Rinse the dried beans and then tip into a pan. Cover with 6 cups water and then add the cumin seeds, bay leaf, cardamom and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook gently for 1½-2 hours or until the beans are soft and creamy.
Pick out the beat leaf and cardamom and drain the beans. Retain about 2 cups of the cooking liquid. Set aside until you need it.
To use canned kidney beans
Open cans and keep in their liquid. Set aside until you need them.
To make the rajma masala sauce
In a large saucepan or wok, heat the oil over a medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add the fennel seeds and cinnamon stick and sizzle for 10 seconds before adding the ginger and garlic.Let this sizzle gently for 1 minute before adding the pureed onion.
Stir fry the onion for 4-5 minutes until browned and most of the water from it has evaportated.
Add the ground spices and stir into the onion paste then add the tomato passata, yoghurt and then ½ cup water. Stir well and bring to a simmer.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 15 minutes until the sauce has reduced into a thickish paste-like sauce.
Add your cooked beans or canned beans and stir in well. If you're using your own cooked beans, add about 1 cup of the cooking liquid to create a thinner, creamy sauce. If you're using canned beans, add the whole cans, liquid and all. You might need to add a little water for think things out a little, not more than ½ cup.
Season well with salt and pepper and cook gently for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the fenugreek leaves. Tip: rub the leaves between your palms to make a powder (MORE FLAVOUR!).That's it, you're done!
Serve with lots of fluffy basmati rice.
Garnish your rajma chawal as you like, I like to sprinkle a little more fenugreek leaves, thin red onion slices, chilli slices, cilantro and a little drizzle of yoghurt that I thin out with a touch of milk.
Notes
Storage
Refrigeration - rajma will stay fresh in the fridge for a week when stored in an airtight container.
Freezing - rajma freezes excellently. Portion into single serves in airtight containers or thick freezer bags. Cook from frozen until piping hot. I also like to add about 1⁄4 cup of water before cooking to avoid the rajma from drying out.
Garnishes
As with ANY food, I love to make it look more appealing. We eat with our eyes, so garnishing a dish can really make a difference. I like to add an extra scattering of the dried fenugreek leaves, a scattering of fresh cilantro, thinly sliced red onion and some sliced fresh red chilli. Use whatever garnishes you prefer!