If you’ve been checking this blog regularly, you might have gotten the impression that most of the recipes hail from Western European cooking traditions, be it France, Italy, or Germany. While it’s true that many things here would fit right in at your standard California restaurant, that’s not all there is on offer.

As it turns out, many of the dishes that I love to cook are inspired by cultural references from many parts of the world. Now, I don’t claim that any of them are authentic. Maybe they are, maybe they aren’t. In any event, authenticity is a fraught concept, so no need to worry about it. 

What we've got here today is a variation of one of my go-to dishes from Smitten Kitchen.

What is it? It's red bean curry, or Rajma. It's blends hearty kidney beans with a deliciously spicy tomato sauce. And with a couple fresh ingredients, it transforms a couple pantry staples into a very solid weeknight meal that can be thrown together in about 30 minutes. 

Red Bean Curry (Rajma)

Click here to see the ingredient list!

First things first: gather your fresh ingredients together and get them ready to go. 

Chop the onion as fine as you can. Take the ginger and also chop it into a fine dice. Do the same with the tomato. And either run the garlic through a press or give it a quick go-over with your knife. Since everything goes together, you can put everything in the same container.

The green chili is optional if you're not into spicy food. Me? The spicier the better so I use a whole chili. 

Now, measure out all the spices and put them together in another prep bowl. The hard part is over.

Oh right. Open your can of tomato sauce and kidney beans. Now, a note about the kidney beans. This recipe calls for using the liquid with the beans. That liquid is generally just leftover cooking liquid. If you use organic beans (pictured above), then feel free to throw that in with the stew.

However, if you use non-organic beans, there are some other additives and preservatives in the liquid. Thus, I like to drain those beans since the cooking liquid is, for lack of a better description, weird. 

Take a large sauce pan or stock pot and heat your oil over medium high heat. Add the onions, green chili, garlic and ginger. 

Let them sizzle for a minute or two.

Now, add the spices. This process is known as 'blooming' the spices. It opens up the flavor and really intensifies them. 

Bloom the spices for 15 - 20 seconds. Just long enough to really make your kitchen aromatic. 

Now add the tomato sauce.

Cook the sauce for a good 5 minutes or so, until it is reduced quite a bit. Stir frequently.

Now, add the 1 cup of water.

[UPDATED - Per Reader Suggestion]

After adding the 1 cup of water but before adding the kidney beans, run an immersion blender through the sauce. This will help to really make the sauce smooth! Note that I didn't do that here, so it won't look the same.

Now, add your canned kidney beans (drained or undrained). 

Don't forget the chopped tomatoes! I almost did. 

Now bring everything to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium heat and cook uncovered for 10 - 15 minutes - basically until it is reduced to a pleasantly thick sauce. 

Done! Serve over Basmati rice if you have it. It also goes nicely with Naan. 

If you've made it as spicy as I suggest, I'd really recommend a dollop of plain yogurt (as pictured) or sour cream. 

Sprinkle with a bit of cilantro. Or, if you're not down with cilantro, parsley works too.

Ladle and serve!

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup (or less to taste) extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup chopped fresh ginger

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 plum tomato, diced

3 cloves garlic , chopped

1-2 serrano green chilis , chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

8 ounce can of tomato sauce 

2 (15 oz) cans of red kidney beans (drained if non-organic; undrained if organic)

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (or parsley if you hate cilantro)


Plain yogurt or sour cream to serve over top. Optional but over-the-top good if you make it spicy.

SERVES 4-6