Recipe Kashmiri Rogan Josh

[karadekoolaid]

Ingredients: (serves 6-8)

For the marinade:
1 kg lamb
½ tsp cumin powder
½ tsp Kashmiri chile powder
2-3 tbsps whole Greek yoghurt
1 tsp powdered ginger
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp salt

For the curry:
5-6 lamb bones *
3-4 tbsps ghee or melted butter
3-4 whole cloves
2” stick of cinnamon
15 black peppercorns
2-3 bay leaves (or Indian bay leaves)
2 medium onions, julienned
1” piece of ginger, julienned
4 cloves garlic
½ tsp hot chile powder
1½ tsps. Ground fennel
1 tsp powdered cumin
1 tsp powdered coriander
½ cup Greek yoghurt
1 tsp garam masala
Coriander leaf for decoration
½ lt water, or lamb stock
* You can use lamb on the bone if you wish

Method:

• Cut the lamb into cubes and, in a large bowl, mix thoroughly with the cumin, chile powder, yoghurt, ginger, garlic and salt. Marinate for at least two hours.
• Heat the ghee in a large pan until hot. Now add the whole cloves, the cinnamon stick, the black peppercorns and the bay leaves. Fry for a minute and then add the onion. Cook over medium for about 4 minutes, then add the ginger and garlic. Cook for another minute or so.
• Now add the lamb bones, if you’re using them, and the marinated lamb. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring the mixture frequently to release the fat and thus avoid the yogurt curdling.
• Once the lamb has browned all over, add the chile powder, fennel, cumin and coriander. Stir together for about 30 seconds.
• Add the water /stock and mix well together. Now lower the temperature and add the yogurt, little by little, stirring well to incorporate into the lamb/spice mixture.
• Finally, add the garam masala and cook gently for about 40 minutes, or until the lamb is tender. I usually put a lid on the pan for this stage. The sauce should reduce; this is a “dry” dish with little gravy.

Decorate the lamb with the coriander and serve with plain Basmati (or saffron Basmati)

 

[Morning Glory]

I cooked this recipe:

Notes:
I used lamb neck fillet as I couldn't easily obtain the right sort of lamb on the bone (or lamb bones). This meant, I think that the quantity of liquid was too much. It would probably make sense if using bones as a long simmering would give the chance for the bones to add flavour. It took a long time to reduce the sauce to a thick consistency.

I also drastically increased the amount of Kashmiri chilli. Its a very mild chilli and certainly for my taste. I needed more. I added twelve times as much! Might sound a lot but this was in fact just one tbsp per 500g lamb. This also helps the red colour. Also, to help achieve the red colour I used ratanjat, which is a spice traditionally used in Kashmiri rogan gosht. Its the bark of a tree which releases a red colouring when heated in oil. It also adds a slight earthy taste. Its also known as alkanet. Its quite difficult to obtain but I can get it via Amazon. I much prefer it to artificial red food colouring.

The verdict:
This is a fairly easy recipe to execute. The thickened gravy results in the spices being concentrated and aromatic. The cinnamon in particular is quite dominant and works perfectly, enhancing the lamb flavour. It almost tasted like mutton, which I love. I also enjyoed the fact that the ginger was julienned, meaning it retained its integrity in the final dish.

The gravy is creamy in texture but not at all cloying. Lamb is a very rich meat (in terms of fat) and generally speaking, doesn't benefit from adding cream or similar, but a thick sauce wrapping around the succulent pieces of meat, is perfect.

So, a very successful dish. Thank you karadekoolaid.

 

[karadekoolaid]

On the contrary, thank you, Morning Glory ! You did all the hard work, prepared the dish and even added notes.
I have to admit that the last time I cooked this dish (was over a year ago), I was a bit concerned about marinating the lamb in yoghurt, and then having to fry it in the ghee. My first thought was: "the yoghurt is going to split", but it didn't. I agree with you on the Kashmiri chile powder, and it seems to me the colour is more important than the heat.
I've never used alkanet, so that may be on my list for the next trip to Patel's ! In Venezuela, it's fairly common to use annato/onoto to colour food, so I might just give that a go.
Thanks again for the hard work and especially, the wonderful photos.