An easy Instant Pot recipe for a traditional Indian red kidney beans curry, called Rajma. This popular vegan and gluten-free comfort food can be made with dry or canned beans and is best enjoyed with steamed basmati rice (Rajma Chawal).
This recipe always brings back sweet childhood memories for me. Piping hot Rajma served over steamed basmati rice used to be at the top of my comfort foods list. And mom would remember to make this for lunch on my birthday.... every year 🙂
Delicious Vegan & Gluten-Free Recipe
Beans are a great source of plant-based protein and fiber. They are nutritious, inexpensive and widely available, which is why they are a staple food in so many cultures around the world. Another huge plus is that they are naturally vegan and gluten-free.
This Rajma Masala recipe pairs beautifully with steamed basmati rice, which makes this one tasty vegan and gluten-free meal.
Easy One-Pot Meal - Great for Weeknights
My mom makes Rajma in a 2-step process. She pressure cooks the soaked beans with salt and turmeric. Simultaneously, she prepares an onion-tomato gravy in another pan and seasons it with ground Indian spices. Then, she simmers the cooked beans with this gravy for a few minutes.
I LOVE mom's recipe, but I wanted to simplify it and make it a one-step process. So, I tweaked it a bit and ended up with this recipe, in which I cook the beans in the gravy, all in the same pot.
I also ended up cooking rice in the same pot as the beans, using the pot-in-pot method, which made this a perfect weeknight dinner option!
Looking for more recipes like this, checkout Top 10 Indian Vegetarian recipes for your Instant Pot
How to Make Rajma in an Instant Pot
If using dry kidney beans, rinse and soak them overnight or 8 hours. Drain them before using. If using canned beans, rinse them till water runs clear and drain them.
Chop onions and grate or puree ginger and garlic. I pulse ginger and garlic 10-12 times in a mini food processor, add onion chunks and pulse another 10 times, till the onions gets finely chopped. Puree tomatoes or chop them finely if using fresh.
- Turn the Instant Pot on SAUTE mode, adjust to more. Wait till the display reads 'hot'. Add oil or ghee and cumin seeds. (pic 1)
- When the cumin seeds begin to sizzle (a few seconds), add chopped onions, green chilies and crushed ginger and garlic. Saute for 3-5 minutes, till onions soften. (pic 2, 3 & 4)
- Add crushed tomatoes, salt, turmeric, garam masala, cumin, coriander, cayenne and paprika. Saute for 1 minute. (pic 5)
- Add drained and rinsed kidney beans to the pot. Add fresh water and stir. (pic 6)
- Close the lid and set the valve to sealing position. Cook on Bean/Chili or Pressure Cook mode for 30 minutes. (pic 7). If using canned kidney beans, reduce this time to 5 minutes followed by a natural pressure release.
- After the cooking time is done, wait for the pressure to release naturally (NPR). (pic 8)
- Open the lid after the pin drops and garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve warm with white or brown basmati rice.
Pro-Tip for a Creamy and Thick Curry
I learnt this simple trick from my mother-in-law. To thicken the consistency of the gravy, I mash a ladle-full of beans with a fork and add them back to the curry. This not only thickens the curry, but also makes it more creamy in texture.
Rajma Chawal - One Pot Beans and Rice using Pot-in-Pot Method (PIP)
In northern India, the pairing of beans and rice is called Rajma Chawal, where Rajma refers to any variety of kidney beans, and, Chawal means rice in Hindi.
You can cook this beans curry along with rice, using the Pot-in-Pot technique, all in the same pot. There are two possible combinations for this:
- Dried soaked Kidney Beans Curry with Brown basmati rice, or
- Canned kidney beans with White basmati rice.
The texture of the brown rice turns out a bit more soft when cooked for 30 mins, but I feel that goes really well with the curry.
How to Make Rajma Chawal in an Instant Pot- Pot-in-Pot Method
- Assemble the beans curry in the main cooking pot as per recipe instructions.
- Assemble rice, water, salt and oil in any oven safe cooking bowl that fits easily in the Instant Pot.
- Place a trivet in the cooking pot and place the rice bowl (rice+water+salt) on top of that.
- Close the lid and pressure cook for:
- 30 mins for soaked dried kidney beans + Brown Basmati rice, (Please note: The texture of rice will be softer than usual due to the extra few minutes of cooking time)
- 6 mins for canned kidney beans + White Basmati rice.
Make a Meal: What To Serve with Rajma
- Cumin Rice, or Brown basmati rice
- Aloo Gobi (Indian spiced cauliflower and potatoes), or Green Beans and Carrot
- Cucumber Raita or Boondi Raita
How to Make Rajma with Unsoaked Beans
If you forgot to soak the beans or want to skip the overnight soaking process, you can still enjoy this curry by modifying the cooking time. Here's how:
- Simply rinse and drain the dried beans.
- Add them in the recipe as per instructions and set a cooking time of 55 mins on bean/Chili or Pressure Cook mode.
- Add an extra cup of water as the dried beans will soak up more water to cook.
30-Minute Meal: Using Canned Beans in This Recipe
For weeknights, using canned red kidney beans and crushed tomatoes in the same recipe, makes this comfort meal possible in 30 minutes.
Simply rinse and drain the canned beans and add to the pot. Follow the remaining directions and set a 6 minute pressure cooking time on Manual/Pressure cook mode. Cook white basmati or jasmine rice PIP in the same time and enjoy a complete meal!
Different Variety of Dried Beans
Red kidney beans come in a few different varieties. They vary in size, which results in different pressure cooking times.
This recipe uses a medium size kidney bean variety, in which the beans are typically around ¼ inch long. If using the larger variety of kidney beans, increase the pressure cooking time to 40 mins.
Recipe Tips for the Ultimate Punjabi-Style Rajma
- Dry Beans: I prefer to use soaked dry Rajma in this recipe. It makes for the tastiest curry with beans that are creamy on the inside. Dried soaked beans are also relatively easy to digest.
- Unsoaked Beans: If using unsoaked beans, simply rinse and drain dried beans and set a cooking time of 55-60 mins on bean/Chili or Pressure Cook mode. Add an extra cup of water as the dried beans will soak up more water to cook.
- Canned Beans: If short on time, this recipe can be made in less than 30 minutes using canned Red Kidney beans instead. Simply rinse and drain them and add following recipe directions.
- Varying Cook times: The actual cook time varies depending on the size and variety of kidney beans used. For larger varieties (around ¼ inch), increase pressure-cooking time to 40 minutes.
- Creamy Thick 'Punjabi-style' Curry: To thicken the consistency of the gravy, I mash a ladle-full of beans with a fork and add them back to the curry.
- Pot-in-Pot Meal: If using canned kidney beans, you can cook white basmati rice with it using the PIP method. Similarly, you can cook brown rice along with dried soaked beans, however, the texture of rice will be softer than usual due to the extra few minutes of cooking time.
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Rajma in Instant Pot (Kidney Beans Curry)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Red Kidney Beans Dry (Rajma) soaked overnight, OR, 2 Cans Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 tablespoon Light Olive Oil or Ghee
- 1 teaspoon Cumin Seed
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste ½ inch ginger + 3 cloves garlic
- 2 green chillies whole or de-seeded (Optional)
- 2 medium tomatoes pureed, OR, 1 cup Crushed Tomatoes
- 1.5 cups water
Spices
- 1 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala (can add more after cooking if needed)
- 2 teaspoons Ground Coriander
- 1 teaspoon Roasted Ground Cumin (or regular cumin powder)
- ½ tsp Kashmiri Red Chili Powder (or Paprika for mild flavor)
Garnish
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Prep: If using dry kidney beans, rinse and soak them overnight. Drain them before use. Chop onions and crush ginger-garlic. You can do that by pulsing them together in a mini food processor. Puree tomatoes if using fresh.
- Turn the instant pot on SAUTE mode, adjust to more. When the display reads 'hot add oil or ghee and cumin seeds.
- When the cumin seeds begin to sizzle (a few seconds), add chopped onions, green chilies and crushed ginger-garlic. Saute for 3-5 minutes, till onions soften.
- Add crushed tomatoes, salt, turmeric, garam masala, cumin, coriander, cayenne and paprika. Saute for 1 minute.
- Add drained and rinsed kidney beans to the pot. Add fresh water and stir.
- Close the lid and set the valve to sealing position. Cook on Bean/Chili or Pressure Cook mode for 30 minutes.
- After the cooking time is done, wait for the pressure to release naturally (NPR). Open the lid after the pin drops and garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve warm with white or brown basmati rice.
Video
Notes
Recipe Tips for the Ultimate Punjabi-Style Rajma:
- Dry Beans: I prefer to use soaked dry Rajma in this recipe. It makes for the tastiest curry with beans that are creamy on the inside. Dried soaked beans are also relatively easy to digest.
- Unsoaked Beans: If using unsoaked beans, simply rinse and drain dried beans and set a cooking time of 55-60 mins on bean/Chili or Pressure Cook mode. Add an extra cup of water as the dried beans will soak up more water to cook.
- Canned Beans: If short on time, this recipe can be made in less than 30 minutes using canned Red Kidney beans instead. Simply rinse and drain them and add following recipe directions.
- Varying Cook times: The actual cook time varies depending on the size and variety of kidney beans used. For larger varieties (around ¼ inch), increase pressure-cooking time to 40 minutes.
- Creamy Thick 'Punjabi-style' Curry: To thicken the consistency of the gravy, I mash a ladle-full of beans with a fork and add them back to the curry.
- Pot-in-Pot Meal: If using canned kidney beans, you can cook white basmati rice with it using the PIP method. Similarly, you can cook brown rice along with dried soaked beans, however, the texture of rice will be softer than usual due to the extra few minutes of cooking time.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted in 2017, but was updated in 2019 with new photos, helpful information, tips, and step-by-step photos.
