Rajma Kebab
Tasty and flavorful Rajma Kebab made from kidney beans, spices and herbs. Kidney beans are also known as rajma in India. These delicious kebabs are also vegan and gluten free and makes for a excellent tea time snack.
Rajma is a favorite in my house. From these pinkish or maroonish red colored beans most often, I prepare Rajma Recipe or Rajma Chawal, both of which are a staple during weekends. This rajma kebabs is the newest addition in the recipes I prepare from rajma.
These rajma kebabs have a firm texture and not melt in the mouth like vegetarian galouti kebabs. They make for a nice evening snack for kids or can feature in your starter menu for parties or even everyday lunch or dinner.
Preparation for rajma kababs takes time as we need to cook the rajma beans. You can even make the kebab mixture a day before and refrigerate. Then next day prepare the kebabs.
Rajma kebabs can be served with mint yogurt chutney or Mint Raita. Also goes well with red chili garlic chutney, Coriander Chutney or tamarind chutney.
How to make Rajma Kebab
Cook Kidney Beans
1. Rinse ½ cup dried kidney beans in fresh water a couple of times. Soak the beans in enough water overnight or for 8 hours.
Tip: Make sure to use fresh rajma and not aged beans as they take a longer time to cook.
2. Next day drain all the water. Rinse the rajma beans very well in running water a few times.
3. Then place the kidney beans in a 2 to 3 litre stove-top pressure cooker. Add ¼ teaspoon salt.
4. Pour 2 cups water. Pressure cook on medium heat until the beans have softened really well. The time taken for them to cook depends on the age of the beans.
If they are fresh or new, they will take less time to cook. I pressure cooked rajma for 18 minutes on a medium heat.
This much time about pressure cooking for 20 to 22 whistles on a medium heat. The number of whistles will vary with the size and volume of the cooker.
5. When the pressure settles down on its own in the cooker, then only open the cooker. Mash a few rajma beans and check if they have softened. If not, then pressure cook for some more time.
6. Drain them well and set aside. Let them become warm or cool at room temperature.
Make Rajma Kebab Mixture
7. In another cooker or a pot or pan or steamer, boil 1 medium to large potato. If pressure cooking, then cook the potato in ¾ to 1 cup water for 2 to 3 whistles.
8. When the potato becomes warm, peel and begin to mash it with a fork or masher.
9. Now add the rajma.
10. With a masher mash the rajma beans. Yes you need to give some pressure while mashing the rajma beans. Keep aside. You don’t need to make a fine paste.
11. In a small pan, heat 2 to 3 teaspoons oil. Add ¼ cup finely chopped onions.
12. Saute the onions till translucent or a light brown.
13. Now add ½ teaspoon ginger-garlic paste or ½ teaspoon crushed ginger-garlic (about 2 to 3 garlic cloves + ½ inch ginger crushed to paste).
Sauté till the raw aroma of both ginger and garlic goes away.
14. Add 2 tablespoons besan or gram flour. You can also chickpea flour in place of gram flour.
15. Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes on a low heat until the raw aroma of gram flour goes away.
16. Then add ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon red chilli powder and ½ teaspoon garam masala powder.
17. Mix very well. Turn off the the heat.
18. Now add this sauteed onion + spices mixture to the mashed rajma + potato mixture.
19. Add ½ teaspoon lemon juice or ½ teaspoon amchur powder or ½ teaspoon dry pomegranate powder. You can add less or more as required.
20. Season with salt.
21. Mix very well. Check the taste and add more salt, spices or lemon juice or amchur powder if required.
Make Rajma Kebab
22. Then shape into small or medium sized balls first and then flatten them.
23. Heat 1 or 2 tablespoons oil in a pan. Place the rajma kababs. on a low to medium flame, pan fry the rajma kebabs.
24. When the base becomes golden, flip and fry the other side.
25. Fry the rajma kabab till they are evenly cooked, golden and crisp.
25. Remove in a plate or tray.
26. Serve rajma kebab hot or warm with any chutney like Tamarind Chutney or mint coriander chutney or Pudina Chutney or any dip of your choice.
Step by Step Photo Guide Above
Ingredients
- ½ cup kidney beans (rajma) pressure cooked in 2 cups water
- 1 potato medium to large, pressure cooked in ¾ to 1 cup water
- 2 to 3 teaspoons oil – for sauteing onions
- ⅓ cup chopped onions – 43 grams
- ½ teaspoon Ginger Garlic Paste or 2 to 3 garlic cloves + ½ inch ginger crushed to paste
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon Red Chilli Powder or cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon Garam Masala
- 2 tablespoon gram flour (besan) or chickpea flour
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice or ½ teaspoon amchur powder (dry mango powder) – add as per taste
- 1 to 2 tablespoons oil – for pan frying
- salt as required
Instructions
Soaking and cooking kidney beans
- Soak the rajma beans in enough water overnight or for 8 hours.
- Next day drain all the water. Rinse the rajma beans very well in running water.
- Then place the rajma beans in a pressure cooker. Add salt.
- Pour 2 cups water. Pressure cook the rajma beans till they have softened really well.
- The time taken for them to cook depends on the age of the rajma beans. If they are fresh or new, they will take less time to cook. I pressure cooked rajma for 18 minutes on a medium flame. This takes about 20 to 22 whistles on a medium flame.
- When the pressure settles down on its own in the cooker, open the cooker. Mash a few rajma beans and check if they have softened. If not, then pressure cook for some more time.
- Drain the rajma beans well and keep aside.
Cooking potatoes
- In another cooker or a pot or pan or steamer, boil 1 medium or large potato. If pressure cooking, then cook the potato in ¾ to 1 cup water for 2 to 3 whistles.
Making rajma kebab mixture
- When the potato becomes warm, peel and begin to mash it with a fork or masher.
- Now add the rajma.
- With a masher mash the rajma beans. Keep aside.
- In a small pan, heat 2 to 3 teaspoons oil. Add the chopped onions.
- Saute the onions till translucent or a light brown.
- Now add ginger-garlic paste or crushed ginger-garlic.
- Saute till the raw aroma of both ginger-garlic goes away.
- Add besan or gram flour.
- Saute for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Then add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and garam masala powder.
- Mix very well. Switch off the flame.
- Now add this sauteed onion + spices mixture to the mashed rajma + potato mixture.
- Add ½ teaspoon lemon juice or ½ teaspoon amchur powder or ½ teaspoon dry pomegranate powder. You can add less or more as required.
- Season with salt.
- Mix very well. Check the taste and add more salt, spices or lemon juice or amchur powder if required.
- Then shape into small or medium sized balls first and then flatten them.
Pan frying rajma kebab
- Heat 1 or 2 tablespoons oil in a pan. Place the kebabs.
- On a low to medium heat, pan fry the rajma kebabs. When the base becomes golden, flip and fry the second side.
- Fry the rajma kebabs till they are evenly cooked, golden and crisp.
- Remove the rajma kebab in a plate or tray.
- Serve rajma kebabs hot or warm with any chutney or dip.
Notes
- Use beans which are in their shelf-life and are not aged or old.
- You can choose to cook the beans and potatoes in a stove-top pressure cooker or in the instant pot.
- Instead of gram flour, you can use rice flour, bread crumbs, corn starch or tapioca starch.
- Adjust the ground spices as needed.
- Scale the recipe to half or double it according to your needs.
Nutrition
This Rajma Kebab post from the archives first published in July 2016 has been republished and updated on 4 June 2022.
Made vegetarian galouti kabab for the first time. Turned out brilliant.
Thank you for this lovely feedback.
Those crisper versions saved my day Mam…..n ppl thot m health conscious that’s y no oil snack!!!!!
So , it wasn’t bad:))
great! and thank you pooja for letting me know. chalo, at least the rajma kababs were fine albeit crispy ????
Hello Mam,
I hv ben following ur recipes and they mostly give great result as I understand literally the basics of cooking…..so thank u, dil se…….for making ppl like us not to run away from kitchen :))
Secondly, this particular recipe was a disaster as it totally dint hold well for itself…..I guess I shud hv read the responses earlier to know the imp of binding agent or maybe water content ……
However, as it was an imp event to add this snack so I made these little more flat n baked them……they turned crispy chips instead……it was not that bad !!!!
hi pooja, firstly thank you very much. next time you can make them well. the reason for kababs or cutlets breaking in oil is less binding and more moisture. the vegetables or cooked legumes (like rajma and potatoes in this recipe) should be drained very well and mashed also very well. a small portion of the kabab mixture can be made and then fried. if it breaks, then it means more binding is needed. so some roasted besan can be added. in fact, bread crumbs or corn starch can also be added instead of besan.
on baking, they should have been shaped into proper kabab size and width. a flat shaping will make them crispy and crunchy. but still it feels some solace to me, that the taste was good and the efforts did not go waste.
This recipe is too good. But I added cornflour as well and it gave a good binding without breaking apart and giving a crispy crust. Thanks again Dassana 🙂
welcome shayath and thanks for the feedback. corn flour can be added. even bread crumbs can be added.
Not very happy with the outcome. My kebabs opened up when I placed them on the pan for frying. Wasn’t really happy cause all the efforts went down the drain on the final step. Please help me out with this.
firstly, the rajma have to be cooked very well. secondly the mixture has to have a good binding. thirdly the rajma beans have to be drained very well and there should not be any water or moisture in the kebab mixture. so any of this could be the cause. while making kebabs, tikkis, patties, always first try with small portion and see if it breaks or not while frying. it it breaks, then it means that some more binding agent is required. in this recipe there are two binding agents – potatoes and besan. so if the rajma breaks, then some more roasted besan can be added. just lightly roast the besan in a tawa and then add. mix very well and then shape into patties and then fry. the oil used in the recipe is very less. if more oil is used, then its possible that the kebabs may break, if not binded well.
thanks for the amazing recipe
thanks for the feedback tripti.
love every recipe, how well they are documented, don’t even have to read the text. just follow the pictures. most popular and useful website and the best part is it is vegetarian. thanks a lot.
thank you ranjana for your motivating words and positive views 🙂 you are welcome.
it would be a healthy snack for kids in evening time dasanna.
one more thing I would like to tell to you. You are the only blogger replying all of your recipes comments till now I am seeing among others. Keep up this and your visitors feel happy to comment about your recipes.God bless you.:)
very pleased to know this thankyou so much nilashini 🙂 god bless you too.