Lamb Rogan Josh

Another fine Moghul Cuisine dish, Rogan Josh or Roghan Josh is an aromatic lamb dish of Persian origin, which is one of the signature recipes of Kashmiri cuisine. Rogan means “clarified butter” or “fat” in Persian, while josh  means “heat, hot, boiling, or passionate”. Rogan josh thus means cooked in oil at intense heat. Another interpretation of the name rogan josh is derived from the word rogan meaning “red color” and josh meaning passion or heat.

Traditionally, Rogan Josh is made with lamb and yogurt, but I replaced the yogurt with coconut milk, and it worked great. You can substitute beef for the lamb if you prefer (also tried this with chicken thighs and it worked well)… and if you’re feeling particularly decadent, add sliced almonds to the sauce for added richness.

Different cooks make their spice blend different ways, but generally, Rogan Josh includes cardamom, cinnamon, clove, ginger, cumin, aniseed, saffron, fennel, and red chillies. The resulting curry is rich and creamy with plenty of depth, but not very much heat. Delicious, dinner-time comfort food.

The cooking technique is very much like a stew, where you brown the meat in oil first. You may cook this in the oven or in a tajine. The Rogan Josh spice mix is available at spice stores but it would be worth your while to check the sugar and stabilizer content.  Preferably, make your own, using the spice mix recipe as listed below

Rogan Gosh Spice Ingredients

1 teaspoon cardamom powder

•  Place spices in a medium-sized bowl and mix well until uniformly blended.i use a wire sieve to sieve the powders and then mix to ensure even distribution,  I’m a bit heavy handed with the chilli powder and cayenne pepper, however, you can always add them in later if you find the mix too bland. You can really turn up the heat as you prefer with this. Store in an air-tight container.
• Use 1-2 tablespoons per 500g of lamb or beef, depending on your taste.

Lamb Rogan Josh

Ingredients

1 Tblsp coconut oil, ghee, or olive oil

1-2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped (optional)

Here’s How:

• Sprinkle meat generously with salt and  pepper. Toss well to coat evenly.
• Heat your choice of oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Add meat and brown well on all sides for at least 5 minutes so it gets a nice brown crust – resist the temptation to stir it around.

• When the meat is brown, removed with a slotted spoon and add the chopped onion, garlic and ginger paste, green chilli and carrot into the pot and cook until the onions begin to soften.

• Add the rogan josh spice mix and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. You will notice that the spices really come to life so let them revel in it a bit.

• Then add the pureed tomato, coconut milk and the water. 
•  Mix well, turn the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer.
• Add in the browned meat and allow braise in the coconut milk for 1-2 hours. (you may use an oven proof dish and bake in the oven for the same amount of time)

• once the cooking time’s up, remove the lid and let the sauce thicken – this takes about 2 minutes or so.
• You may removed the bay leaves, garnish with fresh coriander and serve with Naan bread or cauliflower rice or mash, cooked spinach or baby marrow / courgette noodles and a crisp salad.