Rogan Josh is one of the great curries of India, known for its meltingly tender meat, warm Kashmiri spices, and deep red sauce. And it's even better when you make it yourself!
Hi, this is Eddie, husband of Panning the Globe’s founder, Lisa Goldfinger, and occasional guest blogger on the site (check out my award winning chili!). I am excited to introduce one of my favorite dishes of all time: Rogan Josh.
I still recall the first time I tasted Rogan Josh. The place was London, the year was 1986, and the time was roughly 11:30 PM. I remember this distinctly because I had just moved to London that year, and I was with my new British friends Boris and Peter. The pubs closed at 11:00 PM back then, and after we had each swilled three to four pints of warm, flat beer (appropriately called “bitter”), I assumed we'd head back to our respective flats. That’s when Peter asked, “Anyone fancy a curry”?
To be clear, we had already eaten dinner several hours earlier, but it turned out that a late night curry - along with Kingfisher beer - was considered the natural next stage of a weekend evening in London.
When we arrived at the restaurant, I had no idea what to order. My friends suggested I get either Chicken Tikka Masala or Lamb Rogan Josh, and I went with the latter. I was absolutely blown away by the spice and flavor of this dish, and to this day it has a special place in my culinary heart.
As luck would have it, after returning to the U.S. from London, I met and married the love of my life, who eventually became a food blogger, so I can now share my enthusiasm about Rogan Josh with the world!
I developed my Rogan Josh recipe over the course of several years, through research, recipe testing, and plenty of trial and error, all in the hopes of recreating that unforgettable first experience. I have included my many lessons learned later in this post. Throughout my journey, I've gained a deep respect for the origin and history of this dish, which is as rich as its flavor.
Rogan Josh - The Recipe
First, let's talk about the ingredients. So many spices! Frankly, I get excited when I start seeing paprika, fennel seed, cumin, turmeric, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves all in one dish. My taste buds know they're in for something special.
Don't be intimidated by the long list of ingredients - this classic Kashmiri curry recipe is much simpler than it looks. Most of the ingredients are spices, many of which you likely already have in your pantry, and everything else is easy to find at the grocery store.
In addition to the lamb and ground spices, you'll need some aromatics (onions, garlic and ginger), a handful of whole spices (cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom pods and bay leaves), and then some yogurt, ghee or butter, and tomato paste. I make my own ghee with this super easy technique. It just seems like the right thing to do.
Once everything is measured out, the recipe is simple and straightforward.
How to make Rogan Josh
Here's an overview of the recipe with photos, so you can see what the steps are. Scroll down to the recipe card for full details.
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- Heat the Whole Spices: Sauté the cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom pods, and bay leaves for about a minute, just until the spices release their fragrance.
- Sauté the Aromatics: Add the onions and cook them for about 5 minutes, until they're soft and translucent, then stir in the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute.
- Brown the lamb: Add the lamb cubes and salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the lamb is browned on all sides.
- Add the ground spices: Add all the ground spices and stir well so the lamb pieces are fully coated. This is when your kitchen will start to fill up with some exciting aromas!
- Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until fully incorporated, plus a few minutes more.
- Simmer the Curry: Pour in the water (or broth) and bring everything to a gentle simmer, then cover the pot and cook the curry for 1 hour and 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Temper the Yogurt: Put the yogurt into a small bowl and whisk in about a quarter cup of hot curry sauce from the pot, and then stir the mixture back into the pot. Tempering prevents the yogurt from curdling.
- Final Simmer: Continue to simmer gently for another 15-20 minutes. At this point, the meat will be very tender and your Rogan Josh will be ready to enjoy.
What to serve with Rogan Josh
Rogan josh, like any well-spiced Indian curry, calls out for a cooling cucumber yogurt raita. Rice is a must. Naan is also wonderful alongside. For a more robust Indian meal, add a side of Saag, Saag Aloo or Shirazi salad.
Lessons learned along the way
Here are some of the things I discovered while doing my Rogan Josh recipe testing.
Yes, I've used this exact same recipe with beef in place of lamb and it's fantastic! Use beef chuck or some other stew meat with a relatively high fat content.
Yes, absolutely, in fact bone-in lamb is traditional for Rogan Josh. To go "bone-in," use 2 pounds boneless lamb plus 2 pounds lamb shoulder chops. Two pounds of shoulder chops typically yield about 1 pound of meat, which brings you to the 3 pounds of boneless lamb the recipe calls for. Brown the chops along with the boneless lamb or, if you prefer, you can remove the meat from the bones and cut it into cubes first. As long as you add the bones and simmer them in the curry, they’ll add wonderful flavor and richness.
Some recipes call for marinating the lamb in yogurt, tomato paste, and spices. I tested this on my first attempt and loved the result, but when I skipped the marinade in later tests, the Rogan Josh was just as tender and flavorful. So in the end, I opted for the simpler, quicker method without a marinade.
Traditional recipes often call for incorporating ratan jot, which is a root that releases a natural dye that gives Rogan Josh a vibrant red color. I tried it for one of my test runs and it did deepen the color of the dish, but there was no substantive difference in flavor. If you're optimizing for authenticity, give it a try. You can source it on Amazon. Essentially, you steep it in hot ghee or oil and add it toward the end of the cooking process. 2-3 tablespoons of the strained liquid from steeping the root will do the trick.
So there you have it. I must say, when you're a huge fan of a dish for such a long time, it really is empowering to be able to make it at home, especially when it's as delicious as you can get in the best restaurants.
If you try this Rogan Josh Recipe, I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment. Lisa and I would love to know what you think!
PrintRecipe
Rogan Josh Recipe
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 servings 1x
Description
Restaurant-quality Rogan Josh (Indian lamb curry) with exceptionally tender lamb, warm Kashmiri spices, and a deep red curry sauce bursting with flavor. The ingredient list may be long, but everything is easy to find and the recipe is far simpler than it looks - resulting in a very special dish, worthy of a dinner party or holiday feast.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons ghee (see notes) or unsalted butter
- 1 3-inch cinnamon stick
- 6 whole cloves
- 6 green cardamom pods, slightly bruised
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger root
- 3 pounds boneless lamb shoulder, cut in to 1-inch cubes (to use bone-in lamb, see notes)
- 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 teaspoons garam masala
- 4 teaspoons paprika (see notes)
- 1 tablespoon ground fennel seed
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (see notes)
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 ½ cups water or chicken stock
- ½ cup plain, full-fat yogurt
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro, optional garnish
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Instructions
- Sauté Whole Spices
Heat ghee in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot and add whole spices: cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves and cardamom pods. Sauté on medium heat, stirring, for 1 minute, until fragrant. - Sauté Aromatics
Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in minced garlic and grated ginger and cook, stirring, for another minute or so. - Brown The Lamb
Add lamb and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is browned on all sides, 6-8 minutes. - Add Ground Spices and Tomato Paste
Add all the ground spices: garam masala, paprika, fennel, ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne and black pepper. Stir them through to coat the meat, then add the tomato paste and stir through and continue to cook, stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes. - Simmer the Curry
Pour in water (or stock). Bring to a boil and then immediately reduce a gentle simmer. Cover the pot and cook for an hour and 45 minutes. - Add The Yogurt and Finish Cooking
Place the yogurt in a small bowl. Ladle in about ¼ cup of the hot sauce from the pot and whisk until smooth. Gradually stir this mixture back into the curry. Simmer gently for another 15-20 minutes, covered, until the lamb is very tender. - To Serve
Before serving, remove bay leaves, cinnamon stick and any of the cardamom pods that are easy to find. If some remain in the pot, let diners know to look out for them. They're harmless to eat but quite strong in flavor.
Serve the Rogan Josh with basmati or pilau rice, raita and warm naan. Garnish with chopped cilantro if you like.
Notes
- Make your own ghee: It's easy to do and takes about 30 minutes. All you need is butter and a small saucepan.
- Make this with bone-in lamb: use 2 pounds boneless lamb plus 2 pounds lamb shoulder chops. Two pounds of shoulder chops typically yield about 1 pound of meat, giving you the 3 pounds of boneless lamb the recipe calls for. Brown the chops along with the boneless lamb in Step #3. If you prefer, you can remove the meat from the bones and cut it into cubes first - just be sure to add the bones to the pot. As long as the bones simmer in the curry, they’ll add wonderful flavor and richness.
- For added authenticity, use 1-½ tablespoons of Kashmiri chili powder (Deggi Mirch) in place of paprika and cayenne pepper.
- Nutrition Information: We do our best to provide accurate nutrition values using an online nutrition calculator however our nutrition information should only be used as an approximation.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Category: Main dish, dinner
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: Indian
Edward Krishna Rao
Hello Lisa and Eddie, Did you try making it in an Instapot?
Lisa Goldfinger
Hi Krishna, No we didn't. I don't have a lot of experience with instant pots but from the little I know, I bet you could make this dish a lot faster using one.
Peggy
would this freeze well? It looks delicious with all of my favorite spices and flavors but there are only two of us.