Kidney bean

rajma

A New World bean that became northern comfort.

What it is

Rajma are red kidney beans, simmered into a thick, spiced gravy that is one of the north's great comfort dishes, eaten with rice. Another honest traveller: the bean is native to the Americas, absorbed into northern cooking as if it had always been there.

Where it comes from

Kidney beans reached the region through the same New World exchange as the tomato and chilli, and settled especially into the cooking of the northern plains, where rajma-chawal (beans and rice) is homely, beloved food.

What it's called

Rajma · red kidney beans. A New World bean (Phaseolus vulgaris).

In the kitchen

Soaked overnight and simmered long with onion, tomato, ginger, garlic and warm spices into a thick gravy — rajma is slow, homely cooking, served with plain rice. The beans must be cooked thoroughly (raw kidney beans are genuinely unsafe), which the long simmer ensures.

What we know about the claims

Kidney beans are rich in protein and fibre — wholesome. The one real caution is practical: they contain a toxin when raw or undercooked and must be properly boiled, never eaten underdone. Tinned beans are pre-cooked and safe.

Choosing and buying

Everywhere; dried (soak and boil well) or tinned (already safe and cooked). For rajma, the smaller darker red beans are longstanding but any red kidney bean works.