Kashmiri Rajma

I have a Kashmiri friend here and was invited for a lovely meal at her place some time back. This was perhaps the first time I was tasting authentic Kashmiri food.
My introduction to anything Kashmiri was some restaurant's version of Kashmiri pulao which was sweet, had raisins and cashew nuts and sugar with rice, which was a big no-no for me, at least at that point in time. Now I have slowly taken to having something sweet as part of a main course.



She had invited some of us for lunch and made rajma, baingan, aloo dum, paneer in a white gravy and basmati rice. It was a delicious meal that wasn't spicy but had a wonderful flavour and everything was so aromatic without being overpowering

I absolutely loved her version of pressure cooker baingan sabji, which I intend making soon, but the simplest and tastiest dish that day was the Rajma, teamed with the very fragrant basmati rice
This, unlike the usual restaurant / Punjabi style rajma. It has some very different spices and the regular chole masala / rajma masala / garam masala can be easily avoided, and won't be missed at all

I called her for the recipe last week and made this. The kitchen was so fragrant with the whole spices added in the rajma and the basmati rice cooking away in my rice cooker. Add a little salt to the basmati rice while cooking it. When its done, allow it to cool slightly and then fluff it up with a fork, so you don't break any of the rice

Give this a try, chances are you may never go back to the other ways of making this

Kashmiri Rajma

What you need -

2 cups kashmiri rajma beans
1 heaped tsp saunf powder (about 1 tbsp of saunf powdered as fine as possible)
dry ginger powder (saunth)
1 stick cinnamon
1 black cardamom / badi elaichi (peeled opened slightly at the top)
2 green cardamom pods / choti elaichi powdered
star anise (optional)
1/2" piece ginger
3-4 garlic cloves
1 large onion
2 tomatoes
1 tsp chilli powder
a pinch of hing
1/2 tsp rajma masala / chole masala / garam masala (optional)
salt to taste

What you do with it -

Soak rajma in about 4 cups water and keep overnight
Drain the water, rinse in fresh water and then add 4 cups of water to the rajma
Add saunf powder, badi elaichi, choti elaichi powder, cinnamon stick and the star anise and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles
Chop the ginger, garlic, onions and tomatoes
Grind the ginger, garlic and onions to a smooth paste
Grind the tomatoes to a smooth paste (You can peel the skin and then grind the tomatoes)
In a pan, heat oil and add hing and red chilli powder in the oil
Add the ginger-garlic-onion paste and saute till the raw smell goes away
Add the tomato puree and stir well
Grind / mash about 2-3 tbsp cooked rajma and add it along with one cup of the water that the rajma was cooked in
Add the cooked rajma
Depending on the quality of the rajma beans, it may take longer to cook
Adjust the salt and add garam masala / rajma masala, if necessary
In case the rajma hasn't cooked, transfer everything to a pressure cooker and cook for 1-2 more whistles
If the rajma is cooked, add it to the pan and cover and allow the masala to thicken up
Serve hot with basmati rice