Rogan Josh

One of the dishes I cooked last Friday was Rogan (no-)Josh. It sure contained Rogan but there was no Josh in sight. That is if you translate the Rogan as oil (in Persian and Urdu) and the Josh bit as mutton or lamb. You could of course go for another translation where Josh is “red meat”. Red here is referred to as the colour of the spices and sauce. (tomatoes, chilies, red pepper).
All in all this lamb curry dish originated in Norhern India, in the Kashmir region, and you will find a variety of recipes with the same name, according to Wikipedia the location is important for the way it is cooked, hence the use of different spices and the order in which the ingredients are added.

As I tried to explain, I used “lendelappen” a kind of very lean stew meat instead of lamb. (Translating the terms used for meat cuts in English is hard, and the various terms used in different parts in the Netherlands doesn’t make it much easier…)

500 gr stew meat, in cubes
1 tbs vegetable oil (or ghee)
2 onions, diced
125 ml yoghurt
1 ts chilipowder
1 tbs coriander
2 ts cumin
1 ts cardemom
2 cloves
1 ts kurkuma
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbs gingerroot, grated
1 – 1.1/2 ts salt
1 can tomatoes (400 gr)
3 ts garam masala
garnish: 30 gr roasted almond slivers and chopped corianderleaves.

Heat the oil in a thick bottomed pot (I used my Cousances) and sweat the onions. Add yoghurt, spices, salt and tomatoes. Blend well and let simmer for 5 minutes. Add the meat, stir and let simmer, covered, on very low heat for at least two hours (depending on the meat you use, lamb e.g. would probably take 1 to 1.1/2 hrs.) Uncover, and reduce your sauce till it thickens a bit.
As with all stew dishes this improves in flavour overnight. Serve with Basmati rice and Naan.

I like the way you add all these different spices and all of a sudden a very authentic aroma fills your kitchen. This is definitely a dish that attracts every person (small and large) in the house to your stove. Next time I will use corianderseeds instead, roast all spices in a dry frying pan, and rub the meat with it. I would like to know wether this adds depth of flavour.

For the faux Naan:
2 cups bread flour
3 tbs vegetable oil
½ to ¾ cups water
½ ts salt

Mix together the flour and oil, gradually mix in the water and salt, knead until you have a smooth dough. Divide into 10, and round itno balls, flatten sligthly and let rest, covered, for 40 minutes. Preheat an ungreased frying pan and roll out the doughballs, one at a time and fry each side until it’s a mottled brown.
Make sure you roll out thin enough, the sheets will puff and flatten again, this prevents raw dough in the middle. I love Naan, I could easily have a dinner solely on this bread...ever tried Peshawar Naan with added nuts and raisins?