Rogan Josh is a popular Kashmiri dish that is believed to have originated in Persia before making its way to Northern India and beyond (in Persian, “rogan” means clarified butter and “josh” means hot or passionate). Its signature red color is historically the result of mild red Kashmiri chiles which were used in making this dish. Over the years, many restaurants started using tomatoes in the dish to bring about that red color easily. My recipe follows the more modern interpretation of the dish, mostly because you and I don’t have the money to travel to Kashmir for some chiles! Well, maybe you do, but I most certainly do not.
An excellent cut of lamb for this dish was the other half of Lava Lake Lamb’s beautiful lamb shoulder (the other half was used to make shashlik). This slightly-fatty cut imparted a ton of flavor into the dish, which just tasted better and better the longer it simmered.
I’m also happy to announce that this is my first recipe that features a printer-friendly version! I’ll be sure to do this with every recipe from now on, and as I get the spare time I will go back and make printer-friendly versions of all my recipes.
You’ll Need:
1/2 lamb shoulder (2 lbs)
2 medium onions
1″ fresh ginger (or 1 tsp ground ginger)
8 cloves garlic
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 bay leaves
10 whole cardamom pods
1 stick cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp coriander
2 tsp cumin
2 tbsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp each salt and pepper
1 14oz can tomato sauce
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
1 large handful of cilantro, chopped (about 2 cups)
I would suggest getting your lamb shoulder out of the freezer two days in advance, ours took a while to thaw out.
Cut half of the shoulder into large chunks (2″ or so in size) and set aside.
Combine the bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper and set aside. Similarly, in a blender or food processor, blend the onion, ginger, garlic, and water into a fine paste and set aside.
Warm up the coconut oil in a large skillet on med/high heat until shimmering, about three minutes. Add the lamb pieces and brown on each side.
Be sure to give the pieces a few minutes per side to form a nice crust before turning them.
Once the lamb is well-browned, reduce the heat to medium and add the onion paste and seasonings, stirring everything around (gently so as to not break up the bay leaves).
Continue to simmer for another five minutes until very aromatic.
Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes, stir together, and bring to a simmer. Cover and reduce heat to low, simmering for 1.5 hours. After an hour and a half, remove the lid and check to see if the lamb is fork-tender. If it is, keep the lid off and allow to simmer on med/low heat for another five minutes, which will thicken the sauce. If the lamb is still tough, cover and simmer on low for another 30 minutes and try again.
Right before serving, stir in the chopped cilantro. I should note that cilantro is not a historical part of this dish, but it definitely adds a “fresh” dynamic to the curry.
Serve with basmati rice or cauliflower rice. Easy!
We are thinking of getting a lamb this fall. I haven’t cooked with it much, so I’m glad to have some ideas from you – this looks wonderful!
Jan, go for it! I’m sure you’ll be coming up with all sorts of creations of your own. Some people aren’t fans of the lamb smell (my mother included, so I never had lamb growing up), but I think that quality, farm-direct lamb is much easier on the nose.
It looks wonderful!
Thanks Villy!
Looks so delicious!
Thanks Veniza!
Looks delish and love using all those spices to make Paleo living a little hipper!! BTW- thanks moucho for the Recipe Print feature- it is KEY for those of us who need to print out to make our own recipe books!
No problem, Karen! It was actually pretty easy and fun to make the printable version. Now I just have to get off my lazy duff and do a hundred more of them :)
This looks delicious! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
My pleasure!
I love lamb…AND this is my favourite type of curry sauce…serves me right for looking at your blog on an empty stomach! ; )
Oh man, bad decision! :)
I have had Rogan josh many times and it is a wonderful dish.
I have just tried this recipe and I found the taste of tomato far too much, to the point that it was impossible to taste the spices. As I live in the UK one thought crosses my mind and that is what do you mean by Tomato Sauce. In the UK other than tomatoes chopped up we only have puree in tins but did you mean ketchup?
Hi Mike, sorry to hear that you didn’t like the tomato taste. Tomato sauce in the US is pureed tomatoes, definitely not ketchup! Maybe halve the tomatoes next time and see how you like it? Thanks for the feedback!
Thats funny, I’m in the uk also and was confused. Firstly i thought can’t put tomatoe sauce (ketchup) in, then thought as it said can that it was a tin of tomatoe soup. Then i thought well i just won’t write this one down. Glad someone asked, and since it is tomato puree, approx how much as mostly comes it squeezy tubes here. Thanks x
Does it not mean Passata? I would imagine all that tomato puree would be way too strong???
I’m Indian American and this is indeed a North Indian and Kashmiri recipe. It is indeed extremely delicious, and I appreciate the fact that your recipe stays almost true to the original dish. What’s funny is that I am not a lamb aficionado, but Rogan Josh is a dish that I will eat with full appreciation. And I also have to wryly thank you because I’m in college right now and cannot eat Indian food, but looking at those delicious pictures just increase my cravings. Ah, sighs. Well, thanks for the recipe … and the additional DEEP cravings for Rogan Josh :D
Thanks for sharing, Dolly! Hopefully you can find a good restaurant nearby to assuage those cravings :)
This look absolutely DELICIOUS! I’ve only had Rogan Josh one time, in Iran actually at the age of 12, and have fond memories of it. I look forward to trying yours out!
Thanks for sharing Buttoni, let me know how you like it!
Oh, this is really very good – I am cooking it in my slow cooker at the moment and having a VERY hard time leaving it alone.
Lucinda, resist if you can! You’ll spoil the ending :)
Well it was magnificent, and I suspect going to be just as good, if not better, when I reheat some for my dinner this evening.
Glad you liked it!
Made this last night. Unfortunately, lamb wasn’t in the budget so I made it with beef stew cubes. It was amazing! The flavors, wow! Will definitely work this into the rotation. Thanks very much for sharing this.