Indian Kidney Bean Curry (Vegan)
My favorite Indian vegan curry that I like to make for weeknights when I want something warm, delicious, and easy. Even my meat-loving husband loves this so much!
- 1 cup dried Kidney Beans
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon Vegan ghee/ Avocado oil
- 3/4 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 pieces of cinnamon
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 tablespoons ginger garlic paste* (I use store-bough paste)
- 2 medium tomatoes finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder/paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- salt to your taste
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Soak beans for about 8 hours or overnight. (see notes for no soak method)
Add soaked beans with water to a traditional pressure cooker or to an instant pot. Add salt. Cook for 5 whistles in a traditional pressure cooker. Or 10mins on HIGH pressure in an instant pot (You can choose the pressure cook option and adjust the timer or press manual setting and set the pressure to high and timer to 10 minutes). Let the pressure release naturally.
In a large pot, heat ghee/avocado oil. Add cumin seeds, bay leaf, and cinnamon pieces.
Then add onion and saute it for about a minute. Add ginger and garlic paste. Mix in with the onions. Saute until onions turn translucent.
Add tomato and tomato paste. Mix well and cover the with a lid. Cook on medium-low heat until tomatoes become soft and mushy.
Add coriander powder, cumin powder, chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, and about 1/4 tsp salt (you can adjust the salt later). Saute until most of the water evaporates and the mixture becomes thicker. This will get rid of the raw taste of spices and will deepen the flavors.
Add cooked beans along with the water. Mix and cook until the curry thickens up to your desired texture. Mix gently from time to time. Taste and adjust salt. (If the curry becomes too thick you can always add some water to it and bring it to a simmer).
When the curry is thickened up to your desired level, turn off the heat. Add chopped cilantro on top. (You can also add some split green chilies for color and heat if you like). Serve hot with Basmati rice, some sliced onion, and a piece of butter.
- If you're making ginger and garlic paste at home, add an equal amount of ginger and garlic by volume and grind it into a paste. Since freshly made ginger garlic paste is stronger than store-bought ones, you'd only need about 1 tbsp of the given recipe.
- To cook Kidney beans without soaking: Add kidney beans to the instant pot with water. 1 cup of unsoaked beans needs 4 cups of water. Pressure cook on HIGH for 40 minutes.
