Mutton
Roganjosh
Mutton Roganjosh is a tasty Kashmiri recipe with
unique taste. It is simple to make and uses minimal ingredients yet has a finger
licking flavour. By virtue of belonging to a family that served in defence forces,
it came as an added advantage to learn recipes from different states of the
country and adapt them to suit the tastes of the family by making little
modifications. I remember Mutton Roganjosh used to be cooked by my mother on
Sundays and always recall this as a Sunday Special in our house. I had not
cooked this recipe for ages and was just contemplating of making it sometime as
I was not remembering the exact ingredients except of course mutton, onions,
curds, red chillies and potatoes. As I was unable to remember the exact recipe,
I referred to the internet and saw Chef Harpal’s recipe.
It uses onions, curds, Kashmiri tikki masala, Kashmiri
red chillies and he has given tips to use mustard oil and lots of asafoetida for
the authentic taste. The Kashmiri Tikki Masala is used in nearly all Kashmiri recipes
nearly and it has a powdered mix of big and small cardamoms, cumin, coriander
seeds, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves, black pepper, dry ginger, Kashmiri red
chillies, asafoetida and fennel seeds. If Kashmiri Tikki Masala is not readily
available, one may substitute it with regular garam masala.
My mother added potatoes to this recipe, the reason
could have been economical as the family was big and the mutton may not be
sufficient for all, hence. My husband too remembered his academy days and recollected
this dish being prepared there and he also mentioned potatoes being added to
this recipe. Potatoes are optional, they do lend a good taste to the dish
though. Try to take the leg piece for this recipe, mostly the forelimb, if this
is not available, you may use the hind-leg too.
Ingredients
Mutton/Meat (Lamb/goat) – 1 kg
Oil – ½ - ¾ cup
Onions – 1 kg
Ginger – 2-inch piece
Garlic – 25-30 cloves
Curds – 300 gms
Big cardamom – 4-5
Green cardamom – 2-3
Bay leaves – 2-3
Cloves – 8-10
Cinnamon – 2-3 pieces
Asafoetida
(optional) – ¼ teaspoon
Garam
Masala/Kashmiri Tikki Masala – 1 teaspoon
Kashmiri
Red Chilly Powder – 1 teaspoon
Plain
red chilly powder – ½ teaspoon
Fennel
seed powder – 1 teaspoon
Dry
Ginger powder – ½ teaspoon
Salt
– To taste
Water
– Approximately 1 litre or some more
Method
Finely
chop the onions. Grind ginger and garlic to a fine paste and set aside. Heat
oil in a thick bottomed pan. Add bay leaves, big cardamoms, cinnamon, cloves
and asafoetida. Allow the spices to splutter and add finely chopped onions, fry
the onions to a light golden brown by constantly stirring. Add mutton pieces
and ginger garlic paste. Stir well for about 7-8 minutes till mutton/meat
pieces are well covered with the fried onions, add salt and a cup of water and
braise the meat on a medium flame for about 40 – 45 minutes by covering it.
Check in between and add about 3-4 cups of water intermittently to cook the
meat.
Mix
both the chilly powders in little water and add to the cooked meat. Add garam
masala and cook for another 10 minutes. Add well beaten curd to the meat and
also the fennel seed and dry ginger powders. Stir well and cook for further 10
-15 minutes. Mutton Rogan josh is ready to be served and it tastes good with
roti, chapati as well as rice.
Note –
Preparation and cooking time is about one and half to two hours. This quantity
should be enough for 4-5 persons.
