A nostalgic potful...

I recently was chatting over email with fellow westchester blogger - Phyllis and was quite amazed and impressed by all the culinary greats that she has learnt cooking from. She has actually learnt Indian cooking from Madhur Jaffrey, she describes this beautifully with some recipes in this post.
Well, possibly one of my first Indian cookbooks were by this grand dame of Indian cooking Ms. Jaffrey. I could not actually find it today. I made these kidney beans - Punjabi Rajma, inspired by memory. I do know that here recipe called for two things that I did not do, the first was to add cream and the second was to simmer the beans for 3-4 hours, hey, that is why I have a pressure cooker....

Punjabi Rajma - Spicy creamy red kidney beans

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35-40 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups of cooked red kidney beans
2.5 cups of water
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon freshly grated garlic
2 teaspoons grated ginger
1 large tomato, chopped
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon powdered cumin
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
Salt to taste (please take care to balance this with the amount of salt that the beans have been cooked in)
1 lemon
1-2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Method of Preparation

1. Take about 1/2 the beans and grind to a puree with about 1/2 cup water and set this aside.
2. Heat the oil and add the cumin seeds and cook till fragrant and aromatic.
3. Add in the onion and cook on medium heat stirring occasionally until the onion in soft and begining to turn golden (about 3-4 minutes).
4. Add in the ginger and garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.
5. Mix in the tomatoe and cook for 5-7 minutes.
6. Add in the whole beans, chili powder, powdered cumin the bean puree with about 1 and a 1/2 cups of water.
7. Simmer on low heat till for about 25-30 minutes till thick, creamy and smooth.
8. Squeeze in the lemon juice.
9. Remove from the heat and garnish with garam masala and cilantro prior to serving.

This recipe is being sent to MLLA no #23, being hosted by Susan at the Well Seasoned Cook.