Lamb Rogan Josh with Kashmiri Chilli
Deep red, fragrant and tender
Rogan josh is the aromatic, brick-red lamb curry of Kashmir, and the secret to it tasting right is colour without ferocious heat. The twist here leans on Kashmiri chilli — prized for its vivid red hue and mild warmth — to give that signature glow, while a yoghurt-and-fennel base builds the gentle, perfumed depth the dish is loved for. Whole warm spices and a long, slow braise do the rest, leaving the lamb fork-tender in a glossy sauce. Worth the wait.
Lamb Rogan Josh with Kashmiri Chilli
Ingredients
- 800g boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 4cm chunks
- 4 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
- 2 large onions, finely sliced
- 150g natural yoghurt
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 2 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tsp ground fennel seeds
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 4 green cardamom pods, bruised
- 2 black cardamom pods
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 0.5 tsp ground ginger
- 0.5 tsp garam masala
- Salt, to taste
- Fresh coriander, to serve
Method
- Heat 2 tbsp of the ghee in a heavy casserole and brown the lamb in batches, then set aside.
- Add the remaining ghee and the whole green and black cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and bay leaves, and fry for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Add the sliced onions and cook for 12-15 minutes until deep golden brown.
- Stir in the garlic and fresh ginger and cook for 2 minutes.
- Lower the heat, add the Kashmiri chilli powder, fennel, cumin, coriander and ground ginger, and stir for 30 seconds.
- Whisk the yoghurt and add it a spoonful at a time, stirring constantly so it does not split.
- Return the lamb and any juices, add 200ml water and a good pinch of salt, then bring to a gentle simmer.
- Cover and cook on a low heat for 1.5 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the lamb is meltingly tender and the sauce is rich and red.
- Stir through the garam masala, rest for 5 minutes, scatter with coriander and serve.
3 The Story
Rogan josh is one of the signature dishes of Kashmiri cuisine, in the far north of the Indian subcontinent, and a centrepiece of the elaborate multi-course feast known as the wazwan. The name is generally understood to come from Persian: rogan meaning clarified butter or oil, and josh meaning heat or passion, together suggesting meat cooked in oil at an intense, rolling heat. The dish is widely thought to have arrived in Kashmir with Mughal cooking, which carried strong Persian influences, and to have adapted to local ingredients over time.
Its defining visual feature is the deep red colour. Traditionally this came not from large amounts of chilli but from two milder sources: Kashmiri red chillies, which are intensely coloured yet gentle in heat, and ratan jot, the root of alkanet, which lends a natural crimson dye and little else. Many cooks today rely chiefly on Kashmiri chilli powder, which is exactly the small twist used here — it delivers that glowing red without the dish becoming punishingly hot.
There is a meaningful divide in how rogan josh is made. The Kashmiri Pandit (Hindu) tradition typically avoids onion and garlic, using asafoetida and ground spices instead, while the Kashmiri Muslim style builds on browned onions, garlic and yoghurt. The version here follows the latter, more widely cooked outside Kashmir, with a yoghurt base whisked in slowly to enrich and thicken the sauce. Fennel, in ground form, is the other characteristic note, giving a sweet, faintly aniseed fragrance that is very much part of the Kashmiri spice palette, often alongside dried ginger.
The cut matters as much as the spice. Lamb shoulder, with its connective tissue and gentle marbling, rewards the long, slow braise that defines the dish: over an hour and a half or more, the collagen breaks down into gelatine, the meat turns spoonably tender, and the sauce thickens and deepens. Whole spices — cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and bay — perfume the oil at the start and are left in to infuse throughout. Rushed, rogan josh disappoints; given time, it is one of the most satisfying curries there is.
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