Kashmiri Rogan Josh With Whole Pods

The version we cook at the counter — whole pods in, ground spice late, and the chilli added as a wet paste.

Total Time 2 Hours
Serves 4 People
Heat Medium
Built Around Kashmiri Chilli

Rogan josh gets its colour from chilli and its body from fat, and the two have to be handled in opposite ways. The chilli goes in wet so it never touches dry heat. The fat goes in first and does the work of carrying everything else.

What follows is the counter version, which is a little heavier on whole pods than most written recipes. We lift them out before serving, but they spend the full ninety minutes in the pot.

Ingredients

Lamb shoulder, cut into 5cm pieces 900 g
Kashmiri chilli powder 3 tsp
Whole black cardamom pods 4
Green cardamom pods 6
Ceylon cinnamon quill 1
Fennel seed, ground 2 tsp
Dried ginger powder 1 tsp
Full fat yoghurt, whisked 220 g
Ghee 4 tbsp

One Thing Worth Getting Right

Use Kashmiri chilli rather than a hot powder. It is there for colour, not burn, and swapping it for cayenne turns a mild braise into something nobody asked for.

Method

Bloom The Whole Spices

Warm the ghee until it shimmers, then drop in the black cardamom, green cardamom and the cinnamon quill. Give them thirty seconds - you are waiting for the cardamom to swell, not colour.
Brown The Lamb In Batches

Crowding the pan steams the meat instead of browning it. Two batches, four minutes a side, then set it all aside on a plate with its juices.
Make The Chilli Paste

Off the heat, stir the Kashmiri chilli into a splash of water to make a loose paste. Added dry it will scorch; added wet it colours the whole pot without any bitterness.
Fold The Yoghurt In Slowly

One spoonful at a time, stirring between each. Go too fast and it splits, and no amount of simmering will bring it back together.
Simmer Low For Ninety Minutes

Lid ajar, barely a bubble. The fat should rise and pool at the edges when it is ready, which is the traditional test for rogan josh.
Finish With Fennel And Ginger

Both go in at the end. Cooked from the start they flatten out; added late they sit on top of the dish and give it lift.

Whole spices measured out before cooking — Everything weighed before the pan goes on — there is no time to measure once the ghee is hot.

What To Serve It With

Plain basmati, nothing else. A pulao fights it for attention and a bread will not pick up enough of the sauce. If you want one more dish on the table, make it something sharp and cold.