Indian Vegetarian Chili
(Rajma Masala) Instant Pot recipe
STEW
Contributed by Suma Babu
Physician Investigator and PI,
ALS Neuroimaging Group
Servings: 8
Ingredients
2 cups dried red beans – soak for at least 3 hours in warm water
2 onions
4 tomatoes
1 tablespoon of minced ginger
1 garlic bulb, minced
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 cups water
Spices:
1 tsp Cumin seeds (or powder)
½ tsp Turmeric powder
½ tsp Red chili powder
½ tsp Paprika, scale down by half if using cayenne pepper
1 tsp Coriander powder
½ tsp garam masla powder
1 Bay leaf
1 tsp Salt, or more if preferred
Garnish:
½ cup Cilantro, finely chopped
Lemon juice (1/2 lemon)
NOTE: you can substitute 2 tablespoons of curry powder, if individual
spices are not available. Garnish: Cilantro finely chopped – 0.5 cup
Lemon juice – 0.5 lemon
If you have all the right ingredients, it is a
quick recipe to prepare. I put this together in
the morning in a jiffy before leaving for work
and program the cooker to start cooking early
evening. So, my family returns home to a hot
dinner waiting to be served!
Method
1. Food Prep:
i. Soak red beans in warm water for at least 3 hours (or
overnight, if preparing in the morning).
ii. Blend onions, ginger and garlic in a food processor with
minimal water to form a smooth paste.
iii. Dice tomatoes into smaller cubes.
2. Cooking part:
i. Set the Instant Pot to sauté mode, with the lid off.
ii. Add the oil and let it warm up for a minute.
iii. Add cumin seeds and bay leaf and sauté for less than a
minute.
iv. Add the blended onion-ginger-garlic mixture and sauté up
to 7 minutes.
v. Saute diced tomatoes for 7 minutes.
vi. Add the remaining spices and salt in the list above.
vii. Add the soaked red beans and water. Give all the contents
in the Instant Pot a quick stir and then switch the cooking
mode to "chili," cover the lid, close the pressure valve and
set cooking time to 30 minutes.
viii. Once cooked and ready to serve, garnish with cilantro and
whipped cream. This is best served with cooked Basmati
rice or rotis.
After the ingredients are sautéed, you can program the
Instant Pot for a later cooking time. If you are using
canned red beans, cooking time can be as short as 5-6
minutes. If you would like to step this recipe up a notch,
you can also add dried fenugreek leaves (Kasuri
Methi)(1 teaspoon) and heavy whipping cream (1
teaspoon) for garnishing.
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