This week I will be posting different rice and gravy dishes as my theme for BM. If you have been following my posts, you would know that I am in love with my Instant Pot. It’s been over 2 months since I used my regular pressure cooker and I have not missed it one bit. When thinking of a gravy recipe to make in Instant pot, I realized that I have not made Instant Pot Rajma Masala yet. I have the traditional recipe for Rajma masala and I used the same recipe except made it in Instant Pot.

It was such a life saver and the beans worked perfectly and also retained the shape. They were perfectly soft when pressed in between fingers and yet each and every bean retained its shape. I just had one vessel to wash which was the inner pot of the Instant pot.

I have made this entirely vegan and did not use any butter or cream in the recipe. We can use butter if preferred instead of oil. I also love using canned tomatoes when making subzis like this as it is much convenient. Traditionally, I would stew the tomatoes to remove the skin and then puree them, but the canned ones are way easier. I just have to empty the whole can into the mixer jar and give it a quick grind. Make sure you buy the no salt added tomatoes, if you watching the sodium intake.

Preparation time – 10 minutes plus overnight soaking time

Cooking time – 45 minutes

Difficulty level – easy

Ingredients to make Instant Pot Rajma Masala – (serves 6 to 8)

Rajma / Kidney beans – 2 cups

Onions – about 2 cups (finely chopped)

Tomatoes – 1 can (14oz) or 4 large tomatoes

Green chilies – 3

Ginger – 1/2 inch (grated)

Garlic – 2 cloves (finely minced)

Oil – 3 tbsp

Cumin seeds / Jeera – 1 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Red chili powder – 2 tsp

Dhania Jeera Powder / Coriander cumin powder – 1 tbsp

Garam Masala – 2 tsp

Salt – to taste

Cilantro – to garnish

Procedure to make Instant Pot Rajma Masala –

Wash the kidney bean well and soak it in enough water for at least 12 hours. It is important to let the beans soak for overnight or at least 12 hours as it cooks well that way.

If using whole tomatoes, blanch it and then peel the skin. Make a puree out of the blanched tomatoes. I used canned tomatoes and skipped this step. I just pureed the tomatoes out of the can. You could grind whole tomatoes as well, but the puree might not be very smooth.

Switch the instant pot with the inner pot in place and turn it on saute mode. Once the pot heats up, add the oil and wait for it to heat up.

Add the cumin seeds and let it crackle. Add the onions and the green chilies and saute until the onions are translucent.

Next add the dry masala powders; turmeric powder, red chili powder, dhania jeera powder and garam masala along with salt and mix well.

Add the pureed tomatoes and mix well. Let the masala cook for about 5 to 7 minutes .

Drain the soaked beans and add it to the pot. Add about 5 cups of water and mix well.

Place the lid in place. Turn off the instant pot and then turn it on again and press the beans/chili button. It automatically is set to 30 minutes. Let it remain in that with the vent in sealing position.

After the time is done, let the pressure release naturally. Open the pot and garnish with cilantro.