Mummiji: Slow-Simmered Rajma with Burnt-Onion Masala

Prep20 mins (plus overnight soak)Cook1 hr 45 minsServes4
Spice: Mummiji Spice Blend
Pour: 2023 Meso Sangiovese
Pour: 2023 Reserve Nebbiolo

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups dried red kidney beans, soaked overnight in plenty of cold water
  • 1 black cardamom pod and 1 bay leaf, for the boil
  • 3 tbsp ghee (or neutral oil)
  • 2 large yellow onions, very thinly sliced
  • 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 4 ripe Roma tomatoes, halved and grated (skins discarded)
  • 1 tbsp LXV Mummiji Spice Blend
  • 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder, for color more than heat
  • 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt, plus more to taste
  • 1/3 cup of the red wine you are serving
  • 1 tbsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves), crushed between your palms
  • 2 tbsp heavy cream, optional
  • 1/2 cup cilantro leaves and tender stems, chopped
  • Steamed basmati rice and thinly sliced red onion, to serve

Method

  1. Drain the soaked beans, cover with 6 cups fresh water, add the black cardamom and bay leaf, and bring to a hard boil for 10 minutes. Lower to a bare simmer, partially cover, and cook 60-75 minutes until a bean crushes to paste between two fingers. Do not drain — the starchy liquid is the body of the dish.
  2. While the beans cook, melt the ghee in a heavy pan over medium heat. Add the onions with a pinch of salt and cook 20-25 minutes, stirring often, until they collapse and go deep mahogany brown. Patience here is the entire recipe — pale onions make pale rajma.
  3. Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry 1 minute until it stops smelling raw. Stir in the LXV Mummiji Spice Blend and Kashmiri chili and toast 30 seconds.
  4. Add the grated tomato and salt. Cook 12-15 minutes over medium heat until the masala thickens, darkens, and the ghee separates and pools at the edges. This is the doneness cue — do not move on early.
  5. Deglaze with the wine and let it reduce by half, about 2 minutes.
  6. Scoop the cooked beans plus 2 cups of their cooking liquid into the masala. Simmer uncovered 20 minutes, mashing about a quarter of the beans against the side of the pan to thicken the gravy.
  7. Crush in the kasuri methi, stir in the cream if using, and check for salt. Rest off the heat 10 minutes — rajma is always better after it sits.
  8. Finish with cilantro and serve over basmati with sliced red onion alongside.
https://www.lxvwine.com/recipes/mummiji-slow-simmered-rajma-with-burnt-onion-masala/ LXV Wine · Paso Robles