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Shilpa

Rajma Avocado Chaat – Instant Pot Kidney Beans Salad

Spicy and tangy are what come to mind when I think of Rajma Avocado Chaat – Instant Pot Kidney Beans Salad a North Indian snack classic!
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 3
Course: Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup dark red kidney beans (rajma) (dry and soaked overnight in 3 cups water)
  • 2 cups water (to pressure cook the kidney beans)
  • 1/2 onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup chopped)
  • 1 tomato (1 cup chopped)
  • 1 avocado (3/4 cup chopped)
  • 1 serrano pepper, finely chopped (hari mirch) (3/4 tsp chopped)
  • 2 tbsp  cilantro, fresh (dhaniya ke patte)
  • 1 tsp chaat masala  
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp  ground cumin     (jeera powder)
  • 1/2 tsp mango powder     (amchur/amchoor powder)
  • 1/2 tsp red chili powder   (cayenne pepper)
  • 1/4 tsp  black salt   (kaala namak)
  • 2 tsp lemon juice

Equipment

  • Instant Pot

Method
 

  1. Rinse and soak the dry dark red kidney beans overnight in 3 cups of water. Discard the water when you are about to cook.
  2. When you are ready to cook, place the kidney beans in the inner pot. Further add in 2 cups water to the inner pot.
  3. Close the lid on the instant pot and select manual. Pressure cook the kidney beans for 35 to 40 minutes. 35 minutes for firm beans and 40 minutes for slightly soft beans. Quick release the pressure. Discard the water and set the beans aside.
  4. Chop onions, serrano peppers and cilantro leaves finely. Additionally, core and dice the tomatoes into 1/4-inch dice. Also dice the avocado to 1/4-inch dice.
  5. In a large bowl that will hold the salad, toss together the boiled red kidney beans. Further add in chopped onions, tomatoes, avocado, serrano peppers, and cilantro leaves. Furthermore, add in chaat masala powder, salt, ground cumin, ground mango powder, red chili powder, black salt and lemon juice.

Notes

  • On a scale of 1 to 5 in terms of spice levels I would place this dish at 3, with 1 being low and 5 being high. So you can reduce, eliminate or increase the serrano peppers and reduce the red chili powder as per your spice tolerance.
  • You can also use canned red kidney beans, although I have not used them. Make sure to discard all the water from the can. If you do decide to use canned red beans beans then a rule of thumb is approximately 1 cup dried beans equals to 3 cups cooked canned beans. So you can use 3 cups of canned beans for this recipe. If you use canned beans then you don’t need to pressure cook it initially as the recipe demands. 
  • You can pressure cook for 35 minutes or 40 minutes as per your preference. 35 minutes results in slightly firm beans and 40 minutes in slightly soft. Also, kidney beans are of different qualities and varieties. If they are slightly old they take longer to cook.