we need to make a tomato puree, to do this we need to

First, wash and chop tomatoes.
After that, chop onions and add it to blender.
Addred chilies andgrated coconut pieces to the blender.
Addgarlic cloves and chopped coriander leaves.
Blend it into a puree (liquid paste).

Step 5: Onion Puree

Second, we need to make an Onion puree, to do this we need to

Add peeled and choppedgarlic cloves, ginger and onion.
1 tsp oil.
1/2 tbsp water.

Step 6: Spice It Up

In a pressure cooker on medium flame.
Add oil and allow to heat.
Initially, add some Cardamom and saute it for a minute.
Add chopped Onions and saute it until the onions turn light golden brown.
Turn down the heat and add 2 dry bay leaves, 4 cloves, 1 cinnamon stick and allow the flavors of the spice to infuse into the oil.
Add1tsp turmeric, 2tsp chili powder, 1tsp salt.
Mix them well.
Avoid burning the spice as then the curry would taste bitter which is not all that pleasant to those taste buds.

** Note quantity of water and spices depending on the amount of Rajma you add for cooking.

Step 7: Rajma Goes In

Turn down the flame.
Add the tomato puree and onion puree.
Add 500ml of water (as per requirement).
Boil the mixture for 5-6 minutes.
Add the boiled Rajma along with the water and stir.
Cook well for 10-15 minutes.
Once the splattering stops turn the flame on high and allow the mixture to reduce.
Stir every 30 sec to avoid burning of the mixture.
After the mixture has considerably reduced in quantity and turned brown in color it's time to spice up the curry.

Step 8: Cooking

Let the gravy get cooked well and then close the pressure cooker and wait for 5 minutes with the flame on high.
After the gravy is cooked for a sufficient time, it's time add salt, 2 tbsps of salt would be enough for this curry but if you can always increase or decrease ingredient's quantity based on your needs.