Road to a Bachelor's Kitchen : The Potluck "Rajma" Delight

Tiffin breaks during school days were always the most anticipated hours owing to the good food one can eat besides his/her own home-cooked food. Well life is now in corporate phase so every childish activity needs to have a proper documentation. So is the faith of ‘Tiffin breaks’ as we call them ‘POTLUCK’ (a meal or party to which each of the guests contributes a dish, #copied) now. Being a Sikh guy I had to show off saying, “Hey guys I will get a Punjabi style Rajma curry for all”. Seconds later I realised, “How on earth am I going to cook this thing??” Well mom’s telephonic instructions and a couple of YouTube videos were the source of inspiration.

On this note here begins the first chapter: The Potluck "Rajma" Delight

The ingredients required to prepare Rajma curry(max 4 people) includes Rajma (particularly the red kidney beans), 2 chopped onions, 2-3 grated tomatoes, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric-green chilli-coriander(dhania)-cumin(jeera)-salt-rajma masala-this will do and last but not the least “patience”.

The not so “helpful” Rajma

Wait a second! Before you think of buying all these stuffs make sure to get Rajma first because that is the only adamant ingredient. Soak it in water overnight or for 24 hours (to be on the safer side), feel free to add baking soda so that it softens quickly. Boiling the rajma in a pressure cooker is the last resort. 2-3 whistles are enough to soften the Rajma, post soak session. One being able to squeeze the rajma beans without any pressure is a sign that they are ready to be cooked. Please do not drain the water as it will be used to add colour to the curry.

Preparations for the battle

Now take whatever vessel you have (possibly the one in which you can cook comfortably).  This can be cooked in a pressure cooker as well but I would recommend using an open system vessel as it retains the taste of the curry and protects a novice from a pressure cooker explosion. Try to be health conscious so use as less oil as possible (2-3 tablespoons), post which add some cumin to it and sauté it until it turns brown. Next add ginger-garlic (one can go for easily available ginger-garlic paste or opt for the laborious task of grinding them together) to the mixture. Cook the mixture until you get the aroma of ginger-garlic (or wait for the colour to turn brownish). Now add chopped onions and cook them (medium flame) until they turn golden-brown. The mixture now requires half teaspoon turmeric, chilli powder and coriander powder. Once everything is mixed properly it is time to add marinated tomatoes to the mixture along with green chilli. Cook the mixture until tomatoes start leaving oil. Wollah!! The masala mixture is ready.

The Battleground

Add the soaked rajma (along with the water in which it was soaked) to the cooked masala and stir properly. Cover the vessel with a lid and let Rajma cook for 15-20 minutes in medium flame. This is the best time to clean all the mess in the kitchen. Now open the lid and you can see that the consistency of the gravy is getting thicker. To add more to its thickness squeeze some handful of rajma into the curry (the Punjabi touch!). This is followed by cooking of another 15-20 minutes on high flame under closed lid. Post which add some rajma masala to the curry (option used for flavouring) and mix it well; and a final dress of chopped coriander.

Now all you got to do is to flaunt; take as many pictures you can; apply the best filters to it and upload it on Facebook/Instagram and of course eat it hot!