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
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
.
It is made with
red meat
In gastronomy, red meat is commonly red when raw and a dark color after it is cooked, in contrast to white meat, which is pale in color before and after cooking. In culinary terms, only flesh from mammals or fowl (not fish) is classified as ...
—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 de ...
, 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 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 ...
and is one of the main dishes of the Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
i 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
Braising (from the French word ''braiser'') is a combination-cooking method that uses both wet and dry heats: typically, the food is first browned at a high temperature, then simmered in a covered pot in cooking liquid (such as wine, broth, coco ...
with a gravy flavoured with garlic
Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...
, ginger
Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice
A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...
and aromatic spices (clove
Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, ...
, bay leaves
The bay leaf is an aromatic leaf commonly used in cooking. It can be used whole, either dried or fresh, in which case it is removed from the dish before consumption, or less commonly used in ground form. It may come from several species of tr ...
, 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 rec ...
, and cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfa ...
), and in some versions incorporating onions or yogurt.[ After initial braising, the dish may be finished using the ]dampokhtak
Dum pukht ( fa, دُم پخت), larhmeen, or slow oven cooking is a cooking technique associated with the Mughal Empire in which meat and vegetables are cooked over a low flame, generally in dough-sealed containers with few spices. Traditions a ...
slow cooking technique.[Singh (1973), p.58] Its characteristic deep red colour traditionally comes from dried flowers or root of ''Alkanna tinctoria
''Alkanna tinctoria'', the dyer's alkanet or simply alkanet, is a herbaceous flowering plant in the borage family Boraginaceae. Its roots are used to produce a red dye. The plant is also known as dyers' bugloss, orchanet, Spanish bugloss, or La ...
'' (''ratan jot'')[ and from liberal amounts of dried, deseeded Kashmiri chilies (''lal mirch''). These chilies, whose flavor approximates that of ]paprika
Paprika ( US , ; UK , ) is a spice made from dried and ground red peppers. It is traditionally made from ''Capsicum annuum'' varietals in the Longum group, which also includes chili peppers, but the peppers used for paprika tend to be milder an ...
, 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
Chili powder (also spelled chile, chilli, or, alternatively, powdered chili) is the dried, pulverized fruit of one or more varieties of chili pepper, sometimes with the addition of other spices (in which case it is also sometimes known as chili p ...
(available in Indian stores) or a mixture of paprika (predominantly) and 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 ...
, 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 = Amb ...
'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