Creamy Rajma Masala (Vegan Kidney Bean Curry)

This post contains helpful tips and tricks to ensure success on your first attempt. Below, you'll find a handy table of contents with links. But if you're in a rush, please use the link at the top to jump to the recipe card at the end!

• This Punjabi rajma masala recipe (rajma chawal) reflects northern India's Punjabi cooking style, which is familiar to many of our curry recipes. It builds a foundation of aromatics like onions, garlic, ginger, and various spices.
• The heart of this quick-prep recipe starts with a blended curry paste reflecting the creamy tomato sauce that both take minutes to make.
• Once you add the kidney beans and plant milk, the casserole goes into the oven for maximum flavor. Job done!
• This is a meal prep favorite because it’s quick to assemble and can be made a day ahead of time.

Onions, garlic, and ginger. I prefer sweeter red onions for this recipe, but you can use a yellow onion. Fresh ginger and garlic are best. You can use 2 tablespoons of ginger garlic paste as an alternative.

Green chilies. Use a fresh jalapeno or another green chili to spice up the curry. Clean out the seeds if you don’t want it too spicy.

Dates. I used 2 pitted dates in the curry paste as a sweetener. Maple syrup or date paste are excellent alternatives (2 teaspoons).

Tomatoes. Any tomatoes work. Diced or whole can be blended with spices. If using crushed tomatoes, you can skip this step. If using fresh tomatoes (4 cups), add 1 tablespoon of tomato paste (tomato puree).

Kidney beans. Rajma means kidney bean. Dark kidney beans are a great dietary fiber, iron, protein, and energy source. Use cooked beans. Canned are easiest or precooked in the Instant Pot or stove.

Cumin seeds. I highly recommend toasted cumin seeds because they are just an extra minute of your cooking time and smell and taste great. If you use cumin powder, use 1 teaspoon.

Red chili powder. Use ground red chilies or cayenne pepper.

Garam masala. Garam masala powder is a fragrant spice mix that’s used in so many Indian dishes; it should be in every spice cabinet. You can also make your own garam masala.

Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete list of ingredients with measurements plus recipe instructions.

Step 1: In a food processor, blend the onions, ginger, garlic, jalapeno, and dates. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.

Step 2: Blend the tomatoes and spices.

Step 3: Toast the cumin seeds over medium heat.

Step 4: Stir in the garlic-ginger paste.

Step 5: Add the tomatoes and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.

Step 6: Mix in the kidney beans and plant milk. Transfer the curry to the oven and bake for 40 minutes or until it bubbles and is slightly brown.

An oven-proof pan or Dutch oven is ideal for this recipe, but you can always transfer the curry to a casserole dish if needed.

Make this casserole ahead of time, cover it, store it in the refrigerator and bake it the next day.

Serve rajma curry over healthy brown rice, like brown basmati. White rice works well, but the sauce suits something more substantive, so you could potentially use a grain like Bulgur.

Garnish with lemon wedges, quick pickled red onions, chopped cilantro, or vegan sour cream. If you want something sweet, pineapple chutney is a great option.

If you like chili over baked potatoes, you’ll be wowed when you serve leftover rajma curry with them. It’s a great use for leftovers.

Store leftover curry in an airtight container for 5 days or freeze it for 3 months. Reheat on medium heat on the stove or microwave it.

To make this curry in the Instant Pot, you must first soak them overnight. Add 1 ½ cups raw beans and enough water to cover them by several inches. Drain and rinse the soaked beans before cooking. Add the ingredients to the Instant Pot and add either 1 extra cup of water or another cup of tomatoes. Cook on high pressure for 40 minutes with another 10 minutes of natural pressure release.

Rajma covers a variety of kidney beans. This includes the most common red kidney beans (red rajma), Chitra rajma, which have a distinctive stripe, and Jammu rajma (Kashmir rajma), which are smaller red beans. Pinto beans are also included in this family of beans.