Healthy Rajma Chawal Recipe

Indian cuisine offers a wide range of cooking. Tedious it may seem, but the blend of aromatic spices and the proportional use of vegetables have always amazed the West in its own way. Rajma (kidney-beans) chawal is one such authentic Indian food generally cooked and relished by the North of India. Its rich red colour and creamy spicy taste will indeed show you another slice of life.

Key Ingredients: ¼ teaspoon of turmeric powder, 1 ¼ cup of kidney beans, 2 teaspoons of coriander powder, 2 finely chopped green chillies, 1 ½ teaspoon red chilli powder, 1 large onion diced, salt as per taste, 1 teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste, 2-3 ripe tomatoes (sliced),  1 tablespoon of refined oil, 2-3 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

Remember to soak the kidney beans overnight in slightly warm water, before cooking it. Steaming the kidney beans in the pressure cooker with 3 cups of water, till it becomes tender, can be an alternate option as well. Next, sauté the tomato slices, onions, turmeric powder, cumin seeds, bay leaves in oil. Fry it till it turns into a lovely golden brown colour. Then add the remaining ingredients, including the softened kidney-beans and half a cup of water to lighten the thick accumulated gravy. Mix it well. Let the juices of the spice get well absorbed into the red skin of the rajma.  Serve it with steaming rice and pickled mangoes!

Nutri-check: It can wonderfully stabilise your cholesterol and is practically a fat-free source of protein. Also, it is a rich source of iron as well.