Love eating rajma? Two home chefs share innovative recipes to make the dish

Winter is here, and so is our urge to embrace everything that is nostalgic, including quintessential comfort food, like rajma. Two home chefs share their recipes that are an ode to the humble kitchen staple

Rajma tacos 

Ingredients
>> 1 tbsp oil 
>> 5 garlic cloves
>> 1/4 cup chopped onions
>> 1/4 cup chopped tomatoes
>> 2 chopped green chillies 
>> 1 tbsp tomato ketchup 
>> 1/2 cup boiled kidney beans
>> 1/3 cup grated cheese 
>> 1 tsp garlic for seasoning 
>> 1 tsp Mexican spice mix 
>> Salt (to taste)
>> 1 tbsp Amul cream 
>> 1 tbsp chopped coriander 
 
Method
In a pan, heat one tbsp oil. Add minced garlic and sauté until golden brown. Add chopped onions, tomatoes, and green chillies. Sauté until the vegetables are soft and the onions turn translucent. Stir in tomato ketchup and mix well. Add boiled kidney beans [rajma] to the pan. Mash them slightly with the back of a spoon to create a chunky texture. Sprinkle garlic powder, Mexican spice mix, and salt. Mix the spices evenly. Pour in Amul cream and continue to stir until the mixture thickens.

Toss in grated cheese and chopped coriander. Mix until the cheese melts and forms a creamy consistency. Warm the taco shells according to the package instructions or prepare homemade ones. Spoon the rajma mixture into the taco shells. Garnish with additional cheese, coriander, and a dollop of Amul cream. Serve these delightful rajma tacos hot, and savour the fusion of Indian and Mexican flavours in each delicious bite!

>> Handy hack: Instead of the ready-to-use taco shells, you can opt to use a leftover roti. Simply add the filling to half side of the roti, fold it over and then cook from both sides till they turn crispy.

Shilpa Ramgadiya, home chef

Rajma tikki

Ingredients
>> 1 cup boiled rajma
>> 2 medium-sized potatoes
>> 1/4 cup boiled green peas 
>> 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
>> Salt (to taste)
>> 1/2 tsp amchur powder (dried mango)
>> 1/2 tsp chaat masala
>> 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
>> 1/2 tsp coriander seed powder
>> 1 tbsp of besan 
>> 1 onion
>> 1 tablespoon chopped ginger 
>> 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
>> 2-3 chillies (as per your preference)
>> Coriander leaves
>> Oil (for shallow frying) 
 
Method 
Coarsely ground the boiled rajma and set it aside. In a pan, heat one tbsp oil. Add cumin seeds, chopped onion, garlic, ginger, and green chillies. Sauté until the onions turn golden brown. Now add in salt to taste, roasted cumin seeds powder, aamchur powder, chaat masala, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, and coriander seeds powder. Roast the spices on a slow flame until aromatic.

Stir in besan and continue roasting until the mixture turns pink in colour. Transfer this spice mix to the coarsely ground rajma. Add mashed boiled potatoes, green peas, chopped coriander, and some chopped coriander leaves. Mix everything thoroughly to form a tikki mixture.

Shape the mixture into round tikkis. Shallow fry the tikkis in oil until they are golden brown on both sides. Serve the rajma tikkis hot with pudina-dhaniya chutney for a delicious and flavourful treat.

>> Handy hack: To cook rajma easily, they must be soaked for as long as possible. Ideally, the soaking period must be 10 to 12 hours.

Sushma Lalwani, home chef

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