Rajma or spiced kidney beans from Dishoom. Delicious with rice and raita.
Wine Suggestion: We found the rich, mealy textured beans paired well with Luigi Pira’s Langhe Nebbiolo. The fruity, spice and lighter nature wasn’t too serious for this dish, and the oomph from the tannins was a good counterpoint to the richness and depth in the beans.
Rajma – serves 2 to 4
- 35ml vegetable oil
- 5g ginger paste (see recipe below)
- 5g garlic paste (see recipe below)
- 1 black cardamom pod
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp deggi mirch chilli powder
- 15g tomato purée
- 1g fine salt
- 100g onion-tomato masala (see recipe below)
- 400g tin kidney beans
- ½ tsp garam masala
- 50g tomatoes, chopped
- a good handful of coriander leaves, chopped
- 25g butter
TO SERVE:
- red onion, finely sliced
- ginger matchsticks
- coriander leaves, roughly torn
- lime wedges
Warm the oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Add the ginger and garlic pastes and cook for a few minutes, stirring, until no longer raw.
Add the cardmamom pod, bay leaf and cinnamon stick and cook for 1 minute. Add the ground cumin, chilli powder, tomato purée and salt and cook for a few minutes, or until the oil starts to separate.
Add the onion-tomato masala and bring to a simmer, stirring, then add the kidney beans along with their liquid. Simmer for 15 minutes or until reduced and thickened.
Add the garam masala, tomatoes, chopped coriander and ginger and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the butter.
Serve garnished with the red onion, ginger and coriander and with lime wedges for squeezing over.
Onion-tomato masala – makes about 450g
- 300ml vegetable oil
- 1.2kg Spanish white onions, finely diced
- 35g garlic paste (see recipe below)
- 30g ginger paste (see recipe below)
- 1¾ tsp deggi mirch chilli powder
- 30g tomato purée
- 2 tsp fine sea salt
- 600g good quality tinned tomatoes
Warm a deep, heaving frying pan over a medium heat. Add the oil and warm before adding the onions. Let the onions caramelise to a deep brown, stirring regularly. Add a splash of water if they are at risk of burning. This should take 25-30 minutes.
Add the garlic and ginger paste and sauté until light golden brown, stirring all the time.
Add the chilli powder, tomato purée and salt, then sauté for 2 minutes.
Add the chopped tomatoes, stir well and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring often. The tomatoes should break down completely and caramelise a bit in the oil, you can add a splash of water if it starts to dry up.
Freeze any masala that you are not using.
Ginger and Garlic Pastes – makes about 170g (keep in the fridge covered with oil for 10 days)
- 3 bulbs of garlic or 180g fresh root ginger
- 25ml vegetable oil, plus extra to store
Peel the garlic or ginger and roughly chop.
Whizz the garlic or ginger with with the oil to make a smooth paste.
Store in a sterilized jar covered with oil in the fridge.
(Original recipes from Dishoom by Shamil Thakrar, Kavi Thakrar & Naved Nasir, Bloomsbury, 2019.)
Jono & Jules do food & wine 