Rogan josh (;Rogan Josh
Oxford Learners' Dictionary ) also spelled roghan josh or roghan ghosht, is an

aromatic In chemistry, aromaticity is a chemical property of cyclic ( ring-shaped), ''typically'' planar (flat) molecular structures with pi bonds in resonance (those containing delocalized electrons) that gives increased stability compared to satur ...

curried meat dish originating from Kashmir. It is made with red meat—traditionally

lamb Lamb or The Lamb may refer to: * A young sheep * Lamb and mutton, the meat of sheep Arts and media Film, television, and theatre * ''The Lamb'' (1915 film), a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in his screen debut * ''The Lamb'' (1918 ...

, mutton, or

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

—and coloured and flavoured primarily by alkanet flower (or root) and Kashmiri chilies. It is one of the signature recipes of

Kashmiri cuisine Kashmiri cuisine is the cuisine of the Kashmir Valley in the Indian subcontinent. Kashmiris have developed the art of cooking to a very high degree of sophistication and evolved a cuisine quite distinct from that of any part of the world. Rice ...

Etymology

A number of origins of the name have been suggested. ''Roughan'' means "

clarified butter Clarified butter is milk fat rendered from butter to separate the milk solids and water from the butterfat. Typically, it is produced by melting butter and allowing the components to separate by density. The water evaporates, some solids (i.e. ...

" or "oil" in

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

, while ''juš'' (alternatively romanised ''josh'') means to "stew" or "braise"''From Bonbon to Cha-cha: The Oxford Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases'', Oxford:OUP, 2009, p.297 and ultimately derives from the verb ''jušidan'' meaning "to boil". Rogan josh, by this definition, may mean "stewed in ghee". An alternative etymology is that the name derives from either the word ''roghan'' ( hi, , ur}), "brown" or "red", or the

Koshur Kashmiri () or Koshur (, /kəːʃur/) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by around 7 million Kashmiris of the Kashmir region, primarily in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. In 2020, the Parliament of India passed a bill to make ...

''roghan'', "red", along with the word either for "meat", (''gošt'') often romanized as "rogan ghosht" or "gosht", or a word meaning "juice", giving possible meanings of "red meat" or "red juice". The exact etymology remains uncertain as both "rogan josh" and "rogan ghosht" are used to refer to the dish and it is unclear which of the names is the original.Ayto, ''The Diner's Dictionary: Word Origins of Food and Drink'', Oxford: OUP, 2012, p.309

Origin

Rogan josh is a staple of

and is one of the main dishes of the Kashmiri multicourse meal (the ''

wazwan () is a multi-course meal in Kashmiri cuisine, originating from Kashmir. Almost all the dishes are meat-based using lamb or chicken with few vegetarian dishes. It is popular throughout the larger Kashmir region. Moreover, Wazwan is also served ...

''). The dish was originally brought to Kashmir by the Mughals, whose cuisine was, in turn, influenced by

Persian cuisine Iranian cuisine () refers to the culinary practices of Iran. Due to the historically common usage of the term "Persia" to refer to Iran in the Western world,Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 ( ...

. The unrelenting summer heat of the central Indian plains took the Mughals frequently to the country's northern region, Kashmir, which has a cooler climate because of its elevation and latitude.

Preparation

Rogan josh consists of pieces of lamb or mutton braised with a gravy flavoured with garlic, ginger and aromatic spices ( clove, bay leaves,

cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They are r ...

, and cinnamon), and in some versions incorporating onions or yogurt. After initial braising, the dish may be finished using the dampokhtak slow cooking technique.Singh (1973), p.58 Its characteristic deep red colour traditionally comes from dried flowers or root of '' Alkanna tinctoria'' (''ratan jot'') and from liberal amounts of dried, deseeded Kashmiri chilies (''lal mirch''). These chilies, whose flavor approximates that of paprika, are considerably milder than the typical dried

cayenne pepper The cayenne pepper is a type of '' Capsicum annuum''. It is usually a moderately hot chili pepper used to flavor dishes. Cayenne peppers are a group of tapering, 10 to 25 cm long, generally skinny, mostly red-colored peppers, often with ...

of Indian cuisine. The recipe's spice emphasises aroma rather than heat. Saffron is also part of some traditional recipes. There are significant differences in preparation between the Hindu and Muslim dishes in Kashmir: Muslims use ''praan'', a local form of shallot, and petals of ''maval'', the cockscomb flower, for colouring (and for its supposed "cooling" effect); Hindus eschew these, along with garlic and onions, but may add yogurt to give additional body and flavour.

Adaptations

While the traditional preparation uses whole dried chilies that are de-seeded, soaked in water, and ground to a paste, non-traditional shortcuts use either Kashmiri chili powder (available in Indian stores) or a mixture of paprika (predominantly) and

, adjusted to taste. (

Madhur Jaffrey Madhur Jaffrey CBE (née Bahadur; born 13 August 1933) is an Indian-British-American actress, food and travel writer, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing Indian cuisine to the western hemisphere with her debut cookbook ...

's recipeRecipe Source: Rogan Josh - Madhur Jaffrey
/ref> calls for a 4:1 ratio of paprika to cayenne.) An updated version served in

Sanjeev Kapoor {{Infobox chef , name = Sanjeev Kapoor , image = Sanjeev Kapoor in 2016.jpg , image_size = , caption = Sanjeev Kapoor in 2016 , birth_date = {{Birth date and age, df=yes, 1964, 4, 10 , birth_place = Am ...

's restaurants uses white and black cardamom, anise, and bay leaves. Many western interpretations of the dish add tomatoes to the sauce. This is especially common with ready-made pour-over cooking sauces to the point where the dish may be considered tomato-based. The authenticity of including tomatoes is disputed: some authors state that tomatoes are not part of the traditional dish or of traditional Indian cuisine and should not be included. However, other authors have specifically referred to rogan josh as a dish based around meat and tomatoes, while others have identified tomatoes with a Punjabi version of the dish as opposed to a Kashmiri one.

With other meats

There is a variety with beef as well,

brisket Brisket is a cut of meat from the breast or lower chest of beef or veal. The beef brisket is one of the nine beef primal cuts, though the definition of the cut differs internationally. The brisket muscles include the superficial and deep pectora ...

being preferred.

References

{{reflist Kashmiri cuisine Asian cuisine Mughlai cuisine Lamb dishes Goat dishes