Kashmiri Rajma Masala

Rajma chawal for Indians is comfort food at its best. This is one of my go to recipes to cook Rajma and I was lucky enough to get the recipe when we visited Kashmir years back. Staying at a quaint little B&B with the stunning view of Dal lake and shikaras (taxi boats) in Srinagar; I have many fond memories of that trip; one of them being the food we were served for the week long holiday. Every bit homemade, traditional and so very delicious. One of the evenings yearning for something simple the lady who owned the place rustled up this red kidney bean curry with rice and was kind enough to give the recipe to my mother as well. I live in the UK now and a lot of my cooking and the way I view Indian food has evolved so the recipe has had a few changes over the years! I cook this recipe for a mid week meal so when time pressed skip soaking the red kidney beans and opt for tinned variety which is so much quicker and equally delicious. The classic flavours of ginger, asafoetida and fennel are very much part of north Indian cooking and feature in a few recipes in my cookbook and on my website too. Powdered ginger has a heat and warmth which is very different to the fresh variety. With so much depth, smoky flavour and warmth in this curry I have used chilli powder sparingly although you can increase the quantities slightly if you prefer it spicy.

Great

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet