A very simple rajma February 18, 2007
Posted by C Y Gopinath in Food.trackback
Inderjit Singh does nothing to his rajma. That’s probably why it tastes so special
Like any self-respecting sardarji, Inderjit Singh’s distinguishing quality is that he himself doesn’t know what he’ll say next. This makes it something of a challenge to extract a recipe for anything from him. As I discovered shortly after I broached the subject of his amazing rajma with him.
“It is definitely one of the best rajmas I have ever eaten,” I burped at him once, after finishing my number fifty-something meal at his unusual, all-vegetarian, utterly home-style and wildly popular eaterie at Lokhandwala Complex. Guru da Dhaba, it’s called; Guru is ostensibly Inderjit Singh himself. Gnome of a Sikh, with glasses on, and a definite attitude when it comes to food.
His rajma is the second purest I have ever eaten. The purest was at the home of a schoolmate in Old Delhi decades ago. I remember steaming rice, a clear hot spoonful of ghee, and an overwhelming rajma — medium brown, not submerged under a cavalry of cardamoms, cloves, gingers and garlics, not mashed, not forced to join hands with black dal. The red kidney bean, allowed to speak for itself, emitted a mellow purr, mumbling first but growing in confidence with every mouthful.
Guru’s rajma came very close — a thin, dark red gravy within which rested perfectly cooked red beans. With the sardarji’s chapatis, arbi masaledar and boondi raita, you were very near a perfect meal.
“Do you cook it yourself?” I asked him.
“Mr. Siddharth has already written about me,” he said, as though the end of the world was nigh. The article in question was framed and hung behind the cash counter. next to the aluminium container with chilled chaas.
“Oh, well then,” I said, turning away.
“But I cook it myself,” he said to my retreating back. “My kadhi is even better. Best in and out of Punjab. Rajma and kadhi. Never forget.” Guru in a nutshell.
The sardarji is from Rawalpindi; his young life was spent not in Punjab but in Dehra Dun. Later, in Mumbai, he chugged an autorickshaw around for years, found it wasn’t enough. Started making and selling tea, with moderate success. Spurred by his wife, the legendary Ranjit Kaur, Guru graduated to simple lunches that she cooked at home and sent to the shop in a dabba. One thing led to another, dabba became dhaba, and that led to today’s Inderjit Singh.
It was only when Ranjit fell ill that Inderjit really began to emerge, a veritable Neptune rising from the foam, colander in one hand, perforated spoon in the other, methi all over his beard, ready to cook or be cooked. His wife, the Guru’s own guru, taught him all that he knows, turning a three-wheel dilettante into a passionate chef.
I know. I’ve watched the gnome at work. Around 9.30 am, he will alight, all sweating and profane, from someone else’s autorickshaw, laden with the day’s requirement of fresh vegetables picked by his own hands. Then he will get in there and start cutting and chopping with the boys. Every day, Guru presides over the rebirth of his own menu. Never tires of it.
“What’s so great about my rajma?” he asked me suddenly, as though he didn’t know. “There’s nothing in it. It’s just boiled with red chillies and salt.”
“What about the gravy?” I asked him. Surely that was more than spiced hot water.
“This is the uncle,” he said unexpectedly to his young son, “who is going to take pictures of me for the papers. He says people are more important than food.”
“I need a shot of you cooking rajma — or something,” I said, hoping I wouldn’t get some unrelated oddball answer.
“I may not even be here,” he said, suddenly combative, as though I’d tried to sell him a defective eutectic freezer. He decided to dismiss me. “You go. Come back tomorrow at 11 am. Shoot what you can. The rajma will be on the table. You can’t have everything your way. ”
But the sardraji was there, and he did create his extraordinary ordinary rajma which respects the bean it boils. It is elegant, simple to make. Even you can make it. Try.
Rajma
Ingredients
500 gms rajma
150 gms onions, sliced into rings
150 gms tomatoes, chopped coarsely
Salt to taste
1 tsp red chilly powder
Method
Don’t soak the rajma overnight. Simply put it to boil for 30 or 40 minutes, until it is tender. If you use a pressure cooker, that’s six or seven whistles. Now in two tablespoons of oil or ghee, fry the onions golden brown. Throw in the tomatoes, stir a bit, then add red chillies and salt. Stir some more. Now grind this to a fine paste. Pour this over the rajma, add hot water till you have a medium thin gravy and simmer, covered, for another half hour or so. (Or allow six to seven whistles more on the pressure cooker). That’s it.
Do not mash. Do not garnish with coriander. Do not garnish with anything. Do not add garam masala. Do not speak while eating.
It’s the first time I had a hearty laugh while reading a post:)Both the rajma n chole posts were entertaining:)I will be checking out ur previous posts too, but could not resist myself from writing a comment first:) Will surely drop by again. So looking forward for more posts:)
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what a great article. i remember reading it in TOI years ago. wonderful to see it again.
bee
(jugalbandi.info)
Thanks for coming to the blog world. Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Never thought that rajma hrecipe was this simple.
Great to see you back. used to love reading your columns and happy to see that you still write with dollops of humour:)
coming to the rajma, never knew rajma could be made so easily….could you please tell me where is the dhaba located in lokhandwala? would love to visit soon.
Guru da dhaba is pretty well known and easy to find. Turn left at the first crossroads of Lokhandwala’s main road. It’s the fourth or fifth shop on the right. Hard to miss. While there, be sure to try his arbi masaledar.
Do not speak while eating! Love it! I am so thrilled to see your work again!
Stumbled upon your blog and tried to read surreptitiously while at my desk……Still reading.
We made this rajma yesterday and it was delicious. No coriander, no garam masala, but we couldn’t stop saying it was really tasty.
Thanks for the recipe!
Gopi ji,
The first line of this masterpiece summarizes how to treat Rajmas
. What a lovely article…..the most honest and truthful ode to Rajmas.
Sometimes simplicity is the best flavor we can add…..Mom used to make it almost like this…..except that she added ginger as well. and truth be told, slow cooking is the essence to any good daal.
AWESOME, simple n delicious!!!! I could’nt wait to try it, and we had unexpected guests, they could not stop praising it!!!
Thank you sooooo much for sharing the recipe!
Rgds,
Jayashree
Every post of yours is like treat at the end of puzzle. It feels journey through the place and actually bumping into the people you chat up. Just keep sharing.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. It is beyond delicious! My search for a rajma recipe is over.
do not speak while eating!! masterpiece….the rajma itself i will try this weekend
Great article! I want to cook rajma immediately!
Thanks for reviving old memories…..the rajma is still the same and so is the dhaba…..
Guru Da Dhaba is at first cross road lokhandwala complex, Kamdhenu shopping center…next to mac donalds building , andheri-west, mumbai.
Guru
I made this yesterday and it was mouthwateringly delicious! can’t believe rajma can taste so good without the usual garam masala. thanks for sharing! and thank you to Nupur of One Hot Stove for posting the link to this page in her blog
Tried this today..it was delicious! Thanks!
Most excellent. Both the rajma, and the way this piece was presented. I prepared this rajma for my non – indian colleauges (14 of them) and it was a huge success.
Many thanks.
” Do not speak while eating”……laughed alot ….going to try this recipe today…
Gopinath,
Actually your story is better than your Rajma Recipe.
IMHO, My Rajma tastes far better than your Guru’s recipe. Not boasting boss but you have not come across the best in the field. LOL.
Loved your writings and for that, I would put your blog on my watch list.
Naga Jolokia Addict
Fantastic blog and enjoyed reading this post. Am a big rajma fan. I just realised we’ve also met- at Anand and Navaz’s home in Bangalore?
Not soaking overnight is a great timesaver – I hate planning recipes a day ahead. If you love Rajma, you might want to try out a hundred similar recipes…
Tried this yesterday. Was shocked how good it was. No more masalas in my rajma. Thanks for sharing this.
Simple recipe that turned out to be really YUMMY! This is the recipe I have been searching for ever since I had rajma at my Punjabi friend’s place. Thanks a ton!
This concept is the foundation of the very best Italian cooking, and of Lebanese as well…use the freshest, finest ingredients you can find, use the fewest ingredients you can, and use impeccable technique but keep it simple and allow the ingredients to speak for themselves.
As a counterpoint, here is a video of two Indian Rachael Rays with their version; it might be instructional to compare results:
http://showmethecurry.com/2008/02/21/kidney-beans-curry-rajma/
There is one thing I simply don’t understand, and it appears to be a cultural difference in how Indians from the homeland write recipes: why on earth do you insist on using weights? It’s not as if everyone has a scale in the kitchen. For crying out loud, wouldn’t it be so much simpler to use volumes like cups, mL, tablespoons, cubic inches or whatever?
Yummy! Thanks!
wow!!!…wht a simple recipe ………i’m very new to de kitchen,basically experimentin e my culinary skills……hope my hubby likes this one…
Read in OUTLOOK 2day.Seems cool shall try out Rajmah….good for forced bachelors like me posted on the borders looking for guys who dont like even the confused democratic elections , where every body other than the voter is a winner.
“The sardarji himself is not from the Punjab but Rawalpindi”…Where do you think is Rawalpindi? Tamil Nadu?
Excellent point! The article stands corrected now.
So quick to edit! Great work sir! I also tried the recipie and it turned out amazing! Thanks for the good work!
Its 2:00AM now. I’m starving. No possibility of getting any food. I shouldn’t have read this.
Oh! And I’m a huge fan!