Rajma

₹712 · Moms Tree, Kamola. Cash on delivery across India. राजमा — rajma, kidney beans, sold by Moms Tree, whose listing records them as coming from…

About this product

राजमा — rajma, kidney beans, sold by Moms Tree, whose listing records them as coming from Nainital, at about 1,400 metres in the Kumaon hills.

Hill rajma is usually smaller than the beans sold in city stores, and it is cooked the same patient way: soaked overnight, pressure-cooked until creamy inside, then simmered in a masala of onion, tomato, ginger and garlic. Rajma-chawal, with a spoon of ghee and a little pisyu loon on the side, is a classic Sunday meal.

The pack weight is not stated on this listing; Moms Tree also lists a 1 kg pack. Keep the beans in a closed container in a cool, dry cupboard.

What you are buying

Before you order

Can I pay when it arrives?

Yes. Moms Tree takes cash on delivery, so nothing is paid up front and nothing is charged until the parcel is in your hands.

When will it reach me?

Arrives by Mon, 16 Nov for most addresses. It is packed and sent by Moms Tree in kamola — not from a warehouse — so it leaves the hills the same week you order it.

Who am I buying from?

Moms Tree, in kamola. Basket of Pahad does not hold stock or pack parcels — the shop does both. We take the payment and hold it until the order reaches you.

Can I send it back?

Food that has been opened cannot be returned. Anything that arrives damaged, leaking, short, or not what the page said is refunded in full — tell us within 48 hours.

About pahadi dals

What it tastes like

Hill dals are earthier and stronger than the polished dals of a city store, and most keep a bite even when fully cooked. Gahat cooks into a dark, slightly bitter liquor, bhatt is nutty and smoky when roasted, and hill rajma is small, soft and sweet.

How it is used

Most are cooked simply with salt and turmeric and finished with a tadka of ghee, jakhiya, garlic and dried red chilli, then eaten with rice. Gahat goes into ras and stuffed parathas, bhatt into chudkani and dubke, and rajma into the slow Sunday pot. Several are traditionally eaten in winter.

Keeping it

Store in an airtight steel or glass container in a dry cupboard. In the monsoon, if the dal feels damp, spread it in the sun for an hour before closing it up again. A few dried neem or bay leaves in the container is the hill way of keeping insects off.

How long it keeps

Whole dried dals usually keep for many months, often a year, in a sealed container. The pack's label gives the shop's own best-before date.

Pahadi dals: common questions

Do I need to soak it?

For most hill dals, yes. Gahat, rajma and whole urad need a soak of eight hours or overnight, then a pressure cooker. Bhatt is roasted dry for snacking and is soaked or fried for chudkani depending on the recipe. Split dals such as masoor need only a short soak or none.

Why is there the odd stone or husk?

These dals are threshed and cleaned by hand, not machine-sorted. Spread a handful on a plate and pick through it before washing; it takes a minute.

Why does it take longer to cook than the dal I usually buy?

Hill dals are unpolished and grown on dry terraces, so the grains are harder. A longer soak and a few more whistles fix it. Older stock also takes longer, which is another reason to buy what you will use in a season.

Why are the grains different sizes?

They come from small family plots, often a few fields mixed together, and are not graded by machine. Size makes no difference to taste.

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