Instant Pot Rajma Recipe

❤️ You’ll Love This Instant Pot Rajma Recipe

Weeknight dinner: This makes the healthy, filling and comfy vegetarian (Vegan & GF) weeknight dinner. Leftovers are best to pack into the lunch box. Cook brown rice using the PIP method: The kidney beans and soaked brown rice both take the same amount of time to cook. So a complete meal is ready in one shot. See the details below in the Notes section. Rich in protein: The kidney beans are a good source of plant-based protein. They’re also rich in healthy fibers, which moderate blood sugar levels and promote colon health.

🧾 Ingredient Notes

Here is the pic of the ingredients you’ll need to make a simple, easy rajma recipe in instant pot. All of them are very basic and easy to find.

Red kidney beans (rajma): There are different types of kidney beans available in the market, some are darker in color vs some are lighter. The one you see in the above pic is really dark and I bought that from Indian grocery stores. Ginger, Garlic: I like to use the fresh ones and grate them using Microplane zester. Instead, you can use readymade or homemade ginger garlic paste. Onion, Tomatoes: I have chopped them finely using a sharp knife. Alternately, for quick prep, you can use the food processor. 

👩‍🍳 How To Make Rajma In Instant Pot? (Pics) 

Soaking The Beans:

1. Take rajma in a colander and wash under running cold water until water runs clear.
2. Soak them in enough water (about 2-3 inches above the beans) for at least 8 hours or overnight. After that discard the soaking water. The beans get double in size and get lighter in color. Making Instant Pot Rajma:
3. Turn on the instant pot with saute mode. Once hot add oil and onion. Sprinkle a little salt to speed up the cooking process.
4. Mix and saute until onions get soft and light pink or translucent. It takes around 2-3 mins.
5. Then add ginger, garlic and slit green chili. 
6. Mix and saute for 30-40 seconds or until the raw smell of ginger garlic goes away.
7. Then add chopped tomatoes.
8. Mix and cook until they become soft and about to be mushy. It may take around 2-3 mins.
9. Now add remaining salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder and cumin powder. Mix and saute for 30-40 seconds.
10. Then add soaked rajma and fresh water. Stir to mix everything well.
11. Cover it with the lid, keep the vent to sealing. Cancel the saute mode and cook on manual (high) for 25 minutes. Let it NPR (natural pressure release), when the pin drops open the lid. If in a rush then let it NPR for 10 mins and then release the pressure manually. Now with the back of the spatula mash a few beans to thicken the gravy.
12. Now add garam masala and amchur powder, mix. 
13. If you need to thicken the gravy more then let it simmer on saute until you get the desired gravy consistency.
14. Lastly, garnish with fresh chopped cilantro and serve.

💭 Expert Tips For Instant Pot Rajma

Cook brown rice and rajma together using PIP (pot-in-pot) method: Take beans and plenty of water in a pan. Bring the water to a rolling boil. Let it boil for 2-3 minutes. Then turn off the stove and cover tightly with a lid. Let it sit for 1 hour. Voila, after 1 hour your beans are at the same stage where you have after overnight soaking. Traditionally, the rajma chawal dish has white rice (basmati or any other regular rice) served. When cooking in IP using PIP method rajma takes 25 minutes to cook and basmati rice takes only 4-6 minutes only. So we cannot cook basmati rice here as we did in instant pot dal fry. But brown rice takes 20-25 minutes in IP. So here we can use that for PIP method.

🍽 Serving Ideas

Traditionally rajma masala is served with rice hence the name rajma chawal. But you can have it with quinoa or millet for a grain-free option. This instant pot rajma tastes good with paratha or roti.  To make it a complete meal, I suggest serving kachumber salad, chaas and roasted papad on the side.

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