Recipe: Rajma or Indian spiced vegetarian chilli

Recipe: Rajma or Indian spiced vegetarian chilli 

Anjali Shah is a food writer and owner of The Picky Eater, a healthy food and lifestyle blog. 

Anjali Shah grew up a "whole wheat" girl, but married a "white bread" kind of guy. Hoping to prove that nutritious food could in fact be delicious and desirable, she taught herself how to cook and successfully transformed her husband's eating habits from a diet of frozen pizzas and Taco Bell to her healthy, yet flavorful recipes made with simple, wholesome ingredients. 

Rajma is a good source of energy, controls blood sugar, and provides essential vitamins and nutrients to the brain. Rajma has a low calorie count and it helps improve cardiovascular-related problems. Rajma is also great for digestion and bowel movements. Anjali Shah shares her recipe for rajma or Indian spiced vegetarian chilli. 

Ingredients 

2 tablespoons vegetable oil (Note - I only used 1 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and it was enough. Save the extra 120 calories and only use 1 Tbsp!)
1 cup minced onions (I used a red onion, and probably used more than a cup - I just used 1 small red onion and cut the whole thing)
1 green bell pepper (diced)
2 cloves garlic (minced) (I actually used 4 cloves for more taste/flavour)
4 firm, ripe tomatoes cut into 1-inch pieces (Note: Make sure you use all the seeds and pulp from inside the tomato, it makes a great base for the curry!)
Teaspoons minced gingerroot, or 1 teaspoon ground ginger (I ended up using closer to 1 Tbsp)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes, or to taste (optional) (I would highly recommend adding this in - gives the curry a nice kick without being too spicy!)
2 cups drained kidney beans (19-ounce can)
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 lemon, juiced, or to taste
3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro 

Directions 

1. In a large saucepan set over medium heat, add the oil, onions and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
2. Add the garlic, tomatoes, gingerroot, cumin seeds, garam masala, lemon pepper, and dried red pepper flakes, if desired, and simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. 

3. Add the beans and salt and pepper to taste, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes more. (Note - I ended up cooking it for 10 min) Stir in the lemon juice and cilantro (and then I let it heat through for 1-2 min
)