← Nouns Cooking · Indian

Ingredients

• 200 g dried red kidney beans (or 2 × 400 g tins, drained)
• 3 tbsp oil (or ghee if not vegan)
• 1 Bay leaves
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds
• 2 Onion, finely chopped
• 1 Green chilli, slit
• 3 cm piece Ginger, finely grated
• 4 cloves Garlic, finely grated
• 300 g Tomato, puréed
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• ¼ tsp Ground turmeric
• 2 tsp Ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp Garam masala
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1 tbsp Dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi), crushed
• 2 tbsp Double (heavy) cream (optional)
• 2 tbsp Coriander (cilantro), chopped

Method

1. Rinse the beans and soak them in plenty of cold water for 8 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse.
2. Put the beans in a large pot, cover with fresh water by 5 cm and boil hard for 10 min, then lower the heat and simmer, partly covered, for 50–60 min, until very soft and creamy inside. Keep the cooking water.
3. Heat the oil in a heavy pan over medium heat. Add the bay leaf and cumin seeds for 30 seconds, then the onions and chilli. Cook, stirring often, for 10–12 min, until deep golden.
4. Add the ginger and garlic for 1 minute, then the tomato purée. Cook for 8–10 min, until thick and the oil shines at the edges.
5. Lower the heat and stir in the chilli powder, turmeric, coriander and cumin for 1 minute. Add the beans with about 400 ml of their cooking water and the salt.
6. Simmer for 15–20 min, mashing a few beans against the side of the pan, until the gravy is thick and creamy. Stir in the garam masala, kasuri methi and cream, and finish with coriander. Serve with basmati rice.

Tips

• Raw kidney beans contain a toxin that only a hard boil destroys: always boil them vigorously for 10 minutes; never cook dried kidney beans in a slow cooker from raw.
• Tinned beans make this a 40-minute dish: rinse them and use water or stock in step 5. The cream is optional and makes it non-vegan.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Swasthi's Recipes Tea for Turmeric Cook With Manali