If you love rich, hearty curries that simmer away slowly to develop deep and complex flavours, then you’re going to love this Slow Cooker Rajma Curry. A classic North Indian dish, Rajma is a thick, spicy kidney bean curry that’s perfect for a family meal or to impress your friends.
About this recipe
The beauty of this recipe is that it’s all done in a slow cooker, allowing the spices and flavours to meld perfectly together, while you go about your day. Serve it with steamed basmati rice or freshly made chapatis or spiced chapatis for a true Punjabi feast.
I absolutely love this slow cooker rajma! While you’re here you might also like to try my One Pot Rajma and Air Fryer Rajma. There are so many delicious ways to make a good rajma! The One Pot Rajma features in my cookbook ‘The Curry Guy One Pot’ and the Air Fryer Rajma is in ‘The Curry Guy Air Fryer’.
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Ingredients
It’s always a good idea to get your ingredients prepared and laid out at the ready. It makes cooking so much easier.
- dried red kidney beans, soaked for 8 hours
- rapeseed (canola) oil or ghee
- cumin seeds
- onions, roughly chopped
- garlic and ginger paste
- green finger chillies, finely chopped
- Kashmiri chilli powder
- ground turmeric
- ground cumin
- ground coriander
- Pashed Tomato (Paste)
- unseasoned pasatta
- kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
- Salt, to taste
- masala salt
- fresh coriander (cilantro)
See recipe card for quantities.
Step by Step Photos
Below you will see the photos I took while cooking this slow cooker rajma
- Step 1: Soak the kidney beans for at least 8 hours and then wash them.
- Step 2: Bring a pot of water to a boil and boil the beans for 20 minutes.
- Step 3: Heat the oil in your slow cooker using the sauté/searing function or in a pan over a medium-high heat. Stir in the cumin seeds to infuse into the oil for about a minute.
- Step 4: Stir in the chopped onions and a pinch of salt.
- Step 5: Fry the onions for about 5 minutes or until soft and translucent and then add the chillies and garlic and ginger paste to fry for a further 30 seconds.
- Step 6: Stir in the ground spices.
- Step 7: Next add the passata and stir it in.
- Step 6: Place it all into a blender and blend until smooth.
- Step 9: Pour this blended sauce into your slow cooker.
- Step 10: Add the water and kidney beans and slow cook for 10 hours on low.
Finishing the rajma curry off
All you need to do now is let the slow cooker do it’s job. Sit back and relax and wait for slow cooker rajma deliciousness!
- Step 11: After 10 hours it should look like this. Season with salt to taste and serve hot.
- Step 12: You are going to love this!
Substitutions
There are a few things you can do to make this slow cooker curry even easier.
- Use Tinned (canned) kidney beans – If the long 10 hour cooks sounds like too long, go ahead and use 3 tins (cans) of kidney beans. Only add 300ml (1 1/4 cups) water. The cook time will be about 3 hours on high.
- Try a curry paste – If you have made one of my curry pastes, you could subsitute a couple of tablespoons of any of them in this curry instead of adding the ground spices individually. The Tikka masala paste is the closest in flavour but you might also like to try the Madras, Kashmiri or vindaloo past.
- Vegetarian – the beef hamburger can be replaced with a plant-based burger to make this vegetarian
Equipment
- A Slow Cooker: Any old slow cooker will do. You don’t need anything fancy but it does make things easier if your slow cooker has a sauté/searing function so that you don’t need to fry the ingredients in a pan on our stove before adding to the slow cooker.
- A Blender: If you want a traditional style rajma, you need to blend the sauce ingredients until smooth.
- A large pot: For boiling the kidney beans. This is important if using dried beans.
- A frying pan: You only need this if your slow cooker doesn’t have a sauté/searing function.
Storage
If you happen to have leftovers or you just want to work ahead, you can store the slow cooked rajma in your fridge for 3 to 4 days. In fact, as it sits in the fridge, it will actually get better as the flavours develop.
You can also freeze the rajma for up to 6 months. To do this, freeze it in convenient portion sized air-tight containers. Be sure to label and date them before freezing.
To reheat, you can simply defrost and warm it up in a pan over a medium heat until hot. Or you could also heat the rajma in your microwave.
Top Tip
Be sure to let the kidney beans cook until very tender and then adjust the sauce to your liking. If it is too thick, whisk the beans a bit and they will thicken the sauce some or cook it down to your preferred consistency. Don’t rush this!
FAQ
Yes, you can. If using canned beans, reduce the cooking time to 3-4 hours on low or 2-3 hours on high. Only add 300ml (1 1.4 cups) water.
Mash a small portion of the cooked beans with the back of a spoon to naturally thicken the curry. You can also cook it down over a medium-high heat.
Absolutely! Add chopped green chillies to the fried onions or use more chilli powder.
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favourite dishes to serve with this recipe:
Yield: 4
Slow cooker rajma recipe
Indulge in this delicious and easy slow cooker rajma curry. The flavour is amazing and just like you would expect to find at a top restaurant in India. You are going to love this.
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
10 hours
Total Time
10 hours 20 minutes
Ingredients
300g (11⁄2 cups) of dried red kidney beans, soaked for 8 hours
3 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil or ghee
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 medium onions, roughly chopped
1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
2 green finger chillies, finely chopped
1 ½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder (more or less to taste)
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
1 ½ tsp ground coriander
2 tsp tomato purée (paste)
125ml (1⁄2 cup) unseasoned pasatta
1 tsp kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
Salt, to taste
1⁄4 tsp garam Masala
3 tbsp fresh coriander (cilantro), to garnish
Instructions
- Bring a suitably sized pot of water to a boil. Strain the soaked kidney beans and wash them thoroughly under cold water. Pour the beans into the boiling water and boil on high for 20 minutes. Then strain them and set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large pot over a medium heat. When visibly hot, add the cumin seeds and stir them into the oil for about 30 seconds.
- Add the chopped onions and fry for about 8 minutes or until golden brown. Stir in the garlic and ginger paste along with the chopped chillies.
- Now add the chilli powder, turmeric, cumin and coriander and stir these spices into the onion mixture. Add the tomato purée (paste) and passata and continue simmering until oil bubbles separate and rise to the top. Allow to cool a little and then blend to a smooth and mediumly thick sauce using a stick or countertop blender.
- Add the thick sauce, the beans and 1L (4 cups) of boiling water to your slow cooker. Cook on low for 10 hours.
- To finish, add the kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) to the sauce by rubbing it between your fingers. Stir it in and season with salt to taste.
- Sprinkle the garam masala over the top and whisk it some to make your rajma good and creamy. Garnish with the chopped coriander to serve.
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