Rogan Josh and thoughts and meanderings

Kashmiri Rogan JoshIn my dreams, I would love to collect all of India’s signature recipes straight from the source. That would probably take me a lifetime, or maybe many lifetimes. Today however, I will settle for a well seasoned and perfected recipe for Rogan Josh. Can you tell I love celebrating the diversity of Indian cooking?

My Roghan Josh Story

On our recent visit to Ladakh, in the northern frontier of India I was introduced to local Ladhaki cuisine. I also picked up some Kashmiri Specialties talking to the chef at the Dreamland restaurant at Leh. Different, from anything I had tried with the Kashmir label.

This is the first of the three classic Kashmiri curries we talked about and I tasted. I got loose  instructions for them. With a couple of iterations, I think that I am finally happy with the results for Rogan Josh. It is a simple well seasoned curry that typically is done with meat on the richer side. Given that I worked with lamb, which is richer than the original goat meat, I trimmed off the fat.

Roghan Josh

If your first encounter with this classic curry is in a non-nondescript Indian restaurant will will be surprised. It is a far cry from just another strange brown curry. Keep plugging along and with some patience you will find your way to this love fragrant and flavorful lively red curry. A dish full flavored with all the aromatics used here. If you keep following the good fight aka this blog, you will see how I rescued Thanksgiving this year. You know, my year is incomplete without an ode to my favorite holiday.

Rogan Josh

Well, the above cast of characters was last week’s family Sunday dinner. This one was actually without the dad. Yes, my Rogan Josh is a little milder than traditional versions. I do add a tablespoon of tomato paste, if you want to stay true blue skip the tomato and notch up the cayenne.

Another dish from the same part of the world includes my easy lamb yakhni pilaf.

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Rogan Josh and thoughts and meanderings

Prep Time: 4 hours

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 5 hours

A beautiful and fragrant signature recipe for the Northern Indian state of Kashmir. Good for a hearty meal on a cold wintery evening.

Ingredients

    For the marinade
  • 1/2 cup whole yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon garam masala powder
  • 2 pounds of lamb (fat untrimmed) and ideally meat on the bone, although here I have worked with boneless lamb
    • For the curry
  • 3 tablespoons oil
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 3 crushed green cardamoms
  • 1 black cardamom
  • 3 cloves
  • 2 to 3 bay leaves
  • 1 stick (about 3 inches) cinnamon
  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1.5 teaspoons powdered fennel
  • 1/2 tablespoon sweet paprika
  • 1 teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt or to taste

Instructions

  1. Beat the yogurt, ginger, garlic, garam masala and salt and marinate the meat in this mixture for about 4 hours or overnight.
  2. Heat the oil and add in the cumin seeds, green cardamoms, black cardamom, cloves, bay leaves and the cinnamon and cook for about 30 seconds until the spices darken and turn aromatic.
  3. Add in the onions and saute and cook the onions for about 5 to 7 minutes.
  4. Add in the meat and cook for about 5 minutes until the meat is well coated with the onions and fairly dry.
  5. Add in the tomato paste, paprika, kashmiri red chili powder and salt and mix well. Stir for about 2 minutes.
  6. Add in 3/4 cup of water and simmer for 45 minutes, until the meat is tender.
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3 Comments

  • Pamela

    Hello. This looks lovely.

    I have a question: when you say bay leaves, don’t you mean tej pats?? Or Indian bay leaves?? The western bay leaf comes from the Laurus nobilis tree, or the sweet laurel, bay laurel. Whereas the tej pat, or Indian bay comes from the Cinnamomum tamala. Both trees are within the Lauraceae family, but they are different trees and the taste must be different. What do you think? Does it make a big difference?

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