Rajmah Chowl [recipe]

by Bhupinder Singh

[Serves 2 Adults]

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon chopped ginger
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1/2 chopped medium Red onion
• 1 chopped large tomato
• 2 cups of soya nuggets
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper (not important)
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 can (450-500ml) of Large Red Kidney Beans
• 4 teaspoon cooking oil

Open the red kidney beans can and boil it in large bowl with 3 parts of water (you can use emptied can for this). Add nuggets and salt to taste along with garlic and ginger (you can add red pepperika if you want it hot). Bring this to boil on high/medium heat.

This process should be done on medium heat: On a separate pan, heat the oil and add cumin seeds in it. As they start to crackle a bit add onions and green pepper in it. Stir fry them until they go golden brown and add the tomatoes in it. Keep mashing this into a paste until you see the paste starting to leave the pan surface or oil. Add this to the above bowl containing boiled beans. Mix well. Add cilantro, black pepper, coriander powder and garam masala in this and mix. Let it cool down for approximately 30min.

Variation:
1. You can experiment with adding or subtracting few items for e.g. Replace nuggets with hamburger or Chunks of Potatoes (gravy would be thicker in this case to add more water).
2. Instead of using red kidney beans you can try mixed beans: red+white+black

Tips:

1. If for some reason your gravy is too thick add more hot water or if the gravy is too thin add 1 teaspoon of Corn Starch.
2. Always make sure the onion and tomatoes are properly cook else they would float uncooked over the beans and won’t look part of the meal. Patience is the key.
3. Serve with steamed rice or naan/pita bread. Usually this meal is bit heavy so keep rest of the items light.
4. Avoid having salad containing cabbage, cucumber as it would be an explosive combination (mean gaseous)
5. In case the beans in the can are bit hard and not soft add a pinch of Baking Soda (NOT baking powder). This would ease the boiling and softening process of beans.

Recommendation
Try 1 teaspoon of Rajmah Masala instead of garam masala

Bhupinder Singh is an artist and software engineer based in Regina, Canada. His paintings and photographs can be seen at Bhupi.ca.