Lamb Rogan Josh (alt. beef)
For a couple of years now I've been falling in love with Indian food. The heady aromas and intense spices make a great change from the simpler flavors of western cookery. I especially love Rogan Josh from the Kashmiri region of northern India. The spices are earthy and complex but not very hot at all. Of course you can add as much chile as you like when you make it.
I hope no one is too offended when I say this dish work equally well with beef as it does with lamb. I do realize that eating cow would not be popular in India, but often it is more accessible for us than lamb.
If you would like to try this recipe, but don't want to go out and spend a fortune on spices, let me know. I can put together packs of spices to make a single recipe for $5. If you do want to buy all the spices, I recommend Patel's Market on Church Street in Decatur. They have everything you could need to make delicious Indian food at rock bottom prices.
Ingredients
- 5 Tablespoons ghee or clarified butter
- 7 whole black peppercorns
- 3 whole black cardamom pods
- 5 whole green cardamom pods
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 finely chopped onion
- 1 leg of lamb with bone in, cut into very small pieces (about 1/2 inch is good)
- 6 whole, peeled cloves of garlic
- 1 piece of fresh ginger (about 3/4 inch) cut into 3 or 4 chunks
- water
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mace
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon red chile powder
- 2 teaspoons ground fennel seed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
- 2 fresh tomatoes blended into a loose sauce
- 3 Tablespoons plain yogurt
- Kosher salt
- Boiling water as needed
- 1 handful of chopped fresh cilantro
Measure all of your ingredients and arrange them on a counter left to right, first to last. This dish can go very quickly and you may burn ingredients if you don't do this.
Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees.
Heat the ghee in a large oven safe pan over medium heat and add all whole spices. They should cook about 1 minute or until they become fragrant.
Add the chopped onion and cook them for 8 to 10 minutes until they become translucent. Add the lamb (or beef) and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until they are no longer raw on the outside.
In a blender/food processor blend the garlic, ginger and a splash of water to a fine puree. Pour it into the lamb mixture and stir well. Reduce the heat and cook 3 to 4 minutes until the mixture looks a bit dry stirring frequently.
Add the ground spices as well as the tomato puree, yogurt and salt to taste. Cover and cook the mixture for about 10 minutes until fairly dry.
Add boiling water to nearly cover the lamb and transfer to a 300 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours until the lamb is very tender. Test the meat and let it cook longer if it is not tender enough.
I love to serve this dish with chunks of oven roasted potatoes I've tossed in ghee, turmeric and a touch of kosher salt. Naan bread is always welcome with this meal.
I look forward to trying this. You can buy small, (relatively) inexpensive packets of spices at Fresh Market. There are also Indian grocery stores on Peachtree Industrial Blvd in both Suwanee and Duluth.
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