Very easy and quick rajma for the day you dont want to cook

So Friday is finally here.

I've been sooooo looking forward to this Friday.

Tomorrow I plan to give myself retail therapy. The plan is to shop at the roadside stalls on Bandra Hill road and pick up anything that fits my budget and to shop till I drop.

 There are a lot of "I hopes" involved - like -
 I hope it's not too sunny( of course it will be - the kids are starting summer vacation tomorrow - dunce!),
 I hope I can get out at a good time and not get caught in too much traffic (very funny - in Mumbai on Saturday - you've got to be kidding). But anyway I've made up my mind - I'm going to bed early today to gear up for tomorrows trek into retail world.

 Oh and then there's the planned family get together at my cousins place - I'm looking forward to that certainly. She always manages to move into these picturesque houses in the heart of Mumbai - and it's like a resort visit to go there. This time it's another new house and I'm waiting to get there.


So with this elaborate thing planned for tomorrow I didn't want to do anything in the kitchen today.
Saturdays are my days off from the kitchen - I DONT COOK on Saturdays.

But the problem usually is that I switch off on Friday on most occassions. This used to be a rude surprise for my family because they would be hungry and  would realize then that I hadn't cooked anything. So the ever obliging dabba wala across the road would be our saviour for the day.

This was not really working because no food for two days in a row  - meant an empty fridge and that's not such a good thing with a kid at home.

 So now I do a "one dish" thing on Friday -
 it has to be something versatile that would go with rice roti and bread.
Also I make it in large quantities so that it can in an emergency  -  tide us over the next day as well.
AND - importantly it should be a family favourite  - because no one wants to eat - Kaddu ki sabji on Friday


So one of the things that has become a Friday staple in my kitchen is Rajma
My recipe calls for no effort on the part of the cook and the emergent dish can easily be modified and given a different twist for every meal that it is carried forward to

Very Easy and quick Rajma curry

1. Soak a katori (or more ) of rajma in a lot of water. I like to use Kashmiri rajma but I know some excellent cooks who swear by the light coloured rajma seeds as well. When you soak - make sure that the water level is way above the rajma. at least 2 inches above the rajma seeds. It is best to soak overnight but in case you forget like I frequently do - Just use hot water to soak the rajma instead of regular water and soak it for two hours - that is good enough
2. The next step is washing the rajma well. This in my opinion is the most tedious part of the cooking and I hate to do this. But anyway the rajma needs to be rinsed well at least 3 times
3. Now put the rajma in a pressure cooker with about 8 times the amount of water.
4. To this water add one chopped tomato, one chopped onion and a tsp of ginger garlic paste.
5. Also add 1 tsp rajma masala and 3/4 tsp salt or to taste
6. Close the cooker and cook it on full flame for the first whistle and then reduce the flame and cook it for another 20 minutes at the lowest flame.
7. Allow the cooker to cool and then open it
8. In a very small kadhai - heat a tablespoon of oil and add a teaspoon full of jeera. When the jeera splutters, turn off the gas and add a tsp of jeera powder.
9. Pour this over the cooked rajma
10. Turn the gas on again and simmer the rajma on lowest flame for 10 minutes

That's it! You're done!

And this is such a versatile dish that it allows at least three modifications into other yummy food

That's for another day. Right now I'm hungry. That rajma is going right inside me!