Another recipe inspired by watching Rick Stein. He visits a wide variety of places, isn’t afraid of spicy heat, and seems to find the yummiest looking dishes. I was watching an episode from his India show and rogan josh was one of the dishes made. He thought it was the best he’d ever had and asked the chef what the secret was. Apparently, it’s cooking it ahead of time and adding it to the gravy. It makes the lamb super tender and using the broth, instead of water, in the dish adds an extra dimension of flavor.
As seems the case with making any Indian dish, it tasted even better the next day. One change I made was to use lamb pieces with the bone in them. Feel free to use boneless, but if possible throw the bone in for flavor. I would use either next time, all depends on if you feel like eating around bone or not. Note that this isn’t a soupy style curry, rather a super thick stew, almost dry. If you want a soupy style of dish, my butter chicken would fit the bill.
Pre-Cooked Indian Style Lamb
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil
WHOLE SPICES
- 6 whole cloves
- 1-2 Kashmiri dried peppers
- 16 green cardamon pods
- 1 teaspoon whole black pepper corns
- 1 two inch piece of cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mace
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds lightly crushed
OTHER
- 2 large onions chopped small
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste
- 1 tablespoon garlic puree
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 pounds leg of lamb cut into 1 inch size pieces - retain the bone
- 2 tablespoons mild paprika
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
Instructions
- Heat the ghee/oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat.
- When the oil is nice and hot, add the whole spices and stir. Cook for a minute or so, until the aromas are released, but do not burn.
- Add the onions and stir to coat with the oil and spices. Cook on medium low heat for about five minutes before adding the garlic and ginger puree. Cook until the onions are translucent.
- Add the meat (and the bone if not using bone-in pieces) and the rest of the spices.
- Brown the meat for a couple of minutes and then add just enough water to cover and simmer for about one hour to one and a half hours until the meat is nice and tender.
Notes
1 hour for beef, veal Adapted from Great Curry Recipes
ROGAN JOSH
Ingredients
- 2 lbs pre-cooked lamb pieces
- 5 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
- 1 whole Kashmiri dried pepper
- 10 green cardamom pods left whole*
- 4 whole cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mace
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground fennel seeds
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
- 2 to matoes blended to a pulp in a food processor
- 3 tablespoons plain yogurt
- Kosher salt
Instructions
- Heat ghee in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the pepper, cardamom, cloves, and mace, and fry for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the spices are sizzling and fragrant.
- Add the onion, and fry for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring regularly, or until golden brown.
- With a slotted spoon, transfer the lamb pieces, and fry for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring continually, until the lamb pieces are slightly browned.
- Add the garlic and ginger pastes and stir to combine. Reduce heat and cook for another few minutes.
- Stir in the ground coriander, cumin, red chile powder, fennel seeds, garam masala, tomato pulp, yogurt, and salt, to taste. Cover the pan with a lid, and then reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the sauce has almost completely dried out.
- Add about 1/4 cup of strained broth from the pre-cooked lamb dish and simmer until the volume of liquid has reduced and the sauce has thickened.
- Add enough of the strained broth from the pre-cooked lamb (I used it all) to almost cover the lamb, and bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the gravy has thickened.