Rajma Chawal

In the magnificent and alluring fiesta of Indian cuisine, a dish, that, despite being a simple comfort food, makes a mark for itself is the Rajma Chawal. The dish involves rajma or red kidney beans turned to the consistency of thick curry with onion, ginger, garlic, tomatoes and loads of aromatic spices. An iconic dish spanning the entire Indian subcontinent, the cooked rajma is best served with a side of steaming hot chawal or rice.

A staple to not only India but neighbouring countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, rajma or the red kidney bean, however, was not native to India. It was with the advent of colonisation that we got introduced to this protein-rich plant. According to food historian KT Achaya’s work Indian Food: A Historical Companion, there is no mention of rajma in any form in any ancient or medieval text. Ken Albala shows in Beans: A History how ancestors of the kidney bean, scientifically known as Phaseolus vulgaris, spread from modern-day northern Mexico to Argentina and was considered a staple there.

As legends go, around 1942, kidney beans along with other varieties of beans became popular among the Spaniards and Portuguese in the hands of Christopher Columbus. It received quick recognition across Europe for its protein-rich components and from there to respective colonies in Asia and Africa, including India. The long shelf life of these beans made it a convenient ingredient for prolonged sea voyages. But, when it comes to the introduction of beans to India, Achaya acclaims the French. It was in the French colonies of Pondicherry. Karaikal and Mahe, in the southern part of India, where the bean was first made available. However, it was the British who started its commercial cultivation in India, coursing its way to the northern parts. The tradition of using Dal made it easier for rajma to permeate in everyday lives and become a kitchen staple for North Indians.

Be it the authentic Rajma Chawal from Punjab, made with a hoard of spices and a gravy of pureed tomatoes, onions, ginger and garlic, the traditional Kashmiri Razmah Masala made with yoghurt instead of tomatoes, or the Himachali Rajma Madra, a legume-based curry prepared with chickpeas and black-eyed beans, the cherished kidney beans have certainly gone through oodles of regional imagination. Yet, the credit for Rajma Chawal’s insurmountable popularity goes to the Punjabi roadside eateries called ‘dhabas’, where travellers first got the essence of this classic regional dish.