Name: Slow-Stewed Tomato Sauce with Kidney Beans (Tamatar Malai Rajmah)
Yield: Makes 4 cups
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: ½ cup heavy (whipping) cream; ½ teaspoon Punjabi garam masala; 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems for garnishing; 2 fresh or dried bay leaves; 2 cinnamon sticks (each 3 inches long); 2 tablespoons Ghee or canola oil; 2 black cardamom pods; 5 lengthwise slices fresh ginger (each 2 inches long, 1 inch wide, and ⅛ inch thick), finely chopped; 4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped; 2 teaspoons coarse kosher or sea salt; 3 tablespoons tomato paste; 1 tablespoon sweet paprika; 2 teaspoons coriander seeds, ground; 3 cups cooked red kidney beans; ¼ cup Fried Onion Paste; ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric; ½ teaspoon cayenne (ground red pepper); 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, ground

Preparation info

Makes
4 cups

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

660 Curries

By Raghavan Iyer

Published 2008

About

Here is a simple technique, developed over centuries in northern India and which I finally mastered during my restaurant days, for creating a surprisingly complex-tasting sauce. The process of reducing the water in the sauce as a way to cook the spices slowly, known as bhunao, is repeated in succession to fashion this rich curry.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Ghee or canola oil
2 black cardamom pods
2

Method

Heat the ghee in a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, and bay leaves, and cook until they sizzle and are aromatic, 5 to 10 seconds. Immediately add the ginger and garlic, and stir-fry to a golden-brown color, about 1 minute.
Pour in ½ cup water and the tomato paste, paprika, salt, coriander, cumin, cayenne, and turm