Kashmiri Rogan Josh and Shah Jeera-Javitri Rice #RudeFood and Sunday Lunch
Sundays and holidays are a licence for late and delayed lunches... And the most disgusting question ever..."What should I make for lunch?" And then suddenly,a newspaper rudely thrust under my nose,"This!". "Vir Sanghvi for lunch???" "No!" "Rogan Josh." Ohhhh... Rogan Josh is a familiar curry,only that we are in the middle of the Great Humid, Indian Summer and all things meat and greasy are not just au fait. But hubby dear and sweet child were adamant.
Despite the heat and the fact that I have since given up on red meat(a long story),I set about making this childhood favourite .
My version is only a wee bit different from the recipe in the Rude Food column.A safe diversion from the curry.
Rogan basically refers to oil and the josh is the passion(the passion for meat,I guess), this is a dish that originates from Persia brought to India by the Mughals.
My memories of Wazwan and kashmiri cuisine are related to the JKTDC hotels and restaurants of Jammu and Srinagar and of dishes made by some Kashmiri relatives(sisters in law etc).And all have oil floating over the surface of the curry.
This is the version made by Kashmiri pandits and they do not use any onions or aromatics.
My version is only a wee bit different from the recipe in the Rude Food column.A safe diversion from the curry.
Rogan basically refers to oil and the josh is the passion(the passion for meat,I guess), this is a dish that originates from Persia brought to India by the Mughals.
My memories of Wazwan and kashmiri cuisine are related to the JKTDC hotels and restaurants of Jammu and Srinagar and of dishes made by some Kashmiri relatives(sisters in law etc).And all have oil floating over the surface of the curry.
This is the version made by Kashmiri pandits and they do not use any onions or aromatics.
And always served with rice,to mop up the gravy. The rice is generally plain basmati,but since I switched pans,I decided to make a pulao or a Pilaf. Don't expect a restaurant style thick gravy. This is a shorba/soupy/watery gravy,there being no onions or tomatoes to make the body. Its just belly warming,and if spicy...heart burningly yummy. So lunch was a wonderful meal,thanks to Rude food and Mr Vir Sanghvi. No fresh coriander to prettify my dish,its all dried up under the harsh sun.
for the
Kashmiri Rogan Josh and #RudeFood and Sunday Lunch
you need
1/2 kilo mutton,pieces from the shoulder and leg and rib(we buy Chaamp,nali and seena/gol/boneless boti) 100 mils mustard oil 1 cup thick fresh yogurt 1 tbsp gram flour or besan 1/4 tsp asofetida/hing 2-3 black cardamom 4-5 cloves and green cardamom each 2 1-inch sticks cinnamon sticks 1/2 tsp cumin seed /zeera /jeera powder 1/4 tsp saffron soaked in warm water -optional 2-3 tsp of Deghi Mirch Powder(most of us don't have a supply of Kashmiri red chili powder,so...) 1 tbsp each dried ginger powder and aniseed powder(sonth and saunf powder) salt to taste
I prefer to use a flat ,wide mouth pan for shallow frying the meat.Its easier to stir. Wash and pat dry the mutton before hand.Lots of Kashmiri purists I know just pat the meat dry and swear by the unwashed meat. Al in the name of flavour. Whatever floats your boat. Heat the mustard oil to smoking point and toss in the whole spices and asofetida.
Once they have spluttered and swollen up and flavoured the oil,place the mutton ,a piece at a time,Keeping the temperature of the oil a constant.That's why open mouthed pan.
Allow it to brown and the surface to caramelize .The picture does not do justice to the colour. You need to allow the meat to fry till it stops giving out any water. Essentially you need to stand there and get coated with the droplets of oil and mutton fat till all the water evaporates. Add the salt and the deghi Mirch powder and stir .
This is a technique that I find very useful. Start with the yogurt,ensuring that it is at room temperature whisk in the gram flour/besan and make sure there are no lumps.I prefer to use a balloon whisk for this,or better still blend in the mixer. The addition of the gram flour/besan will make sure the yogurt does not split.Pour in a tablespoon of the cooking meat liquid into the yogurt to bring up the temperature or to shock the yogurt.
And stirring constantly add it to the curry. Once the liquid boils,there is no fear of the yogurt splitting,so you can let go of the ladle.
Whisk in the dried ginger powder and aniseed powder(sonth and saunf powder) and the cumin seed powder with a little water and add it to the cooking mutton.
If you make lunch in the wee hours of the morning,you can afford to cover and simmer the rogan josh till the mutton is tender,but for people like me,who wait for the newspaper man and hubby dear to make up his mind ,a pressure cooker is our best friend.
Time to transfer the curry to a pressure cooker.Add in about 3 cups of water and the saffron and close the cooker to cook on pressure 10-15 minutes. Let the cooker open on its own after you turn off the heat. Check for the salt and chilli powder. You may need to simmer the gravy and allow it to thicken slightly.
Time to transfer the curry to a pressure cooker.Add in about 3 cups of water and the saffron and close the cooker to cook on pressure 10-15 minutes. Let the cooker open on its own after you turn off the heat. Check for the salt and chilli powder. You may need to simmer the gravy and allow it to thicken slightly.
for the
Shah Jeera-Javitri Rice...
you need
1 cup basmati long grain rice,washed and soaked
1 onion ,thinly sliced
1 tsp shah jeera
1 strip javitri or mace
3 green cardamom
1/2 tsp salt and coriander powder each
1 tbsp desi ghee/clarified butter/refined vegetable oil
Spices. PS javitri is the covering of nutmeg. Shah jeera is also called Kala Jeera and it is a little different in taste from the regular cumin seed.
Heat the ghee (I used the same pan-my maid needs a Sunday off too) in the pan and add the spices and allow them to splutter. Add in the onion and the salt and the coriander powder.Coriander powder allows the onion to caramelize faster.
. Add in the rice and mix to coat the spices and oil and stuff .Add double the water and cover and cook on a simmer till the rice are done. They take approximately 12-15 minutes.
Once the pressure has cooled, I find that placing the cooker on ice and letting it cool and then reheating the curry works well,especially if you've just cooked. Meat always needs a couple of hours to rest and the taste to develop.The ice trick was let out by a waza (who doubled as the mess cook when hubby dear was posted in the valley).His yakhni was awesome,and he could make it at the shortest notice.
So, plated with sliced onions and a mint chutney,the oil floating....
So, plated with sliced onions and a mint chutney,the oil floating....
Reminiscent of my Masi's(mother's sister's) cooking and of chatter and too many people around the table and a big container of overcooked white rice(pathu)and the thin, oily flavoursome curry that is Rogan Josh.
That's why its good to read the news paper on a Sunday morning.
Me, the suddenly non eater of red meat, ate a bowlful of rice with the curry...could'nt help myself.
So what memories are you going to evoke Sunday next @virsanghvi???
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