• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Iamstufft

  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Email
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS

Rajma Masala (Instant Pot)

July 5, 2019

Rajma chawal. The name is synonymous with comfort for me! This for me is one of the few Indian dishes that I can eat on its own with rice. Rajma is red beans spiced with tomato, garlic, ginger, chillies and cinnamon. Traditional varieties of this dish call for a host of other spices, but I like to keep it simple. This recipe does not disappoint.

Growing up, this dish was not a staple. I learned to appreciate it from a family friend who would make this for her kids after they came home from school. Once I began getting more into exercise and working out, Rajma became a staple for me for its high protein content. I generally serve it with some sauteed spinach and garlic or any other sauteed or lightly blanched green vegetable.

I use dried red beans, soaked overnight and thicken. The sauce is made in the Instant pot itself on the saute setting. I then add the red beans and water and cook it for 30 minutes. The result is a thick, creamy rajma that would take hours on the stovetop. You could cook it for 20 minutes if short on time, but 30 gives a creamier texture.

Canned vs. Fresh/Dried

For this dish, I used dried beans because I feel they have the most flavor. I can also be confident they are preservative free. No bean dish thickens as well using canned beans. I do, however use canned fire roasted tomatoes. The reason for this is that I feel canned tomatoes allow for a richer gravy and they have a deeper umami flavor. If you do feel like adding fresh tomatoes instead, please feel free! About 2 vine ripened tomatoes, sautéed well would be a good substitute.

Print Recipe

Rajma Masala (Instant Pot)

Prep Time8 hours hrs
Cook Time35 minutes mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: beans

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cup dried red kidney beans
  • 1 can fire roasted tomatoes
  • 1/2 red onion chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic grated
  • 1/4 inch nub ginger grated
  • 3 Indian green chilies
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/2 stick cinnamon
  • 1 tsp sugar

Instructions

  • Rinse kidney beans and soak in water for at least 8 hours. Less soaking will require more cooking time.
  • Set the Instant Pot to the sauté setting. Add 2 tbsp mild oil like sunflower.
  • Add 1 tsp cumin seeds.
  • Once cumin seeds sputter, add grated ginger and garlic (equivalent of 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste), green chilies, cinnamon stick and onion
  • Sauté until the onions become translucent. Add tomatoes.
  • Allow the tomatoes to reduce for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp sugar. The sugar helps reduce the acidity if using canned tomatoes.
  • Add 1 tsp red chili powder or cayenne if additional heat is desired.
  • Add the beans and 3 cups of water. There should be enough water to cover the beans by at least 1 inch.
  • Close the instant pot and set to manual, and pressure cook for 30 minutes.
  • The beans should be perfectly done after this time, and will thicken upon standing, but if you would like, you can keep it on the saute setting for an additional 2 minutes to speeden up the thickening process.
  • Adjust salt to taste and garnish with cilantro.
  • Serve with Basmati or brown Basmati rice.

IF YOU LIKED THIS RECIPE, PLEASE BE SURE TO TAKE A PICTURE OF YOUR CREATIONS AND TAG @IAMSTUFFT ON INSTAGRAM!

Filed Under: High Protein Meals, Indian, One-pot meal, Vegan Tagged With: indian, indian food, indian recipes, Indian vegetarian, rajma, vegan, vegetarian

About Karunya

Previous Post: « Spicy Peanut Tofu Lettuce Wraps (Stovetop + Air Fryer!
Next Post: Lentil Idlis »

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe!

For the latest posts right to your inbox!

Follow me on Instagram!

Categories

  • Appetizers and Snacks
  • Asian
  • Beverages and Shakes
  • Breakfast and Brunch
  • Buddha Bowl
  • Curry
  • Dessert
  • High Protein Meals
  • Indian
  • Italian
  • Main course
  • Mexican
  • middle eastern
  • One-pot meal
  • Pasta
  • Recipe Roundup
  • Salads
  • Sandwiches
  • Sauces and Seasonings
  • Side Dish
  • Soup
  • Tex-mex
  • Thai
  • Uncategorized
  • Vegan

Secondary Sidebar

Footer

A food blog with delicious, healthy vegetarian recipes.

  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes

Subsribe for Updates!

  • Email
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS

Copyright © 2025 · Iamstufft.com