Rajma Masala, Indian Red Kidney Bean Curry, is a favorite comfort food to enjoy with rice. You can make this curry in an instant pot or traditional pressure cooker. Learn to make Rajma along with pot-in-pot Brown Rice. This is a vegan and gluten-free recipe.
Rajma is also known as Red Kidney Beans. They are a rich source of fiber and protein. They serve as a great source of protein in a vegetarian dish.
Rajma Chawal (Red Kidney Beans with Rice) used to be my favorite meal. Being a Punjabi, I was fortunate that my mom used to make melt-in-the-mouth rajma chawal almost every week when we were growing up. So here we will make authentic Punjabi Rajma Masala. Now, I like to make rajma in the Instant Pot for convenience, especially since I can make the whole meal with brown rice in one pot.
Looking for more easy Instant Pot Recipes? Here are 29 Best Instant Pot Vegetarian Recipes for you to try!
Table of Contents
- Watch How to Make Instant Pot Rajma
- What is Rajma Masala?
- How to make Rajma in Instant Pot?
- How to make Red Kidney Beans Curry with Pot-in-Pot Brown Rice?
- How to make Rajma in a Stovetop Pressure Cooker?
- How to make Palak Rajma Masala?
- How to make set-and-forget Rajma?
- Common questions
- What to pair with Rajma Masala?
- Instant Pot Rajma Masala (Red Kidney Beans Curry) Recipe
Watch How to Make Instant Pot Rajma
What is Rajma Masala?
Rajma is a popular vegan dish from the Indian subcontinent, consisting of red kidney beans in a thick gravy with many aromatic spices. It is usually served with rice. The North Indian Punjabi style of making Rajma Masala is the most loved Indian bean recipe. Combine Rajma with rice, called Rajma Chawal, is the most popular comfort food in North India.
Curious about pulses used in Indian cooking? Check out my detailed guide about Indian Pulses.
How to make Rajma in Instant Pot?
Rajma or Red Kidney Beans take longer to cook, which makes them a perfect fit for pressure cooking. In India, beans are always prepared in a traditional stovetop pressure cooker. So when I got the Instant Pot, they were one of the first dishes I tried. I was glad to see a “Bean/Chili” mode, the perfect setting for cooking Rajma Masala.
In this recipe, I use basic spices. You can also use Rajma Masala, which replaces all other spices in this recipe. I like the MDH brand Rajma masala powder.
Let’s follow the step-by-step recipe to cook Rajma in the instant pot.
- As a preparation, soak the rajma beans in ample water for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- When you are ready to cook them, start with sautéing oil, jeera, chili pepper, onions, ginger, and garlic in the Instant Pot. Then saute for 3-4 minutes.
- Add tomatoes and spices and saute for another 2 minutes.
- Then, add the soaked beans and water to the instant pot and change the setting to “Bean/Chili” mode. This will set the cooking time to 30 minutes on high pressure. Release the pressure naturally.
- Rajma should be ready.
At this time, you can taste the rajma, and if the spice is low for your taste buds, add more Garam Masala.
One simple trick to get a thicker gravy texture is to mash some of the cooked rajma with a ladle in the same pot.
How to make Red Kidney Beans Curry with Pot-in-Pot Brown Rice?
One of the big advantages of the Instant Pot is the option to do pot-in-pot cooking or PIP. This means being able to cook multiple things at a time by cooking in a small pot inside the main pot. To do pot-in-pot cooking, you need a tall trivet and stainless steel containers that you can use within the main pot.
Another important thing with pot-in-pot cooking is considering the cooking time for the dishes you want to cook together. For example, red kidney beans take about 30 minutes to cook at high pressure, and brown rice takes about 22-25 minutes at high pressure. Hence if I add rice pot-in-pot with beans, they will get cooked well. I would not cook white rice along with rajma. However, they would work well with split yellow lentils that cook in 6 mins at high pressure.
Here is how I make Rajma with pot-in-pot Brown Rice in the instant pot:
Garnish with cilantro. Serve with rice, roti, or naan. You can also enjoy red kidney bean curry as a soup.
How to make Rajma in a Stovetop Pressure Cooker?
Follow the same steps as above. Just cook the rajma on a stovetop pressure cooker for 1-2 whistles on high heat, then set the heat to medium and cook for another 15-20 minutes.
How to make Palak Rajma Masala?
Want to add greens to your meal? A great variation to this rajma recipe would be to add some greens such as spinach, kale, or chard to the rajma. After the rajma is cooked, stir 2 cups of chopped greens into the curry. Let it sit for 5 minutes so the greens can soak in the flavors of the curry, and enjoy!
How to make set-and-forget Rajma?
Lately, I have been trying to make Rajma by adding all the ingredients to the pot and pressure cooking. You will be surprised. That works like a charm. The Rajma are cooked really well and have almost the same taste as when onions and tomatoes are sautéed to make the curry.
If you are short on time and want to skip the effort to saute, try this method!
Common questions
I see this question come up many times. For rajma to be well-cooked, they should be melt-in-the-mouth soft.
Many people have their preferences regarding whether or not to soak beans. I started with soaking, as I have seen my mom do that. I like that after soaking, the beans are easier to cook and take much less time cooking.
Some studies suggest that soaking helps reduce the amount of phytic acid, which reduces absorption of important nutrients and aids in digestion. Others suggest soaking does not affect digestion. So choose what works for you.
Sometimes, red kidney beans also take longer to cook if they are old. If you can check the packaging date, buy beans that are not too old.
Let me share the quick soaking method. Heat water in a microwave or stovetop. And soak beans in the hot water for 30-60 minutes. This will give comparable results as soaking for longer.
If you decide not to soak, then you can still make rajma. They will take about 45-50 minutes to cook on high pressure. You will also have to add more water as soaked beans absorb some water. I would suggest 2.5 cups of water for 1 cup of beans.
If using canned kidney beans in this rajma recipe, cook for 6 minutes on high pressure and reduce the water to 1 cup. This will give enough time for the beans to soak in the flavors of the curry. If cooking with canned beans, use white rice for pot-in-pot cooking.
What to pair with Rajma Masala?
The best comfort food combination is – Rajma Chawal. This translates to red kidney beans curry with rice.
Add a veggie side dish such as Aloo Gobi or Bhindi with rajma. Or add some greens such as spinach while cooking Rajma Curry.
You might also like a side of yogurt or raita and Indian salad with Rajma Masala.
Check out other popular recipes –
Instant Pot Rajma Masala (Red Kidney Beans Curry)
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup Red Kidney Beans (Rajma), soaked for at least 4 hours to overnight in water
- 1 tablespoon Ghee or Oil
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
- 1 tablespoon Ginger, minced
- 1 tablespoon Garlic, minced
- 1 Green chili pepper , diced*
- 1.5 cups Onion, diced
- 1 cup Tomato, diced
- 1.5 cups Water, for cooking
- 1 tablespoon Lime juice
- Cilantro, to garnish
Spices
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin (Jeera powder)
- 1 teaspoon Coriander powder (Dhaniya powder)
- 1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala
- 1/2 teaspoon Red Chili powder (Mirchi powder), adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon Salt, adjust to taste
For Brown Rice
- 1 cup Brown Rice , rinsed
- 1.25 cup Water
- 1 tablespoon Ghee or Oil, (optional)
- 1 teaspoon Salt, (optional)
Instructions
- Start the instant pot in Saute (More) mode and let it heat until it displays HOT. Add oil, cumin seeds, and green chili.
- Add onions, ginger and garlic. Stir and saute for about 3 minutes.
- Add tomatoes and spices to the instant pot. Stir and saute for 2 more minutes.
- Drain the old soaking water from the soaked beans and discard. Add the beans and the water (for cooking) to the instant pot. Stir it all up.
- (optional) Place the trivet. In a bowl, add all ingredients for brown rice and place it on top of the trivet.
- Close the lid with the vent in the sealing position. Change the setting to "Bean/Chili" mode. This will set the timer to 30 minutes at high pressure cooking. Once the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally, and then open the lid.
- (optional) Using tongs, carefully take out the bowl of brown rice. Then take out the trivet.
- Add lime juice and stir the rajma. Garnish with cilantro. Rajma masala is ready. Serve with rice or roti.
Stovetop Pressure Cooker:
- Follow the same steps as above. Just cook the rajma on stovetop pressure cooker for 1-2 whistles on high heat, then set the heat to medium and cook for another 15-20 minutes.
The flavour was delicious but it was more like a soup, very wet which was a shame. I’d put 0.5 cup less water in next time.
I recently saw your recipe for rajma(red kidney been curry).one of the ingredients is green chili pepper. I’m unsure what type of pepper you are referring to?
Thanks
Hi, I use Thai, Birdseye, or Serrano peppers. Remember to adjust the amount to your spice preference. I added this to the recipe notes too.
This would have been perfect if it didn’t taste so cumin-y.
Hi Ruby – Sorry that you felt the rajma had too much cumin flavor. Please do reduce the amount to your preference next time.
Hello Meeta,
Thanks for the recipie! Me and my friends love this dish whenever I make it.
Just one concern, it actually takes a lot of time to make this excluding the preparation part.
I am talking about just the Cooking in insta pot, 15 mins to build the pressure, 30 mins to cook the beans, 20 mins to let the pressure release naturally.
I am not sure if it is worth it to wait almost 1.5 hours for the whole process.
Btw, this is on top of soaking Rajma overnight. And yes, I like to saute onions as it enhances the flavor so won’t be a good idea to skip this step.
Hi Vinay – I can understand the pressure cooking time for this recipe is pretty high. One way to reduce it is by adding hot water to the instant pot. This will help build pressure sooner. I also like to put this to cook in the morning or early evening, and it is ready for dinner time. If you prefer, you can also just cook the beans in the instant pot with water and have them ready for the final mixing with the onion-tomato masala. Happy to hear you all enjoy the rajma curry!
I love your recipes but now your site has become littered with ads to an extent where I am think twice coming in – is it worth it? Hopefully revenues are worth losing loyal customers here.
Hi Prasad – So sorry to hear that you are having this experience. It is definitely not worth losing my readers over any reason. I always try my best to balance this, and have prioritized reducing ads for user experience. For example, most websites have an ad between ingredients and instructions in the recipe card, and I have not put that as I feel that will disrupt the experience of reading the recipe when cooking in the kitchen. However, Sometimes I don’t get to see the same disrupting ads that you are seeing. I would love to get more feedback on the ads that are annoying and creating a worse user experience. Would you be willing to give more feedback such as a screenshot over email please? My email address is meeta@pipingpotcurry.com. I would very much appreciate your feedback, and make improvements to the website. Thank you!
What color cumin seeds are used?
Hi Jaime – For regular Indian cooking, the yellow-brown color cumin seeds are used.
Great recipe , easy to make (to me) and good use of the beans…never like red beans untill now 🙂
Hi Micaela – Glad you enjoyed the recipe🍴👍
Unfortunately, this always comes out bitter. I’ve made other insta pot curries, but never had this issue. Is it because the spices are in the insta pot for over 30 minutes? Or is it just the garlic/ginger possibly being cooked too long?
Hi Rahul – That is odd, as it does not happen for me. I cook chana masala also the same way, so I don’t think it is the spices or ginger/garlic as they are added to that recipe as well. I wonder if you are soaking the beans and then draining the water and using them?
Excellent recipe for the instapot! The flavor was fantastic. I substituted smoked paprika for the red chilli powder and added another green chilli for a spicy dish. Nothing else was changed from the recipe. Thank you!
Hi Elaine – So glad you enjoyed the rajma!
If using canned beans, is it one can?
Hi Manisha – You can add 2.5-3 cups of canned beans to this recipe. I believe that would be 2 cans. I hope you enjoy the curry!
If subsituting rajma masala for the spices how much rajma masala do you use for 2 cups of kidney beans?
Hi Pam – I would start with 1 – 1 1/2 tablespoon and add more later if needed to taste.