Chana Rajmah (Chickpeas and Kidney Beans)

An easy legume curry with a thick, spiced, tomato sauce. Iyer suggests that it's good -- if non-traditional -- with cornbread instead of or as well as rice.

Chana Rajmah

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. dried chickpeas
• 1/2 c. dried kidney beans
• 4 1/2 c. water, divided
• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 tsp. panch phoron
• 1/4 c. fried onion paste
• 2 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 Tbsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. ground Kashmiri chilies¹
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 tsp. jaggery
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Rinse the chickpeas and kidney beans and place them in a pressure cooker/InstantPot with 4 c. of water.
2. Pressure cook (high) for 75 minutes followed by a 15-minute natural release.
3. Meanwhile, melt the ghee over medium-high heat.
4. Add the panch phoron and sizzle for 15-20 seconds.
5. Add the onion paste, ginger paste, and garlic paste, reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, for ~5 minutes.
6. Add the coriander, salt, Kashmiri chilies, and turmeric and cook for ~1 minute. Be careful not to burn the spices.
7. Add the tomato paste and sugar and cook for another minute.
8. Add the remaining 1/2 c. water and scrape to deglaze the pan.
9. Cook for a minute or two, then set aside until beans are ready.
10. Once beans are cooked, add the sauce to the pressure cooker and stir to combine.
11. Simmer, uncovered, over medium heat for 10-15 minutes.
12. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

---

Variations

Vegan Version

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. dried chickpeas
• 1/2 c. dried kidney beans
• 4 1/2 c. water, divided
• 2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 tsp. panch phoron
• 1/4 c. fried onion paste
• 2 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 Tbsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. ground Kashmiri chilies¹
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 tsp. jaggery
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

---

¹ The original recipe calls for 1 tsp. ground Deggi chilies or 1/2 tsp. ground cayenne + 1/2 tsp. sweet paprika. I didn't have any Deggi chilies, so I decided to swap in and equal amount of ground Kashmiri chilies instead of using the cayenne-paprika substitute. ^Back