Rogan Josh with perfect parathas
7 minute read
This is a dish for which authors and connoisseurs have sung paeans of praises. Its making marked the pinnacle of the culinary craft of Kashmir; the master chefs of the royal Moghul kitchens boasted about perfecting this dish. I cannot claim to be the sole author of this recipe since it has been culled from the pages of more than one regional cook book and subsequently adapted until I arrived at something instantly recognised as Rogan Josh by those who know their Indian food. Follow these instructions well and you will not be disappointed! Neither will your friends.
This dish is a North-Indian where flat-breads are more commonly eaten as an accompanyment rather than rice.
This dish is a North-Indian where flat-breads are more commonly eaten as an accompanyment rather than rice.
Ingredients:
About 1Kg of diced leg of lamb.
About 5 tbsp of butter ghee (NOT vegetable ghee!).
One and a half red onions finely chopped.
3 garlic cloves crushed and chopped.
Thumb-sized Piece of root ginger finely chopped or grated.
2 red chillies thinly sliced … seeds included!
2 tsp of Cumin seeds.
1 tbsp of Coriander seeds.
1 tsp Seeds from Green Cardamoms.
1/2 tsp of whole black peppercorns.
1 tsp smoked paprika.
2 tbsp tomato puree.
4 cloves.
2 inch stick of cinnamon quil (not cinnamon bark).
About 2 tbsp of full-fat natural yoghurt.
Large bunch of baby plumb tomatoes.
Fresh coriander.
500ml of lamb stock.
1 tsp salt.
For the Parathas:
250g of chapatti flour (or 125g each of plain and wholemeal flour).
25g salted butter, cubed.
Pinch of salt.
4 tbsp butter ghee.
3 tbsp sunflower oil.
Lukewarm Water
About 5 tbsp of butter ghee (NOT vegetable ghee!).
One and a half red onions finely chopped.
3 garlic cloves crushed and chopped.
Thumb-sized Piece of root ginger finely chopped or grated.
2 red chillies thinly sliced … seeds included!
2 tsp of Cumin seeds.
1 tbsp of Coriander seeds.
1 tsp Seeds from Green Cardamoms.
1/2 tsp of whole black peppercorns.
1 tsp smoked paprika.
2 tbsp tomato puree.
4 cloves.
2 inch stick of cinnamon quil (not cinnamon bark).
About 2 tbsp of full-fat natural yoghurt.
Large bunch of baby plumb tomatoes.
Fresh coriander.
500ml of lamb stock.
1 tsp salt.
For the Parathas:
250g of chapatti flour (or 125g each of plain and wholemeal flour).
25g salted butter, cubed.
Pinch of salt.
4 tbsp butter ghee.
3 tbsp sunflower oil.
Lukewarm Water
Method:
Now return the lamb, with any juices, to the pan. Take the bunch of fresh coriander and finely chop the bottom inch of the stocks and add this with the sliced chillies to the pan. Mix well and cook un-covered for a further 5 minutes. You now have time to pour yourself a glass of gin!
Pre-heat your oven to 160 degrees C. Over a medium heat, melt the ghee in a high sided heavy-bottomed pan. Now, add the lamb in batches, brown it and set it aside. Next add the onion to the ghee and sauté it until it is soft. This should take about five minutes. Whilst you are doing this, put the Cumin, Coriander, Cardamom seeds, Peppercorns and Cloves into a suitable pan and roast over a medium heat for a few minutes until they become fragrant then grind them in a pestle and mortar or spice grinder. Be careful not to burn them when roasting. Now add the ground spices along with the Garlic and Ginger to the onions and fry the mixture over a medium heat for about 3 minutes.
Don’t worry if you think the chilli seeds are going to make this a hot dish … the yoghurt, which we will now add, will tone the heat right down. Turn the heat down a bit; we don’t want the yoghurt to separate. Add one tablespoon of yogurt and mix it in. Keep stirring until the yoghurt appears to have gone. Allow any water content to boil off too. Repeat with a second tablespoon of yoghurt, after which, the lamb should be coated evenly. Add the tomato puree and mix well. Place the cinnamon stick in the pan and any bones if you used a leg. Now add the stock such that it just covers the lamb.
Make a cartouche from baking parchment and cover the contents of the pan. Place the lid on and put in the oven for 45 minutes. Now is a good time to make the Parathas!
Put the flour, salt and cubed butter in a large bowl and rub in the fat (the butter). Continue to mix, slowly adding the water until the mixture is nice and thick but not too sticky. A good indication is that as you mix it, it should 'clean' the inside of the bowl. If it is too wet, simply add a little more flour. Now roll it out on a large flat surface and spread evenly with 1 tbsp of warmed ghee. Allow this to cool for a few minutes.
Now roll it up and cut it into slices as in the photograph below.
Now comes the fun bit! Take each piece in turn and hold it as in the far left photograph, then squeeze it and turn it so that it is narrow in the centre ... sort of like a waste. Now place it between the palms of your hands and compress it ... twisting your hands in opposite directions until you have a patty as in the photograph on the far right. Dead easy! If you look at it, you should have visible coils of ghee and dough on both sides.
Take the remaing 2 tbsp of butter ghee and melt it in a pan. Add the same quantity of sunflower oil. DO NOT under any circumstances use olive oil, for two reasons. Firstly olive oil has a strong taste, and secondly your parathas will turn out like biscuits. This is because olive oil does not achieve the same high temperature as ghee.
Now take about one dessert-spoon of the oil and ghee mixture and put it in a flat-bottomed frying pan or better still, a skillet. Initially heat it up high then drop it back to a medium heat. As the skillet is heating up, re-dust your working area with flour and roll out your first paratha to about 8 inches (20cm) diameter. Make sure the bottom of the skillet is evenly coated in about 1mm of oil/ghee. Place the paratha in the skillet and press it down all over. I use the back of my hand/fingers for this bit. Your paratha should immediately show signs of puffing up in places. Now go back and roll out the next paratha. When done, flip the paratha in the skillet. It should look like the one below.
Now take about one dessert-spoon of the oil and ghee mixture and put it in a flat-bottomed frying pan or better still, a skillet. Initially heat it up high then drop it back to a medium heat. As the skillet is heating up, re-dust your working area with flour and roll out your first paratha to about 8 inches (20cm) diameter. Make sure the bottom of the skillet is evenly coated in about 1mm of oil/ghee. Place the paratha in the skillet and press it down all over. I use the back of my hand/fingers for this bit. Your paratha should immediately show signs of puffing up in places. Now go back and roll out the next paratha. When done, flip the paratha in the skillet. It should look like the one below.
Continue to fry the paratha for a further 30 seconds. Then turn it out onto a plate and keep warm under a tea-towel. Add another dessert-spoonful of oil/ghee to the skillet, make sure the bottom is evenly covered then place your next paratha in the pan. Repeat this procedure for each paratha. You may need to 'purge' the skillet of burnt flour at least once. This is best achieved by scraping it to one side and lifting it out with a fish-slice.
Now that your parathas are done, it should be time to take the Rogan-Josh out of the oven. Remove the cartouche and take out any lamb bones that you may have added for good measure. Give it a stir and check and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Now add the baby plumb tomatoes, mix and return to the oven for another 10 minutes, this time, leave the lid off. Finally, before serving, stir in a generous couple of handfuls of coarsely chopped coriander leaves and serve with warm parathas.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!