Rogan Josh also called as Rogan Gosht, is one of the many dishes of Kashmiri wazwan (meal) that has a fiery red colour and is aromatic with all the spices that go into it. The red colour primarily comes from the use of Ratan Jot, (Indian name for Alkanna tinctoria), commonly known as the Alkanet Root, a herb in the borage family, the roots of which are used to obtain red dye. This dish has a lot of influence from Mughal & Persian cuisine and remains to be one of the most popular Kashmiri dishes.
While we have been preparing this dish for years at home, we never used the Ratan Jot. A few years ago when the hubby visited Al Adil Indian store in Dubai, he bought some and that has been a game changer when it comes to bring out the actual, beautiful red colour in the Rogan Josh and several other North Indian style meat curries.
What do the terms ‘Rogan Josh’ mean you may ask. Well, the dish originated in Persia where ‘Rogan’ means oil (or clarified butter) and ‘Josh’ means ‘hot’. Now depending on which region of Kashmir it is prepared, the dish may vary in the level of spice but the end result is a silky smooth curry in which succulent pieces of mutton are slow cooked to fall-off-the-bone kind of perfection. This dish is also called as Rogan Gosht where ‘Gosht’ means meat. However, the former is a more popular terminology.
I do hope you enjoy our version of the beloved Kashmiri dish. It is perfect for a special occasion. It can be served with naan, parathas or chapathi or a special Persian bread called as Sheermal. The dish also tastes wonderful with plain & simple white rice, biryani or pulao. So do give this dish a try and let me know how you like it.
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Rogan Josh
Ingredients
- 1 kg mutton on the bone
- 2 medium sized onions sliced
- 1 cup thick yogurt, whisked till smooth
- 4 tablespoons ghee or mustard oil
For the masala
- 4 teaspoons Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 inch piece of dried ginger or 1/2 teaspoon dry ginger powder
- 1-1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds (saunf)
- 1/2 teaspoon asafoetida (hing)
- 3 black cardamoms
- 4 green cardamoms
- 1 inch stick of cinnamon
- 2 small bay leaves
- 1 blade of mace
- 2-3 petals of star anise
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg powder
- 1 tablespoon mustard oil
For the colour (optional)
- 2 tablespoons oil (any) any
- 2 sticks of Ratan Jot (Alkanet root)
Instructions
- Wash & drain the meat
- Grind all the ingredients for the masala except the oil. Do not use any water.
- To the ground masala add the 1 tablespoon of mustard oil and mix into a thick paste. After you remove this paste out of the grinding jar, rinse the jar with 1/4 cup of water and reserve the masala water
- In a pressure cooker, heat the ghee (or if you are using the mustard oil, then heat it to the point of smoking and then reduce the heat completely before adding the onions to avoid burning) and fry the onions till golden brown (like we fry for birista)
- Add the ground masala paste and fry it for about a minute on a low heat. Add the whisked yogurt and fry the mixture for about 2 minutes
- Add the mutton pieces, salt to taste and mix well and cook for 5 minutes, then add about 1 cup of water (including the reserved masala water) and pressure cook for 1 whistle.
- When the cooker cools down, open and mix the meat. Continue to cook on a simmer to reduce the water or till the gravy becomes thick.
- Just before serving, heat the oil for the ratanjot and add the ratanjot. When it releases the colour, remove the ratanjot and add the oil as a garnish to the meat
- Serve with chapathis or rice
Disclaimer
The nutritional values are only indicative.
My favorite…
Glad to know that!