Slow-Cooker Raajma (Kidney Beans Curry)

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My husband V and I have been quite busy as of late:  we are busy at work, we are planning a few vacations for the summer, and we are looking for a new place to live as our apartment lease is up soon.  In the midst of our daily hustle and bustle, it can be difficult to prepare home-cooked meals.  Whenever I feel that my days are overwhelmingly busy, I turn to my favorite kitchen appliance:  the slow-cooker.

My mom provided me with a recipe for making raajma, a curry made with red kidney beans, which is made on a stove and takes roughly 30 minutes to make.  Not that 30 minutes is a lot of time, but the idea of dumping the ingredients into the slow-cooker and not having to worry about it was much more appealing.  I often use my slow-cooker to make chili, and it turns out amazing because the ingredients have time to blend together and thicken.

Raajma has always been one of my favorite dishes.  It is so comforting, whether you are eating it with bread, rice, quinoa, or by itself.  I have found that many cultures have some variation of "beans and rice" as a comfort food.

I added a photo of just the spices and herbs because it was hard to see them amongst all the ingredients needed.  As a note, I also use a touch of heavy cream at the very end, but this is by no means a necessary ingredient!

First, if you are using dry kidney beans (which I recommend because there are no preservatives and they are cheaper!), soak the beans in water for 4 to 6 hours.  Once they have soaked, discard the soaking water and add the beans to a pot and cover with new water.  Bring the water to a boil and let the beans boil for 10 minutes; then, drain the water from the beans.  Alternatively, you can used boxed or canned kidney beans.  Whichever method you use, add the kidney beans to the slow-cooker.

While the kidney beans are boiling, chop up the onion, garlic, green chili peppers, and tomatoes, and grate the ginger.

This next part is the only real cooking involved for this recipe, and there is an important reason why.  First, we want to cook the spices and herbs in warm oil so that we release the flavors and oils within the spices and herbs themselves.  Second, it is important to cook onions before adding them to any slow-cooker recipe to prevent them from tasting metallic.

Heat the oil in a saute pan and add the bay leaves once it is warm.  The bay leaves will brown relatively quickly, in a few minutes.  Make sure you watch them so they don't burn!

Next, add the onions until they become soft and translucent--roughly 1 to 2 minutes.  Once the onions have softened, add the garlic and green chili peppers and cook for another minute.  Lastly, add the ginger and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Next we add the spices:  turmeric, coriander, cumin, and salt.

Mix all the spices around until the onion mixture is well combined with the spices and herbs.  Warning:  at this point your kitchen will smell amazing and you will be salivating!

From here on out it is all easy and smooth sailing!  Add the onion mixture to the slow-cooker, followed by the chopped tomato and tomato sauce.  Stir everything to combine.

Turn the slow-cooker on high for 3 to 4 hours.  Try not to remove the lid until you are really ready to check the consistency of the beans, because it will take longer for the raajma to cook if you keep taking the lid off.

If the raajma appears too thick for your liking, add some water.  I added 1/2 a cup of water 3.5 hours into cooking the raajma.  I cooked it for a total of 4 hours.  When I added the water, I also added the garam masala and red chili powder.

Let the raajma cook in the slow-cooker for another 15 to 30 minutes.  At this point you can add a touch of heavy cream or plain yogurt to thicken the curry further and to help mellow out the flavor a bit.  I would not recommend greek yogurt because it is too thick.  This is also a completely optional step.

Taste the final product and add more salt to taste if necessary!  Serve with quinoa and a spoon of plain yogurt for a comforting, filling, healthy, and nutritious meal!

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Ingredients (serves 2):

• 1 cup dry red kidney beans, or 2 cups canned or boxed red kidney beans
• 1 small red onion, enough for 1 cup chopped 
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 a fingerhot green chili pepper
• 1 small piece of ginger, enough for 1 tbsp grated
• 2 Roma tomatoes, enough for 1/2 cup chopped
• 1 cup boxed or canned chopped tomato (I recommend Pomi brand!)
• 1 1/2 tsps cooking oil
• 3 small bay leaves
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 1/4 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp cumin powder
• 1 1/2 tsp salt (plus more to taste)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 tsp red chili powder
• Optional:  1 tsp heavy cream or 2 tsps plain yogurt

Recipe:

1. If using dry kidney beans, soak the beans in water for 4 to 6 hours. Discard the soaking water and add the soaked beans to a pot with fresh water.  Bring the water to a boil for 10 minutes, then drain the water from the beans and add to the slow-cooker.
2. If using canned or boxed beans, rinse the beans in water and add to the slow-cooker.
3. Chop the onion, garlic cloves, green chili pepper, and tomatoes.  Grate the ginger.
4. Add the oil to a saute pan.  Once warmed, add the bay leaves to the oil and watch as they brown.
5. Once the bay leaves have browned, add the chopped onion and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until translucent and soft.
6. Add the garlic and green chili pepper and cook for 1 minute.
7. Add the ginger and cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute.
8. Add the turmeric, coriander, cumin and salt.  Stir to combine.
9. Add the onion and spice mixture to the slow-cooker with the beans.
10. Add the freshly chopped Roma tomatoes and boxed chopped tomatoes to the slow-cooker.
11. Turn the slow-cooker on high for 3 to 4 hours, checking the texture of the beans at the 3-hour mark.
12. Once the beans are almost perfectly softened, add the water, garam masala and red chili powder, as well as more salt to taste (roughly at the 3-and-1/2-hour mark).
13. After another 15 to 30 minutes, you may add the heavy cream or plain yogurt if you want.
14. Serve with quinoa and a spoon of plain yogurt!

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