Kidney Beans (Rajma)

After my parents got married, one of the first dishes my mother cooked for my father and my grandparents was a Garbanzo bean curry (Chole). It was a very rustic preparation done in the style of banias from western Uttar Pradesh. To this day my father remembers the flavor of that dish. Unfortunately that recipe has been lost to the sands of time. The recipe she uses these days has evolved over the years, and while it is perfectly delicious, my father continues to pine for the flavor of the years gone by.

One of the key differences between how she cooked then and how she cooks now is her use of Onions. In Ayurveda, Onion and Garlic belong to a category of foods know as Tamasic. Foods whose consumption is considered harmful to the mind or body. They promote the darker tendencies of the soul, thus many people in india, particularly the Vaishnavs, avoid Tamasic foods, and instead eat a Sattvic diet.

Onions and garlic were a big no-no in my maternal grandmother's house. Her daughters -- my mother and her two sisters learnt to cook without using these ingredients. My paternal grandparents were more liberal in these matters and while onions were allowed, garlic was still not permitted. So, over the years my mother learnt to use onions in her cooking and adapted the recipes she had brought with her from her mother's house to suit her audience.

Onions and garlic are ingredients with pleasant but intense flavors that can easily dominate the other ingredients present in the dish. This can be a good or a bad thing. Sometimes they offers a way for hiding bad ingredients and sloppy cooking, at other times they can mask the delicate flavors you have worked so hard to create. A look at the indian cookbooks around today will give the impression that no dish is complete without onions and garlic. So, it was a very pleasant surprise when I came across Lord Krishna'a Cuisine:The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking by Yamuna Devi. Yamuna Devi was a disciple of and the personal chef for A. C. Bhaktivedanta, the founder of The International Society of Krishna Consciousness. He was a Vaishnav, a strict vegetarian who did not eat any tamasic foods. The book is devoted to vegetarian cuisine from northern india, with a particular emphasis on the food from eastern India (A C Bhaktivedanta was from West Bengal), and all the food is sattvic.

One of my favorite recipes from the book is for Rajma (or Kidney Beans). A very popular north indian staple, which is usually presented as a punjabi dish. A cuisine not known for its timidity in matters of fat, onions or garlic. The recipe below trades onions and garlic for the deep flavor and fragrance of Ajwain seeds. I usually eat my Rajma with some Chawal (rice), but it can equally well be eaten as a vegetarian Chilli with all the usual fixings.

Ingredients

For the beans

• 2 1/4 cups dried Kidney beans
• 6 cups Water
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric
• 1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
• 1 Tbsp Ghee

and the rest

• 2 1/2 Tbsp Coriander seeds
• 1 Tbsp Cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp Fennel seeds
• 1/3 tsp Ajwain seeds
• 2-3 Tbsp finely shredded fresh ginger root
• 1/2 cup Water
• 1 tsp Garam Masala
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 Tbsp Salt
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Lemon/Lime juice
• 5 Tbsp Oil
• 6 oz Paneer cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 4 medium ripe Tomatoes, diced.
• 1 Tbsp Ghee
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh Parsely or Cilantro

Method

• Wash the beans in a colander under running water, place them in a 3-4 quart/liter saucepan with 3 cups of cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to moderate, cover and boil for 2 more minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the beans to soak for 1 hour.
• Drain the beans, collecting the soaking water in a bowl. Add enough cold water to make 6 cups and put it, along with the beans and other ingredients for cooking them in a 3-4 quart saucepan. Bring to a boil and gently simmer over low heat for 1 1/2-3 hours or until the beans are soft and tender but not broken down.
• Mash 3/4 cup of the cooked beans to a puree. The cooking liquid should be quite thick. If not, ladle out the tender beans with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a bowl. Gently boil the sauce until it is reduced to about 1 1/2 cups. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Combine the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, and ajwain seeds in an electric coffee mill and reduce them to a powder. Transfer to a bowl.
• Place the ginger root and 1/2 cup of water in a blender, cover and blend on high speed until the mixture is a smooth liquid. Pour it into the powdered spices and add the garam masala, turmeric, salt and lemon or lime juice. The mixture should have the consistency of thin cream. Add water if its too thick.
• Heat 5 tablespoons og oil in a 3-4 quart heavy nonstick saucepan over moderate heat. When it is hot, drop in the paneer and stir fry or 5-7 minutes, carefully turning the cubes with a spatula, till they are browned on all sides. As the cubes brown, transfer them to a dish.
• Pour the spice paste into the oil and stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and cook for about 8 minutes more or until the tomatoes are reduced to a paste and the oil separates from the mixture.
• Add the whole cooked beans, mashed beans, fried cheese cubes and 1 1/2 cups of the cooking liquid, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes. Before serving, stir in 1 tablespoon of ghee/butter and the minced herb.