Warm, richly spiced, and built for a satisfying meal, Rajma Sundal (Kidney Beans With Coconut) is a vegan, vegetarian South Indian snacks made with simple everyday ingredients in about 515 minutes. The recipe lays out the ingredients and each cooking step clearly, so you can adjust seasoning, texture, and serving size for your own kitchen.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 30 minutes
  • Total time: 515 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Snacks
  • Cuisine: South Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 cup kidney beans ((rajma))
  • enough water (- for soaking rajma overnight)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 cups water (- for pressure cooking rajma)
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons sesame oil (or sunflower oil or peanut oil)
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon urad dal ((split and hulled black gram))
  • 12 to 15 curry leaves
  • 2 dry red chilies ((broken and seeds removed))
  • 1 pinch asafoetida ((hing))
  • salt (as required)
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons grated coconut (fresh or frozen)

Method

Preparation

  1. Rinse and soak the kidney beans overnight or for 8 to 9 hours in enough water.
  2. Next day drain the water and rinse the beans a few times with fresh water.
  3. In a 3 litre stovetop pressure cooker, add the soaked beans. Also add 1 teaspoon salt and 4 cups water. Pressure cook on high heat for 15 to 20 minutes or till the beans are softened and tender.
  4. Let the pressure fall on its own in the cooker and then only open the lid.
  5. Check the beans and they should be completely cooked.
  6. Then drain the water and keep the cooked kidney beans aside.

Making rajma sundal

  1. Heat 1 to 2 tablespoon sesame oil in a pan or kadai. Keep the heat to a low.
  2. Add mustard seeds and split hulled black gram (urad dal).
  3. The mustard seeds will crackle and the urad dal will get browned. Stir often.
  4. They almost take the same time to cook on a low heat.
  5. Once the urad dal gets golden then add curry leaves, dry red chilies (broken and seeds removed) and asafoetida (hing).
  6. Fry for few seconds till the curry leaves become crisp and the red chillies change color.
  7. Now add the cooked kidney beans. Season with salt according to taste.
  8. Stir and mix gently. Sauté for 3 to 4 minutes on a low to medium heat.
  9. Switch off the heat and add the fresh grated coconut. Mix well again.
  10. Serve the rajma sundal as prashad or naivedyam. Or serve with a South Indian vegetarian main course or as a side dish.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.