Welcome to the World of Wazwan: Rogan Josh

Welcome to the World of Wazwan: Rogan Josh

Welcome to the exotic world of Wazwan… the traditional cuisine of Kashmir. In today’s post, we will roll up our sleeves and get down to cooking one of the most famous dishes in the Wazwan repertoire – a dish known as Rogan Josh. Like all Wazwan recipes, it takes lots of preparation, lots of ingredients and lots of time to make Rogan Josh in all its authentic glory.

Here are the ingredients that you will need; there are two sets of spices in this recipe: one for marinating the meat and another set (of more or less the same spices) for the cooking process. To make things easier, we are listing the two sets of spices separately.

1. Mutton: 1 kilogram

2. P Mark Mustard Oil: 300 millilitres

3. Yogurt (Dahi): 700 grams

Spices for Marinating for Rogan Josh

1. Kashmiri Chillies, ground: Half a teaspoon

2. Cinnamon (Dalchini), ground: Half a teaspoon

3. Green Cardamom (Ilaichi), crushed: 1

4. Black Cardamom (Ilaichi), crushed: 1

5. Cloves (Laung), ground: 2

6. Peppercorn (Kali Mirch), ground: Half a teaspoon

7. Fennel (Saunf) Seeds, ground: Half a teaspoon

Spices for Cooking for Rogan Josh

1. Fennel (Saunf) Seeds: 1 teaspoon

2. Peppercorn (Kali Mirch): 1 teaspoon

3. Asafoetida (Heeng): 1 teaspoon

4. Black Cardamoms (Ilaichi): 2

5. Green Cardamoms (Ilaichi): 4

6. Red Chilli Powder: 1 tablespoon

7. Ginger Powder: 1 teaspoon

8. Cinnamon (Dalchini): 1 one-inch stick

9. Cloves (Laung): 6

10. Salt: to taste

Preparation for Rogan Josh

Cut the mutton into cubes with the bone intact. Place the mutton pieces in a large bowl. Add the spices that you had set aside for marinating; add one spice at a time, kneading them gently into the mutton pieces, ensuring a good mix of meat and spices. Once all your spices have been added and mixed, keep the bowl aside.

Whisk the yogurt in a mixing bowl and keep aside.

Method for Rogan Josh

Heat the Mustard Oil in a pan on a High flame. Stand aside and wait till the oil starts smoking. This is a very important part of the traditional Wazwan process for cooking in Mustard Oil. Wazwan involves extended periods of heating and cooking, and cold-pressed Mustard Oil is the only cooking oil that has the ability to retain all its natural nutrients at its smoking point.

Reduce the flame to Medium and add the cinnamon, black cardamoms, green cardamoms, cloves and peppercorns. Keep stirring. After a minute or so add the fennel seeds.

Next, add the marinated mutton pieces. Keep stirring and turning to ensure that the mutton pieces are thoroughly coated with the Mustard Oil and the spices.

Increase the heat and keep cooking till the mutton pieces are caramelized. Add the asafoetida, ginger and salt. Keep stirring; keep mixing; add the red chilli powder and continue cooking.

Add the yogurt – stirring and folding to ensure that the mutton pieces are well-coated in the yogurt.

Reduce the flame to Medium heat. Cover the pan and allow the contents to simmer for around 90 minutes. Check at regular intervals to ensure that the mutton is cooked properly.

Your Rogan Josh is now ready. It is traditionally served with steaming hot Basmati rice.