Rajma (Red Kidney Bean Curry)

I've been cooking Indian cuisine for a few years now, but I'm still surprised how a small select group of spices can create a multitude of unique tasting dishes. I guess I have about 15 spices that I use from time to time in my Indian cooking, but I always make sure I'm not lacking in my supplies of chilli powder, cumin, turmeric, coriander, and garam masala, as they are staples in most recipes. So here's a simple dish that uses some of the basic spices that most fans of Indian cooking would (or should) have in their cupboards. This dish is incredible hearty and can handle a lot of chilli without it becoming overpowering. It's one of those dishes that I actually prefer to be on the spicy side. Or perhaps my tolerance for chilli is increasing. However, feel free to skip the dried red chillies if you prefer it a bit tamer.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry kidney beans, soaked overnight then cooked. (Or use two 400g tins of beans if it's more convenient).
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 dry red chillies
• 1 onion, grated
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste
• 1 tsp fresh ginger paste
• 400g tin of chopped tomatoes. (Or a couple large tomatoes, chopped).
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• salt, to taste

Method:

Heat some oil in a pan. Add the bay leaves and dry red chillies. Fry for a couple of minutes.
Add the onion paste and sauté until the onion is golden brown.
Next, add the garlic and ginger pastes, fry for a couple minutes then add the tomatoes (if you use tinned tomatoes, add the juices as well) and fry for a few minutes more.
Add the red chilli powder, cumin powder and coriander powder. Cook for about 5 minutes.
Add the cooked red kidney beans, also add some of the cooking-water along with it or just add a little water.
Cover and simmer for approx 10 minutes.
Season with salt and add more water if needed, you want it to be a thickish consistency.
Garnish with coriander and serve with rice or chapati.

Serves 4