When thinking of a gravy recipe to make in Instant pot, I realized that I have not made Instant Pot Rajma Masala yet. I have the traditional recipe for Rajma masala and I used the same recipe except made it in Instant Pot.
This week I will be posting different rice and gravy dishes as my theme for BM. If you have been following my posts, you would know that I am in love with my Instant Pot. It's been over 2 months since I used my regular pressure cooker and I have not missed it one bit.
It was such a lifesaver and the beans worked perfectly and also retained their shape. They were perfectly soft when pressed in between fingers and yet each and every bean retained its shape. I just had one vessel to wash which was the inner pot of the Instant pot.
I have made this entirely vegan and did not use any butter or cream in the recipe. We can use butter if preferred instead of oil. I also love using canned tomatoes when making subzis like this as it is much more convenient.
Traditionally, I would stew the tomatoes to remove the skin and then puree them, but the canned ones are way easier. I just have to empty the whole can into the mixer jar and give it a quick grind. Make sure you buy the no salt added tomatoes if you watching your sodium intake.
Preparation time - 10 minutes plus overnight soaking time
Cooking time - 45 minutes
Difficulty level - easy
Ingredients to make Instant Pot Rajma Masala - (serves 6 to 8)
- Rajma / Kidney beans - 2 cups
- Onions - about 2 cups (finely chopped)
- Tomatoes - 1 can (14oz) or 4 large tomatoes
- Green chilies - 3
- Ginger - ½ inch (grated)
- Garlic - 2 cloves (finely minced)
- Oil - 3 tbsp
- Cumin seeds / Jeera - 1 tsp
- Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
- Red chili powder - 2 tsp
- Dhania Jeera Powder / Coriander cumin powder - 1 tbsp
- Garam Masala - 2 tsp
- Salt - to taste
- Cilantro - to garnish
Procedure to make Instant Pot Rajma Masala -
- Wash the kidney bean well and soak it in enough water for at least 12 hours. It is important to let the beans soak overnight or at least 12 hours as it cooks well that way.
- If using whole tomatoes, blanch them and then peel the skin. Make a puree out of the blanched tomatoes. I used canned tomatoes and skipped this step. I just pureed the tomatoes out of the can. You could grind whole tomatoes as well, but the puree might not be very smooth.
- Switch the instant pot with the inner pot in place and turn it on saute mode. Once the pot heats up, add the oil and wait for it to heat up.
- Add the cumin seeds and let it crackle. Add the onions and the green chilies and saute until the onions are translucent.
- Next, add the dry masala powders; turmeric powder, red chili powder, dhania jeera powder, and garam masala along with salt, and mix well.
- Add the pureed tomatoes and mix well. Let the masala cook for about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Drain the soaked beans and add them to the pot. Add about 5 cups of water and mix well.
- Place the lid in place. Turn off the instant pot and then turn it on again and press the beans/chili button. It automatically is set to 30 minutes. Let it remain in that with the vent in the sealing position.
- After the time is done, let the pressure release naturally. Open the pot and garnish with cilantro.
More Subzi
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Recipe
Instant Pot Rajma Masala
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 2 cup Rajma / Kidney beans
- 2 cup Onions finely chopped
- 1 can Tomatoes 14oz or 4 large tomatoes
- 3 Green chilies
- ½ inch Ginger grated
- 2 clove Garlic finely minced
- 3 tablespoon Oil
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds / Jeera
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 2 teaspoon Red chili powder
- 1 tablespoon Dhania Jeera Powder / Coriander cumin powder
- 2 teaspoon Garam Masala
- Salt to taste
- Cilantro to garnish
Instructions
- Wash the kidney bean well and soak it in enough water for at least 12 hours. It is important to let the beans soak for overnight or at least 12 hours as it cooks well that way.
- If using whole tomatoes, blanch it and then peel the skin. Make a puree out of the blanched tomatoes. I used canned tomatoes and skipped this step. I just pureed the tomatoes out of the can. You could grind whole tomatoes as well, but the puree might not be very smooth.
- Switch the instant pot with the inner pot in place and turn it on saute mode. Once the pot heats up, add the oil and wait for it to heat up.
- Add the cumin seeds and let it crackle. Add the onions and the green chilies and saute until the onions are translucent.
- Next add the dry masala powders; turmeric powder, red chili powder, dhania jeera powder and garam masala along with salt and mix well.
- Add the pureed tomatoes and mix well. Let the masala cook for about 5 to 7 minutes .
- Drain the soaked beans and add it to the pot. Add about 5 cups of water and mix well.
- Place the lid in place. Turn off the instant pot and then turn it on again and press the beans/chili button. It automatically is set to 30 minutes. Let it remain in that with the vent in sealing position.
- After the time is done, let the pressure release naturally. Open the pot and garnish with cilantro.
Sushma Pinjala says
Instant pot rocks........rajma masala looks yummy
kalyani says
IP recipes are becoming a rage.. this curry looks so good, Sandhya!
Mayuri Patel says
Love the vibrant red color of the rajma...makes it so tempting. A comfort dish for many.
Bhawana Singh says
perfect rajma masala just want rice plate as well :). Well cooking rajma this way gives better flavor I noticed. Now I cook this way only at home.
Pavani says
That is such a hearty and delicious curry with rajma. I haven't tried making curries in the instant pot yet -- this sounds like a good one to start.
chef Mireille says
love the vibrant color of this rajma - though I am yet to embrace the instant pot
harini says
Love Rajma masala. I wash the beans and do the preliminary tadka at night and cook on delay timer(6-7 hours), bean/chili mode (45 minutes) and wake up to a piping hot rajma masala. This way soaking and cooking happens together. Of course there is a school of thought that the soaked water has to be discarded.
sapana says
Instant pot rajma looks perfectly cooked, I guess now is the time I should buy one for me. We have rajma once in a week and it is a ritual.
Albina Barbary says
woow wonderful post
Usha says
Bean setting comes in so handy when cooking beans and corn. I have not tried beans yet but used it couple of times to cook dry corn. It was perfectly cooked. I am not a big fan of rajma but couple of days ago I ordered something from the Indian restaurant down the lane, they sent us a complementary rajma dish. It was so good! I guess it all depends on the recipe and how it is cooked. Need to give rajma a another chance. Your rajma masala looks good.
Priya Suresh says
Instant pot rocks, rajma masala looks absolutely fabulous and prefect to enjoy with some rotis or rice without any fuss. That bowl of rajma masala is seriously inviting.