Rogan Josh is an authentic Kashmiri dish. where succulent pieces of Goat or Lamb braised in gravy flavored with aromatic spices like cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and ginger. The fiery red color of this dish gets from Kashmiri chilies which have more color than heat. This Kashmiri mutton Rogan Josh was first introduced by the Mughals from Persia to this Kashmir region. The word "Rogan" literally means oil or clarified butter in Persian or Red in Hindi, while "Josh" in Hindi means intense passion , fiery or hot, therefore, this dish has thin red colour gravy and a thick layer of clarified butter on top. This dish goes very well with steamed rice or any Indian bread. It is delicious either way.
This Mutton Rogan Josh dish is a world famous Indian delicacy that is native to Kashmir traditionally made from a blend of spices without onion or tomatoes. There are also numerous versions of this dish. Some with or without garlic and onion whereas asafoetida /hing (a sort of plant resin ) is used to imitate the flavor base of onion and garlic. The addition of yogurt is also an optional part of this gravy, but mostly used in this recipe. The most important ingredient of this dish is mainly Kashmiri chili powder. The other spices or garam masala as we call it and the ratios varies from recipe to recipe and from cooking to cooking. You can either follow the traditional way of cooking the meat until the meat is tender, or you can cheat and use a pressure cooker or Instant Pot and expedite the cooking time to 20-30 minutes instead. You will get a delicious luscious gravy with tender pieces of meat by using both the cooking methods.
Try to cook this delicious restaurant style mutton recipe at home.
Ingredients :
For marination :1 kg Mutton (cut into medium size )5-6 large onions, chopped8-10 garlic gloves1 1/2 inches ginger2 tablespoons Kashmiri red chili powder2 tablespoons mustard oil for marination1 tablespoon black pepper powder1 tablespoon cumin/ jeera powder1 tablespoon meat masalaSalt to taste1/2 teaspoon turmeric1 cup curd
For cooking :
2 tablespoons mustard oil / clarified butter
1 tablespoon clarified butter more
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon sugar
3-4 cloves
3 black cardamom
2-3 green cardamom
2-3 cinnamon sticks
Make a paste of these spices 3-4 cloves, 2-3 green cardamom,2-3 cinnamon sticks along with water and keep aside or you can use garam masala powder.
1 tablespoon clarified butter more
Methods for marination:
First wash the mutton pieces properly and keep aside.
Make a paste of ginger and garlic and keep aside.
In a medium size bowl, marinate mutton with chopped onions, ginger garlic paste, mustard oil, red chili powder, black pepper powder, cumin powder, curd, salt and turmeric. Mix well and keep for 30 mins to 1 hour.
Method for cooking:
Heat oil /clarified butter in skillet over high flame. Add sugar and let it caramelized, add black cardamon, bay leaves and now add marinated mutton. Stir it well for sometime and cover it. Low the flame and cook in simmer for 10-15 minutes. Now remove the cover and stir it continuously. Cook till all the spices get well incorporated well with meat or until you see onion started melting.
Add water according to gravy you want. Stir it well , and cook in low flame till the meat cooked properly or you can pour into the pressure cooker and cook till 3-4 whistles to save time. Once cooked, check it and adjust salt and chili powder according to your taste. Add garam masala paste or powder and 1 tablespoon of ghee on top and stir it well.
Serve it with steamed basmati rice/joha rice or with any Indian bread.