Recipe-1 › Curries of the world › Rogan josh
Kashmir’s deep-red lamb or mutton curry. The colour comes from mild Kashmiri chillies rather than heat, and the gravy is built on yogurt with fennel and dry ginger. Kashmiri Pandit cooks make it without onion or garlic; the Muslim wazwan version uses onions or shallots.
Close to the base recipe MediumToo hot for you? Use half the chilli (powder, paste or fresh chillies) and leave out the green chillies.
Recipe-1 is one simple curry recipe in nine steps: fry onions and green chillies, add your vegetables or meat, add chilli powder and turmeric, then water and salt, and boil. With small changes the same nine steps make curries from all over the world.
This page takes those nine steps and shows what to change to make Rogan josh. You don’t need to read anything else first: every base step is written out below. The changes are worked out on paper from what is typical for this dish; not yet kitchen-tested. Cooked it? Tell others how it went.
Green: the base recipe step (crossed out = do not use it for this dish)Red: what to do instead for Rogan josh
See the full base recipe (with timers and tips) · See all curries on the world map
The amounts change with the number of people; cooking times stay about the same (use a bigger pot for more). Taste as you go: you can always add more chilli or salt, but you cannot take it out.
Main ingredient: 750 g Mutton or lamb on the bone.
Where a step has a red line, do the red line and not the crossed-out green base step. Steps with only green are done just as in the base recipe.
Base step: do not useCut onions and chillies.
Rogan josh: do thisCut onions (or skip them, Pandit style). Leave out the green chillies.
Base step: do not useFry in some oil for around 4 minutes on medium-high heat.
Rogan josh: do thisFry in oil or ghee. Add ginger garlic paste only if you are using onions.
Base step: do not useCut the vegetable(s) of your choice.
Rogan josh: do thisUse mutton pieces.
Base step: do not useAdd them and fry for around 4 minutes on medium-high heat.
Rogan josh: do thisFry the mutton until it browns all over.
Base step: do not useAdd red chilli powder and turmeric.
Rogan josh: do thisAdd plenty of Kashmiri chilli powder and a little turmeric, plus cloves, cardamom (also black cardamom), cinnamon and a bay leaf.
Keep frying until just before they start browning.
Base step: do not useAdd some water.
Rogan josh: do thisAdd the whisked yogurt a spoon at a time, stirring so it doesn’t split, then some water.
Add salt.
Base step: do not useBoil until the gravy is as thick as you like.
Rogan josh: do thisAdd fennel and dry ginger powder, then simmer covered until the mutton is tender (1–1½ hours, or 5–6 pressure-cooker whistles).
Serve: With plain rice.
For meat and seafood, make sure it is cooked through: chicken until no pink remains inside; mutton, goat and beef need long, slow cooking.
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