Rajmah

Yes, I am sure that photo will win me a spot on the Ugly Food blog... ugh! Talk about someone with too much time on their hands! lol...

Rajmah is a kidney bean curry dish - it can be made vegan if you use soy plain yogurt (feel free to sub regular plain yogurt for a non-vegan meal - it will still be vegetarian).
It isn't much to look at but it smells and tastes great! It has this wonderful almost fruity flavour which is making me wish I'd added chopped apples and raisins to it like I do a regular curry. Idea for next time I guess. :) It's nice and spicy, too!

The rice and beans, by the way, are complementary proteins so this is an excellent dish for vegetarians since it provides all the necessary protein types (I used to know what those were..!) Figured I'd use that "teachable moment" for a small nutrition lesson. :)

Another meal I wish I had some naan (sp?) bread to go with!

2 servings

Ingredients:
1/2 medium-sized onion, chopped
1 tsp. canola or olive oil, divided
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/8 tsp. ground coriander
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. curry powder
1/8 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tbsp. tomato paste
1/2 tbsp. plain soy yogurt or regular plain yogurt for a non-vegan dish
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 tsp. ground ginger or 1/2 tbsp. minced fresh ginger
1/2 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup water
**ooh, it also called for salt but I missed that... seem to do that a lot! You won't miss it if you forget it! There are so many other wonderful flavours going on :)

Method:
1. In a medium saucepan or Dutch oven, saute the onion in 1/2 tsp. oil over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes. Push the onions to one side of the pan and add the remaining 1/2 tsp. oil. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin and mix well. Add the coriander, curry, turmeric, and cayenne pepper. Cook the spices for just a little bit and then mix them with the onions.

2. Reduce the heat and add the tomato paste, yogurt, garlic, and ginger. Stir and simmer for about 2 minutes. Mash about 1/4 of the kidney beans and add them, along with the other beans, and the water to the pan. Stir and then simmer for about 30 minutes.

3. For a thicker sauce, cook uncovered for an additional 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Serve over rice.

Reference:
I found this recipe in a cookbook one of the moms at work gave me :) So nice of her! It's a book that was compiled by the mothers in her playgroup (The San Diego North County Attachment Playgroup) so I'm sure it's not readily available but here's the information on it anyway!
Fresh Mamas: Whole Cooking for Our Whole Families (2007 Cookbook). Edited by Carol Jefferies and Jenny Kim. San Diego, CA.
Yeay! :)