Rajma

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Rajma

 

This hearty North Indian dish hails from mountainous Kashmir. It's similiar

in nature to red beans, and can be prepared

quickly and cheaply.

 

This dish is generally served over rice, so I recommend that as you start

making this dish, you also start some rice in the

rice cooker. That way, you'll have a hearty plate of rajma & rice ready in

about 15 minutes.

 

Ingredients

 

1 can (16 oz) of Progresso or Goya Black Beans

1 can (16 oz) stewed tomato pieces or Ro-Tel

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon hing (asafoetida)

1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder

vegetable oil

 

Preparation

 

Use a medium saucepan, and coat the bottom in a thin layer of vegetable

oil. Put on medium-high heat, and add hing

powder. Stir in the powder to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the

pan.

 

Now add the salt, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and cayenne pepper. Stir

around to prevent burning. This step is done to

bring out the flavor of the spices. Many Indian spices (and probably spices

in general) are fat-soluble, so this " roasting "

process draws their flavor into the oil and thereby spreads it evenly in

the dish.

 

Once the mustard seeds start popping vigorously, it's time to add half of

the tomatoes. If you're feeling lazy, you can add all

of the tomatoes at once. The tomatoes will be cooked down into a more

paste-like substance, and saving half of them for

later is just used to enhance texture.

 

Cover the pot and let it cook for about 3 to 5 minutes. At this point, add

the beans and the rest of the tomatoes. There is no

need to drain or rinse the beans if you use Progresso or Goya, since

there's not much liquid involved. If you have a very

" wet " can of beans, you might want to get rid of some of the liquid.

 

Stir for a while, and let it cook for another 10 minutes or until the beans

start breaking apart slightly. At this point, the dish

is done and can be served over rice. This dish also refrigerates well, so

extra portions can be made once and eaten later.

 

Variations

 

Other things can be added to this dish, such as jalapeno slices, bell

peppers, carrots, cauliflower, etc. Feel free to

experiment, because this dish is hard to ruin.

 

 

 

Warning

 

When picking black beans (or red beans), try to find some with as little

" extra " as possible. The Goya and Progresso beans

are meant to be used as ingredients in other dishes, and, as such, have

only water and salt. Check the label to be sure, since

I have seen cans containing a " prepared " bean dish with a lot of extra

stuff in it.