Rajma Masala | Spiced Indian Red Kidney Bean Curry

Finely chop the onion; coarsely chopped onion will burn before it browns. Purée the tomatoes in a food processor. Crush the garlic and ginger together into a paste, and slice the green chile pepper into thin rings. Have all the masala ingredients ready by the stove.

Heat the oil in a pot and add the cumin seeds and bay leaf; the cumin will crackle and release its aroma in 20 seconds. Add the onion and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. The goal is genuinely brown, not golden: the onion should shrink to one-third of its volume and darken around the edges. This 15-minute step creates the dish’s sweetness and color.

Add the tomato purée and salt and cook over medium heat. The mixture will first become watery, then thicken. It is ready when oil separates around the edges and rises to the surface. If you add the beans before the oil separates, the masala will retain a raw tomato flavor.

Add the cooked kidney beans and their cooking liquid to the pot. Press about one-quarter of the beans against the side of the pot with the back of a ladle to mash them; this is what thickens the curry. Simmer over low heat, scraping the bottom occasionally, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Sprinkle in the garam masala just before removing the pot from the heat. Crumble the dried fenugreek leaves between your palms and add them as well. Both have volatile aromas, so add them at the end. Stir in the chopped cilantro, cover, and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve with rice.