Rogan josh

This article is about the dish. For other uses, see Rogan josh (disambiguation).
Rogan josh
Rogan josh
TypeCurry
CourseWazwan
Main
Place of originKashmir, under Mughal Empire
Region or stateKashmir Valley
Serving temperatureHot
Main ingredientsLamb or goat, alkanet root
  •   Media: Rogan josh

Rogan josh (Kashmiri: [roːɡan d͡ʒoːʃ]); English: /ˌroʊɡən ˈdʒɑʃ/),[1] also spelled roghan josh or roghan ghosht, is an aromatic curried meat dish in Kashmiri cuisine, from the time of the Mughal Empire. It is one of the main dishes in the wazwan, the traditional multi-course Kashmiri feast.[2] Rogan josh is made with red meat—traditionally mutton or goat, coloured and flavoured primarily by alkanet flower (or root) and Kashmiri chillies. In Western usage, tomatoes are often used instead.

Etymology

A variety of origins of the name have been suggested. Persian: Rawghan means "clarified butter"[3] or "oil" in Persian, while Persian: jōš means to "stew" or "braise"[4] and ultimately derives from the verb Persian: jōšīdan meaning "to boil". Rogan josh, by this definition, would mean "stewed in ghee".[4] An alternative etymology is that the name derives from the Kashmiri word Kashmiri: roghan, "red",[5] along with either Kashmiri: gošt, "meat", often romanised as "rogan ghosht" or "gosht",[6] or a word meaning "juice", giving possible meanings of "red meat" or "red juice".[7] The exact etymology remains uncertain as both "rogan josh" and "rogan ghosht" are used for the dish, and it is unclear which of the names is the original.[6]

Origin

In Persian cuisine, rogan josh was a dish of meat fried in hot butter. It was brought to North India by the Mughals in the 16th century. According to the food historian Lizzie Collingham, the summer heat of the central Indian plains led the Mughals to spend time in the cooler northern region of Kashmir, bringing their cuisine with them. They then made use of Kashmiri herbs to colour and flavour their food. Rogan josh has become a staple of Kashmiri cuisine and is one of the main dishes of the Kashmiri multi-course meal, the wazwan.[3] Chilli peppers became available in India after the Portuguese brought them to Goa early in the 16th century.[3] The ancient spice trade had long since brought other spices from East Asia to the Indian subcontinent.[8][9]

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, and cinnamon), and in some versions incorporating onions or yoghurt.[10] After initial braising, the dish is often finished using the dampokhtak slow-cooking technique.[12] Its characteristic deep red colour traditionally comes from herbs such as the dried flowers or root of Alkanna tinctoria (ratan jot, dyer's alkanet)[7] or from Kashmiri red chilli (lal mirch).[13]

There are different approaches in preparation. Some use praan, a local form of shallot, and petals of maval, the cockscomb flower, for colouring (and for its supposed "cooling" effect);[10] others add yoghurt and asafoetida to give additional body and flavour.[10]

Adaptations

See also: Curry in the United Kingdom

While the traditional preparation uses whole dried chillies that are de-seeded, soaked in water, and ground to a paste, non-traditional shortcuts use either Kashmiri chilli powder or a mixture of paprika (predominantly) and cayenne pepper, adjusted to taste. Madhur Jaffrey suggests anything from 4 to 16 times as much paprika as cayenne.[14] An updated version served in Sanjeev Kapoor's restaurants uses white and black cardamom, anise, and bay leaves.[15]

Western interpretations of the dish commonly add tomatoes to the sauce. Ready-made pour-over cooking sauces do this to the point where the dish can 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.[16] British versions combine this with a commercial spice paste,[17] while British Indian restaurants sometimes use both tomatoes and red peppers to obtain the desired red colour.[11] Foreigners such as Americans visiting these restaurants had their first taste of Indian food, helping to spread the dish to other countries.[3]

Some authors have specifically referred to rogan josh as a dish based around meat and tomatoes,[18] while others have identified tomatoes with a Punjabi version of the dish.[19] There is a variety with beef, brisket being preferred.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ Rogan Josh, Oxford English Dictionary
  2. ^ Magon, Harminder Singh (2016). My Epicurean Journey. Friesen. p. 152.
  3. ^ a b c d e Collingham, Lizzie (2006). Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors. Oxford University Press. pp. 34–35, 68–69, 227. ISBN 978-0199883813.
  4. ^ a b Delahunty, Andrew (2008). From Bonbon to Cha-cha: Oxford Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases. Oxford University Press. p. 297. ISBN 978-0-19-954369-4.
  5. ^ Chapman, Pat (2009). India: Food and Cooking. New Holland. p. 124. ISBN 978-1845376192.
  6. ^ a b Ayto, John (2012). The Diner's Dictionary: Word Origins of Food and Drink. Oxford University Press. p. 309.
  7. ^ a b c Wahhab, Iqbal (2016). The Cinnamon Club Cookbook. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 106.
  8. ^ a b Manguin, Pierre-Yves (2016). "Austronesian Shipping in the Indian Ocean: From Outrigger Boats to Trading Ships". In Campbell, Gwyn (ed.). Early Exchange between Africa and the Wider Indian Ocean World. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 51–76. ISBN 978-3319338224. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  9. ^ Solheim, Wilhelm G. (1996). "The Nusantao and north-south dispersals". Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association. 15: 101–109.
  10. ^ a b c d Panjabi, Camellia (1995). The Great Curries of India. Simon & Schuster. p. 54. ISBN 978-0684803838. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  11. ^ a b Dillon, Sheila. "From balti to bhuna: the ultimate guide to curry". BBC. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
  12. ^ Singh (1973), p. 58
  13. ^ Majumdar, Simon. "Rogan Josh". Simon Majumdar. Retrieved 27 December 2025. There are many different versions of this fiery dish from the Kashmir region of India (like those prepared by Hindu Brahmins, will preclude the use of onions, ginger and garlic) but they all share the deep red color that comes from adding the mild chili powder that is grown there.
  14. ^ Jaffrey, Madhur (1982). Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery. BBC. pp. 51–53. ISBN 0-563-16491-3. 4 teaspoons bright red paprika mixed with ¼–1 teaspoon cayenne powder
  15. ^ Kapoor, Sanjeev (2011). How to Cook Indian: More Than 500 Classic Recipes for the Modern Kitchen. Stewart, Tabori & Chang. p. 39. ISBN 978-1613121351.
  16. ^ Singh, Dharamjit (1973). Indian Cookery. Penguin Books. p. 21,58. ISBN 978-0140461411.
  17. ^ Jessop, Lucy. "Easy lamb rogan josh". Sainsbury's Magazine. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
  18. ^ Holkar, Shivaji Rao (1975). Cooking of the Maharajas. Viking Press. p. 225.
  19. ^ Bhangal, Jasprit (2013). Indian Cooking with Four Ingredients. Troubador Press. p. 101. ISBN 978-1780884868.
  20. ^ Owen, Sri (1994). The Rice Book: The Definitive Book on Rice, with Hundreds of Exotic Recipes from Around the World. St. Martin's Press. p. 275. ISBN 978-0312303396. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.