Mutton Rogan Josh

After getting up into a cold dreary morning I desperately needed some energy to get me through the day. I thought the best way to get some josh back was obviously to make and eat some Rogan Josh, the classic Kashmiri dish custom made exactly for a weather like this. Traditionally Rogan Josh is made by Kashmiris with lots of asafoetida, dried ginger powder and other spices to fight against the harsh cold of the Himalayas.

Ingredients

1. 2 lb. goat meat on bone cut into 1" cubes (Leg or shoulder portion of goat or lamb is preferred)
2. 1 tsp. of asafoetida (hing)
3. 4 pods black cardamom
4. 5,6 green cardamom
5. 8,10 cloves
6. 2" cinnamon stick
7. 5,6 bay leaves
8. 2 lb. onion thinly sliced
9. 1 tbsp. ginger paste
10. 1 tbsp. garlic paste
11. 4 tbsp. Kashmiri chili powder ( Paprika powder is also a good alternative)
12. 1 tsp. dry ginger powder
13. 1 tsp. fennel powder
14. 1/2 cup plain yogurt beaten
15. 10 tbsp. mustard oil
16. Salt
17. Sugar

Procedure

Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan till it smokes and put bay leaves, cardamoms (both green and black), cinnamon, cloves and asafoetida into it. Once the fragrance of the spices start coming out, add sliced onions to it and fry them on medium heat till they are golden brown. Keep stirring them continuously to prevent burning.

Add the mutton pieces and fry them on high heat along with onions till all  sides of meat pieces are brown. Add ginger, garlic paste to it and sauté for about 3,4 minutes on medium heat. Add about 2 cups of warm water to it along with salt and little sugar.

Now bring the contents of the pan to a boil scraping in all the browned spices on the sides and bottom. Cover and allow it to simmer on low heat till the meat pieces are tender. It takes almost an hour for meat to get tender.

In a small bowl mix red chili powder with 4 tbsp. of water to make a paste. Now add this chili paste to the cooked mutton followed by dry ginger powder and fennel powder. Stir it well and cook for about another 5 mins on high heat. In between give the pot a nice stir to prevent burning.

Turn off the heat and slowly add beaten yogurt to it. Mix really well and bring it back to medium high heat and boil off some of the liquid stirring all the time till the sauce is thickened. Give it a taste test and adjust the seasoning accordingly.

Serve with butter naan or plain basmati rice.