Belden Barns Pantry Club

Rajmah: Spiced Punjabi Beans

Name: Rajmah: Spiced Punjabi Beans
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 40 min
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 10
Ingredients: 1 lb Belden Barns Kashmir Thin Skin beans, cleaned, washed, and soaked in ample water overnight; 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped; 2 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped (or 1 15oz can of diced tomatoes); 2-inch piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped; 4 cloves garlic; 1-4 Thai, serrano, or cayenne chiles, stems and seeds removed (We use one because we’re wimps, but traditional rajmas tend to be fairly mild anyway.); 4 whole cloves; 1 cinnamon stick; 2 black cardamom pods; 1 bay leaf; 1 tablespoon cumin seeds; 1 tablespoon chile powder (We use green hatch chile powder because it’s milder than typical red chile powder.)); 2 tablespoons salt, or to taste (if you want to cut the salt, start with half); 2 teaspoons turmeric powder; 2 teaspoons garam masala; 1 tablespoon tomato paste; 8 cups water; 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro; FOR PICKLED ONIONS:; 1/2 red onion sliced thinly; Boiling water; 2 tsp salt; 2 tsp sugar; 1/2 cup vinegar (white wine/champagne is nice)

porții

20 minutes

timp activ

10 1/2 hours

timp total

Începe gătitul

Ingrediente

1 lb Belden Barns Kashmir Thin Skin beans, cleaned, washed, and soaked in ample water overnight

1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped

2 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped (or 1 15oz can of diced tomatoes)

2-inch piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

4 cloves garlic

1-4 Thai, serrano, or cayenne chiles, stems and seeds removed (We use one because we’re wimps, but traditional rajmas tend to be fairly mild anyway.)

4 whole cloves

1 cinnamon stick

2 black cardamom pods

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 tablespoon chile powder (We use green hatch chile powder because it’s milder than typical red chile powder.))

2 tablespoons salt, or to taste (if you want to cut the salt, start with half)

2 teaspoons turmeric powder

2 teaspoons garam masala

1 tablespoon tomato paste

8 cups water

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

FOR PICKLED ONIONS:

1/2 red onion sliced thinly

Boiling water

2 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

1/2 cup vinegar (white wine/champagne is nice)

Instrucțiuni

Drain beans after overnight soak, rinse and add to slow cooker.
In a food processor, grind onion, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, and fresh chiles until smooth. Add this to the slow cooker.
Add remaining ingredients except cilantro and mix well.
Cook on High for 10 hours, stirring quickly once or twice to prevent burning on the bottom.
Serve over basmati rice, garnish with yogurt, cilantro and pickled onions.

FOR PICKLED ONIONS:

Bring approximately 2 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan. Turn off.
Mix in a small bowl the salt, sugar and 1/2 cup of the boiled water.
Toss the sliced onion into the saucepan with the remaining hot water. After 1 minute, strain out the softened onions, adding them to the small bowl.
Add the vinegar to the onions, stir and let sit for at least 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Note

This recipe feeds a crowd or gives you plenty to freeze for another day. Alongside a nice roasted cauliflower or romanesco, you’ve got a simple but scrumptious meal.

To make a smaller batch, use 2 cups of beans and cut all your other ingredients in half (but still use 1 cinnamon stick and 1 bay leaf). This will make about 9 cups.

The first time we cooked Rajma, we balked at the long cooking time, and on high no less! But fear not, the result is creamy without reducing the beans to mush. The Kashmir Thin Skin breaks down just enough to create a rich curry, but still retains plenty of distinct beans.