Delicious Instant Pot Rajma Masala or Red Kidney Beans Curry with Pot-in-Pot Brown Rice. This is a great way to make a complete meal in your instant pot.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time45 minutesmins
Soaking Time4 hourshrs
Total Time55 minutesmins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: North Indian
Keyword: instant pot red beans, pressure cooker, punjabi rajma
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.
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Notes
Green Chili Peppers: I use Thai, Birdseye, or Serrano peppers. Remember to adjust the amount to your spice preference. Thicker Curry: One simple trick to get a thicker gravy texture is to mash some of the cooked rajma with a ladle in the same pot.Canned Beans: I prefer to use dry red kidney beans, but you can also make this recipe with canned beans. If using canned beans, you want to cook on manual for about 6 minutes with natural pressure release. Also, reduce the water to 1 cup. If cooking with canned beans, use white rice for pot-in-pot cooking. Set-and-forget Method: I have tried making this Rajma Masala by adding all the ingredients to the instant pot and setting it to pressure cook. That works perfectly for this recipe. If you are short on time, you can skip the initial sautéing steps. Rajma Masala Spice Bend: If you have Rajma Masala, you can substitute all spices with it. Just add the salt and garam masala to your taste. What to pair with Rajma Masala? Enjoy Rajma Masala with rice and a side of yogurt or raita. Created: This recipe was created in a 6qt Instant Pot Pressure Cooker.Note:I have reduced the amount of water for cooking in this recipe as that has worked better for the final result based on reader feedback.