Rajma Dum Biryani

Whenever we talk about commonly available biryani options for vegetarians, it is typically the Veg Dum Biryani which is made with assortment of vegetables. In addition to this we also get to see few other options like Paneer Biryani, Mushroom Biryani and Aloo Chole Dum Biryani.

I am certain that you would have seldom seen a Dum biryani made using Rajma or Kidney beans in a restaurant menu! In this post, I am sharing the recipe of this very unique biryani which I am sure would be your favourite once you try it.

Rajma Chawal is an extremely popular combination in north India and rice and rajma are match made in heaven! I took the inspiration for this biryani from this classic combination and come up with my own variation of Rajma Dum Biryani. You might be wondering how different would a Rajma Biryani taste as compared to Rajma chawal! Trust me the flavour profiles are entirely different and the flavour of Rajma Dum Biryani reflects a true aromatic biryani.

The whole idea of a one pot biryani dish when it was invented was to make a balanced dish which contains both protein and carbohydrates to keep you full and energetic. In the traditional biryani, the protein is available from the meat or chicken which is used as the main ingredient. So when we vegetarians came up with the veg version of the biryani, we replaced the meat or chicken with an array of veggies which taste great and are nutritious at the same time, however where it lacks in nutrition is the protein aspect. So this Rajma biryani is my personal favourite as it provides you adequate amount of protein and is equally delicious.

Which variety of Rajma is to be used for Rajma Dum Biryani?

When it comes to Kidney beans or Rajma, we have an array of choices available in the market. We get to see the small ones and the large beans and within the large beans we again have the light pink coloured rajma and purple coloured rajma. For this biryani, I recommend using the large variety of Rajma and preferably the purple ones as it gives a nice contrast to the rice dish in terms of colour. The reason I do not recommend using the small variety is because it could get slightly mushy when it is dum cooked again.

Tips to Make a perfect Rajma Biryani

First and foremost, this dish is technically not a one pot dish as the rajma needs to be first cooked separately and then dum cooked again. So the rajma or kidney beans need to be soaked overnight and first pressure cooked till it is just soft. We need to make sure that the rajma is cooked through however it must not get mushy. If the rajma is mushy after the initial cook, you could end up in a sticky biryani, so it is important to cook the rajma just right.

The next tip is to drain the stock which was used to cook the rajma and cool down the cooked rajma completely. This would ensure that the steam from cooked rajma escapes and it does not get overcooked or become mushy.

Do not discard the stock from cooked rajma, as we would use this for the gravy base for the biryani. This stock is full of flavour and tastes great.

Use a good quality long grain basmati rice and soak for around 20 to 30 minutes before parboiling it. The rice must be cooked around 75% as it would be cooked again in dum. One important tip to ensure that the rice grains are not broken in the parboiling stage is to cook in plenty of water and drain the water from the rice. It is also important to completely cool down the parboiled basmati rice before cooking in dum again.

Use generous amount of deep fried crisp onions to enhance the flavour of the biryani.

Serving Suggestion

Rajma dum biryani is a perfect choice for lunch and you could also make this for packed lunch or tiffin. It is quite a filling dish in itself and is served best with a raita of your choice, salad and roasted papad.

Rajma Dum Biryani

Kannan

Rajma Dum Biryani is an aromatic and flavourful rice dish made using kidney beans or rajma cooked in an array of spices in dum style

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Soaking Time 8 hours hrs

Total Time 9 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian, North-Indian

Equipment

• Measuring Cups & Spoons

Ingredients

  

• 1¼ cup Kidney Beans or Rajma large variety
• 1¼ cup Long Grain Basmati Rice
• 3 large Onions
• 2 medium Onions
• 2 medium Tomatoes
• 4 tbsp Curd
• 1 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
• 2 Green Chillies
• ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
• 2 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
• 1½ tsp Dhaniya or Coriander Powder
• 2 tsp Biryani Masala
• 1 inch Ginger
• 3 Bay Leaves
• 4 Cloves
• 3 inch Cinnamon
• 4 Green Cardamom
• 1 Star Anise
• 1 Marathi Moggu
• 10-12 strands Saffron
• 5 tbsp Ghee
• Fresh Mint Leaves handful
• 3 tbsp Fresh Coriander Leaves chopped
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying onions

Instructions

 

• Wash and soak the rajma or kidney beans overnight. Drain the water which was used to soak the rajma.
  
• Pressure cook the rajma with adequate water along with 1 bay leaf, 1½ inch cinnamon, 2 cloves, 2 green cardamom, 1 inch ginger cut in juliennes, 2 teaspoon salt. If you are using pressure cooker, cook for around 6-7 whistles and if you are using IP or multipot, cook in bean chilli mode for 17 minutes. It is important to cook the rajma just right and it should not get mushy.
  
• Once the pressure is released, drain the stock from the cooked rajma and keep aside. Cool the cooked rajma completely.
  
• Wash and soak basmati rice for around 20-30 minutes.
• Take a large pan and add around 3½ cups of water and add the remaining whole spices (2 bay leaves, 2 cloves, 2 green cardamom, 1 star anise, 1 marathi moggu and 1½ inch cinnamon), 1 tablespoon ghee and 1 teaspoon salt (or taste) and bring to boil.
  
• Now add the soaked and drained basmati rice and cover and cook on high flame for around 8 to 9 minutes or till the rice is around 75 to 80% cooked.
  
• Drain the water from the rice using a colander and let the rice cool down completely (you could spread the rice well on a large plate)
  
• Dice 3 large onions to thin slices as shown in picture. Separate the slices well.
  
• Blanch 2 tomatoes and remove the skin and blend to a puree.
  
• Heat oil in a kadai and deep fry the onion in batches on a medium to low flame (while stirring in between) till they are golden brown in colour. Drain the onions on a kitchen paper towel and they could crisp up once cooled.
  
• Dissolve the saffron strands in around 3 to 4 tablespoons of hot water and pound in pestle and mortar. Keep this aside.
  
• In a heavy bottomed handi, add 3 tablespoon ghee and add 2 green chillies and roughly diced 2 medium sized onions, 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes.
  
• Now add the tomato puree, turmeric powder, kashmiri red chilli powder, dhaniya powder and biryani masala and cook on medium flame for around 5 minutes or till the oil separates. Add little salt if required (however note that we would be adding the rajma stock later which also has salt).
  
• Whisk 4 tablespoons of curd till it is smooth. Now add the curd to the masala mixture and mix continuously on low flame (else the curd could get split)
  
• Now add the cooked rajma and some fresh chopped coriander leaves and cook for couple of minutes.
  
• Now add some of the reserved rajma stock till the rajma is just covered with water. Bring it to a gentle boil.
  
• Now reserve half of the rajma from this in a separate bowl. Make sure that the bottom layer of rajma has more gravy as compared to the reserved one.
  
• Layer half of the par cooked basmati rice over the rajma in handi. Add some fried onions, half of the mint leaves and some chopped fresh coriander leaves as well.
  
• Now add the reserved rajma and repeat the layer using remaining rice, fried onions, mint and coriander leaves.
  
• Now using a fork prick 4 to 5 holes in the top layer of the rice and pour the soaked saffron water and 1 tablespoon of ghee.
  
• Now cover the handi either using aluminium foil or dough on the sides and cover with lid tightly. Cook on dum on low flame for 20 minutes.
  
• Open the lid and slightly fluff up the rice and let the it rest for around 5 minutes before serving. Do not mix completely and just serve by taking portions from different layers.
  

Notes

• Do not overcook the rajma and it should not get mushy. Cool the rajma well after draining the stock from the cooked rajma.
• Cook the basmati rice in plenty of water till is cooked only 75-80% and drain the excess water. Cool the cooked rice. Cooking the rice this way will ensure that the rice remains fluffy and does not break as well.
• Deep fry the onions on medium to low flame. If they are fried on high flame, the onions would turn brown quickly and not crisp up.
• Saffron can also be dissolved in hot milk instead of water. However dissolving in water gives a richer colour.
• Cook in dum on low flame and in a heavy bottomed handi, else the biryani could get burnt in the bottom.

Keyword Aromatic, Biryani, Dum, Kidney Beans, Lunch, Protein-Rich, Rajma, Rice