Rajma thongba (Rajma curry)

Rajma thongba

Friday being the designated ‘vegetarian day’ for my husband, i am always in a quandary about the menu on Fridays. i must be horrible at cooking vegetarian food going by the way my husband offers to eat Maggi noodles on Fridays with a resigned look!

Normally, i cook dal because i am oh-so lazy and a bad, bad wife! This friday, i decided to be nice and rustle up something nice.

i learned this recipe from my father-in-law who cooks this dish really well. It tastes even better with fresh rajma (red kidney) beans that you can get in Manipur this time of the year.

Rajma thongba

Things you need:

1 cup of rajma

1 medium onion -finely chopped

2-3 cloves of garlic

2 medium tomatoes – finely chopped

1 medium potato – cubed

1 teaspoon coriander powder

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon red chilli powder

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

Salt to taste

Oil

The method

If you are using dried rajma beans, then soak them overnight. Pressure cook with about one cup of water along with the cubed potato for two whistles.

In a wok, heat the oil till hot. Add the cumin seeds and when they start spluttering, add the chopped onion and garlic. Fry till limp. Add the chopped tomatoes and fry till mushy. Add the turmeric, coriander and chilly powder and fry for another minute or so. Pour/add/dump (whatever) the cooked rajma beans. Season with salt and simmer till you get the required consistency.  You could mash some of the beans and potato to make the gravy creamier.

Serve with rice. We had this with pita bread (recipe coming) and it was delicious!