Recipe for Rajma Pulao | Indian style rice and beans | Kidney beans Pulao | Kidney beans /Rajma with rice
A combination of rice and beans makes one of the best complete protein options for vegetarians. Between the rice and beans, we get all the essential amino acids, making it a very good source of protein, which is just one of the reasons to love this Rajma Pulao recipe.
A lot of Punjabis consider rajma & rice as one of their favourite Sunday lunches and why not, it is a truly delicious combination where the heartiness of the mildly spiced dal combines with steamed rice to make a perfect mouthful! My Rajma pulao is inspired from the Rajma-Chawal, but a much simpler (almost) one-pot version of the same.
Time Saver Tip:
Cook rajma and save it in the fridge in an airtight container, and this one-pot Rajma Pulao will take you all of 15 minutes in the pressure cooker for a quick weekday lunch or dinner.
A few tips on how to make a good rajma pulao:
- Choose the smallest variety of Rajma you can get. I prefer the Jammu Rajma.
- Pre-cooking the rajma before cooking it with the rice ensures that the rice does not get overcooked.
- Use freshly prepared garlic paste for maximum flavour.
- If you don’t use a pressure cooker, use canned beans. Drain the liquid, rinse off the beans and proceed with the recipe. Pulao can be prepared in a pan with a lid using the absorption method of cooking rice.
Rajma Pulao
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup Rajma (kidney beans / Jammu variety)
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 - 6 cloves
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 cardamom green
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 onion medium
- 3 spring onion stalks
- 1/2 tsp chili powder red
- 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 - 3 tbsps coriander leaves fresh (garnish)
Instructions
- Soak the dry rajma overnight or for 8 hours in plenty of water. Drain the water and place the rehydrated beans in a small pressure cooker with 2 cups water. Pressure cook for 3 whistles and 5 minutes on sim. When the pressure subsides, open the cooker, drain the cooked rajma and keep aside. The rajma should be cooked thoroughly yet hold its shape.
- Peel and coarsely mash the garlic with a mortar-pestle. Peel and slice the onions. Slice off the root part of the spring onions and discard. Slice the white and green portion thinly and keep aside.
- Wash the rice 2-3 times and drain the water, keep aside.
- In a small pressure cooker, heat ghee. Add the bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon, cumin seeds, cardamom and asafoetida. Stir for 30 seconds on medium heat.
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Add sliced onions and spring onions, saute for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the cooked rajma.
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Add the washed rice, salt, red chili powder, garam masala. Stir until combined.
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Pour 2 cups water into the cooker. Once this comes to a boil, close the cooker lid with the 'weight'. Switch off the flame after 2 whistles.
- When the pressure subsides, open the cooker and fluff up the rice. Remove into a hot casserole.
- Serve hot with raita and roasted papad for a complete meal.
Notes
What a flavorful and delicious looking pulao with rajma.
@Pavani -thank you! Loving your innovative recipes as well 🙂
..the iskcon temples in south Africa usually add these with other veggies when cooking for their feeding prgrmms. …….this will surely be an addition to our all time favourite pulaos. .
@Kajal – thank you for sharing that 🙂
Couldn’t find when to put the garlic – I’m guessing before the onions and after tempering the dry spices?