Rajma (Punjabi Red Beans)
This recipe, from Raleigh, North Carolina chef Cheetie Kumar was a staple in her Indian-American household when she was growing up. “My mother kept a batch of the ‘masala base’ (spice mixture) divided up in the fridge or freezer and made beans in the pressure cooker for instant dinners. After we moved to the U.S., the beans simmered in the slow cooker all day while she was at work and we were at school. When we got home, she quickly refried the masala and stirred it into the beans, and dinner was ready after I prepared the rice,” Kumar recalls. This richly spiced version, a take on her mother’s red beans, will be hit with your family too.