Kale Kidney beans (rajma) in InstantPot

Little did I know the variety of options I could explore when I started the series – ‘beans and greens’. Thus far I have discovered some beautiful marriages between – 

Adzuki and chards 

Mixed pulses and mustard greens n arugula

Black-eye peas and collards

Chickpea and beet greens

One more to add to the lovely repertoire – Kale kidney beans (rajma kale)  

Both kidney beans and kale are hardy in their own way; both need to cook well and the elongated cooking time ensures they breakdown to a smooth creamy consistency and also absorb the myriad of flavors. 

Today’s recipe experiments with a new ingredient I usually don’t use in Indian cooking. It makes me immensely happy that I have an ingredient to be used guiltlessly in the place of regular milk. More than anything else, (needless to add), it is a vegan ingredient. With no more suspense, the ingredient is almond milk. 

I use almond milk regularly for smoothies, but that is pretty much it. By adding it to the rajma during the cooking process, I got a smooth and creamy texture plus an enticing almond flavor. It definitely gave this rajma recipe a very different feel and taste. 

Soak the rajma overnight – this is a must since rajma takes a good bit of time to cook. The soaking definitely helps that process. 

Make the gravy, add the rajma and kale, add almond milk, and cook on pressure. Notice how I add the tomatoes at the final stage and serve; this process wilts the tomatoes just enough but does not cook it thoroughly. This provides a very different texture of tomatoes in the gravy and also keeps the color to a pale off-white. 

I used the InstantPot and the whole dish came together in 45 minutes – practically the time taken to cook the rajma. That’s it !

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