Herbaceous Kidney beans – Hariyali Rajma

It was a long and stressful day at work 😌 but no complaints 🙂 

Always count my blessings for still having a roof over my head and staying healthy. Lets all look forward to change for the better for the entire world…… 

My plans for dinner was something elaborate, but I was not in a mood to sweat it out. I had soaked kidney beans (rajma) over the weekend and stored it in the fridge.  Decided to throw something quick into the InstantPot. 

💡 ADVANCE PREP TIP: Soak 1 or 2 types of beans over the weekend, pack in glass containers and store in fridge. This is a simple advance prep tip which helps on an already stretched evening.

My love affair with the Instant Pot continues 😍 I practically sound like a broken record, but in these days of ‘gadgets galore’, this one is totally worth the investment. 

I look into fridge and found bunches of mint and cilantro a.k.a coriander leaves.

💡HERB TIP : Always have several herbs in your fridge. Herbs instantly add a flavor punch to mundane dishes and perks them up ! If you keep them wrapped in paper towels, they stay fresh in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. At least in the USA, not sure about other parts of the world ! 

Contemplated to make this a different style of kidney beans or rajma with a lot of herbs. So quickly made a paste predominantly of cilantro and mint. Started the Instant Pot, seasoned some cumin and caraway seeds. Another spice whose aroma goes a long way – caraway or ajwain helps with digestion and I like to add just a pinch to my curries. It adds a sweet flavor but very mild. Add the paste, add the beans and cook it for one whole hour. The result was a well cooked rajma in creamy curry. Topped it off with a scoop of sour cream… yogurt can also be used. This provides the tang for the dish since we are not using tomatoes. 

The dish looked very appealing with a pale green shade and the bright maroon rajma peeping out. I like to add a few pieces of potato to rajma to break the monotony, but this is optional.

Yummy kidney beans in a herbaceous curry !

Hariyali or green rajma !! 

Herbaceous Kidney Beans recipe

Ingredients –

• Kidney beans (soaked overnight) – 2 cups 
• Potato (diced cubes) – 1/2 cup
• Green bell pepper (capsicum) – 1/2 cup 
• Onions (finely chopped) – 2 tbsps 
• Sour cream or yogurt – 2 tbsps 

Grind to a paste – 

• Onion (chopped) – 1/2 cup 
• Green chillies – 4
• Ginger – 2 inch piece
• Garlic – 2 pods 
• Cilantro (packed) – 1 cup
• Mint leaves (packed) – 1/2 cup 

For Seasoning – 

• Oil – 2 tbsps 
• Cumin – 1 tsp 
• Caraway (ajwain seeds) – a pinch 

Procedure –

1. Start the Instant Pot in SAUTE mode 
2. Add oil, cumin and caraway seeds. Fry to golden brown
3. Add onions, fry for 2 mins
4. Add bell pepper and fry for another 2 mins
5. Next add the paste, beans, potatoes and season well with salt
6. Add 2 cups of water and cook with pressure for 1 hour 
7. Let pressure release naturally 
8. Open the pot, add a scoop of sour cream or yogurt and mix well. Check salt and adjust. 
9. Herbaceous Beans curry is ready ! 

Herbaceous Kidney beans recipe card

Kidney beans (soaked overnight) 	- 2 cups 
Potato (diced cubes) 			- 1/2 cup
Green bell pepper (capsicum) 		- 1/2 cup 
Onions (finely chopped) 		- 2 tbsps 
Sour cream or yogurt 			- 2 tbsps 

Grind to a paste - 
Onion (chopped) 			- 1/2 cup 
Green chillies 				- 4
Ginger 					- 2 inch piece
Garlic 					- 2 pods 
Cilantro (packed) 			- 1 cup
Mint leaves (packed) 			- 1/2 cup 

For Seasoning - 
Oil 				- 2 tbsps 
Cumin 				- 1 tsp 
Caraway (ajwain seeds) 		- a pinch