Roganjosh...

Kashimiri cuisine has evolved over hundreds of years.  Over the years the cuisine has been influenced by its rulers and migrant workers from Persia, Afghanistan, Central Asia, North India and others. The influence of Mughals is especially evident on the meat dishes and pulao. Spices and condiments play a key role in Kashmiri cuisine. Kashmir being  situated on the ancient 'Silk Route', the spices traders from all over the world passed through this valley and stayed here as visitors and thus use of spices like cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, fennel, star anise, saffron etc are abundant in Kashmiri cuisine. Staple diet in Kashmir is rice along with chicken, meat and fish. Vegetables like lotus root, turnips, spinach are also  a specialty of this region.

Kashmiri cuisine is broadly divided into Pandit style and Muslim style preparations. The Kashmiri Pandit style cooking involves loads of spices, where as the Muslim style cooking includes onion, garlic and shallots in their preparations. In Kashmiri Pandit kitchen one can find use of Hing (asafoetida) instead of onion and garlic.

Today I made Roganjosh, a classic meat dish from Kashmir. This dish has its origin from Persia. In Persian Rogan means oil and Josh means heat or passion. Thus "Roganjosh" is meat cooked in oil at high intense heat. A second explanation of the name Roganjosh is Rogan means red, this may explain the bright red color of the dish. Roganjosh is mostly made with lamb. I used goat meat. Beef can also be used in place of lamb or goat meat.

For last few months I was looking for an authentic Roganjosh, following Kashmiri Pandit cuisine. My search ended at Anshie's blog Spiceroots. I followed her recipe and made a delicious bowl of Roganjosh. Here is the original recipe link, Roganjosh by Spiceroots.

I did make the Kashmiri garam masala at home and used whole dry Kashmiri red chilies to bring the bright red color in the Roganjosh. Here is how I did it.

Things needed to make Roganjosh:

• Goat meat (with bone): 2 lb (1 kg)
• Yogurt: 1/2 cup
• Cloves: 4-5
• Green cardamom: 3-4
• Cinnamon stick: 1
• Kashmiri red chili: 3-4 tbsp
• Dry ginger powder: 1/2 tsp
• Fennel powder: 5 tsp
• Kashmiri garam masala: 1 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Water: 2 cups
• Mustard oil: 1/4 cup

For Kashmiri Garam Masala:

• Shah jeera/ black cumin: 1 tsp
• Bay leaf: 1 small
• Green cardamom: 1/2 tsp
• Black peppercorn: 1 tsp
• Cloves: 1/8 tsp
• Fennel: 1/4 tsp
• Mace: 1/8 tsp
• Cinnamon: 1/2 stick
• Nutmeg: a pinch

Steps of making Roganjosh:

1. For the Kashmiri garam masala dry roast all the ingredients, cool down and ground to powder. Store in an air tight container.

2. For the Kashmiri red chili powder I dry roast the whole Kashmiri red chilies and ground them to powder.

3. Clean and wash the goat meat pieces. Pat dry with kitchen towel. Beat yogurt with little water, keep aside.

4. In a heavy bottom large pan heat mustard oil. When the oil is smoking hot reduce heat to medium and add cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. Cook for 1 min. Add the meat pieces. Cook the meat till it takes brown color.

5. Add the beaten yogurt, keep cooking till the yogurt dries up. Keep stirring.

6. Mix the ground kashmiri red chili powder with 1/4 cup of water. Add the red chili to the meat, mix well to coat all the pieces with the red chili powder.

7. Cook till oil separates, add all other spices, mix well.

8. Add 1.5 cups of hot water and let the water boil. Add salt, mix.

9. Cover the pan and cook till the meat is well done. Make sure there is enough water to cook the meat. Stir in between. Serve hot with rice or roti.

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Mutton Nihari

Mutton(goat meat) Nihari

The name Nihari comes from the Arabic word 'Nahar', meaning day. 'Nihari' is eaten just after the morning namaaz(prayer). It is a hot and spicy meat stew. Any meat can be used to make nihari, chicken/goat/lamb, but beef shanks are said to be the best choice. Traditionally it is cooked overnight in a large vessel sealed with dough. Don't worry I did not cook it overnight, but of course through the whole morning. It was my Friday-special dinner.

People are not sure where this dish originated. Some says it originated in Old Delhi,India during last days of Mughal era. And according to some it is an Awadhi cuisine, and it  originated in the kitchen of the Nawabs of Awadh.

Be it Mughlai or Awadhi, it tastes excellent either ways. The meat slow cooked with all the spices in the meat broth makes it soft and flavorful. Nihari is best paired with nan or chapati or fulkas, I had mine with nan. No I didn't make those nan, I bought a pack of nan from Whole foods.

I also added few baby potatoes to my nihari. I know the 'authentic' food-seeker may raise a big question, but the bong inside me couldn't help.

I was thinking about making Nihari for a long time, but somehow it did not happen. Last week, while I was searching for a different goat meat recipe, I came across  a video by Chef Gulzar from Pakistan. He was making nihari specially for Ramadan. He explained the whole process in a very simple way. And I made up my mind.

Things you need to make Mutton Nihari:

• Goat meat: 500gm
• Green papaya (grated): 3tbsp
• Ginger Paste:1tbsp
• Garlic Paste:1tbsp
• Onion (sliced): 2cups
• Meat broth:500ml
• Atta/wheat flour:1tbsp
• Ghee: 2tbsp
• Oil: 2tbsp
• Salt to taste
• Baby potatoes(optional):4

For the Nihari Masala:

• Dry red chili: 10-12
• Dry kashmiri red chili: 14-15
• Fennel seeds:2tbsp
• Shah jeera/black cumin:2tbsp
• Cumin seeds:4tbsp
• Black pepper:2tbsp
• Moti ellaichi/black cardamom:1tbsp
• Jaiphal/Nutmeg:2
• Star anise:4

Dry roast all these above mentioned spices, let them cool then grind to powder. Store this masala in an air tight container. It can be stored for months. For 1 kilo(2lb) of meat you need 2tbsp of this masala. I was cooking 500gm meat so I used 1tbsp, oh....how good I'm at mathematics...

The steps of making Mutton Nihari:

1. Use the leg part and ribs of the goat to make nihari. Take few pieces with fat, that will give a nice glaze to the dish. And use large pieces of meat. Clean and wash the pieces and marinate with grated papaya for 1 hr. I also squeezed  the grated papaya to extract the juice. If you do not have green papaya at home, use meat tenderizer, those are readily available in any grocery store.

2. In a heavy bottom pan add ghee and oil. I used ghee and oil in equal proportion, if you like you can only use ghee. When the oil is hot, add the sliced onion. Separate the onion slices before adding them to the oil. Fry the onion till they start changing color to red.

3. Add the mutton pieces and cook on high heat for 10min. Stir continuously. The meat pieces will be nicely brown. this way the meat will get the flavor of onion. Reduce the heat and add ginger-garlic paste. Cook for 5-7min on medium heat.

4. Add 1tbsp of Nihari masala and salt. Mix well. Cook for 5-6min on medium flame.

5. Add the meat broth and let it boil. For the meat broth either use any store bought meat broth or just boil some bones of the meat and small pieces of meat with little salt, bay leaf, a clove of garlic, and whole garam masala(cinnamon, cardamom, cloves) for an hour. Strain the broth and preserve the liquid.

6.As it boils reduce the heat to low, cover the pan. Keep cooking on the low flame till the meat is done. Mine took round about 5hrs. When the meat is done add roasted wheat flour. This will thicken the gravy. I added few baby potatoes also. I peeled and washed the potatoes, fry them and added to the gravy when the meat was almost done.

Serve with nan or roti, Fry some onion slices to brown and spirnkle that onion and the oil over the nihari. Yes I sprinkled some fried onions but no oil. I kept aside some fried onion while making the Nihari.

Nihari served along with some nan

Bhuna Gosht: Braised Slow-cooked Mutton

The word 'Bhuna' means to saute or to fry. Bhuna is a cooking process, where the ingredients are added to the pan or kadai and fried in oil without adding any water. Bhuna gosht is a popular Indian recipe where mutton(I used goat meat) is  slow cooked along with various spices. The meat cooks in its own juices which give a different dimension to the meat's texture and a deep flavor to the gravy. This kind of cooking takes much longer time  compared to pressure cooking but its worth it as the end result is outstanding. From my own experience I can tell you, once you try your hands on slow-cooking you will love it and will promise yourself to stick to slow-cooking as much as possible.

In bhuna gosht loads of onions are added along with the meat, which gradually caramalises to give a thick brown gravy. You can use any meat(lamb/beef/goat) to make this . The meat should be of good quality and make sure to use large pieces of the meat. Use few pieces with little fat on it, that will give nice glaze to the dish. Some like to reduce all the juices and makes a very dry dish, but I prefer to have thick brown rich gravy, so I can dip my nan bread into it or mix it with my khushka biryani and enjoy it.

Ingredients needed:

• Goat meat: 500gm
• Onion(sliced):3cups
• Ginger paste:1tbsp
• Garlic paste:1tbsp
• Tomato (seeded and chopped):1 
• Yogurt:1cup
• Corriander Powder: 1tsp
• Kashmiri red chili powder:1tbsp
• Turmeric powder:1/2tsp
• Shah jeera:1/2tsp
• Cardamom:4-5
• Black cardamom:2
• Cinnamon:3(1inch)sticks
• Cloves:7
• Black peppercorn:7-8
• Dry red chili:1-2
• Salt to tatse
• Ghee+vegetable oil:4tbsp

How to prepare:

1. Wash and clean the meat. I used the front leg(agli raan) part of the goat. You can use a mix of leg and rib portion.

2.In a heavy bottom non stick pan add ghee and vegetable oil. You can also use only ghee. I used ghee and oil in 1:1 ratio. When the oil is hot, add the onions. When the onions are transparent, add the meat, tomato and ginger-garlic paste. Cook in high heat and keep stirring. As the meat starts changing color, add corriander powder, kashmiri red chili, turmeric powder. Mix well. Cook for 3-4 min in high heat. 

3.Bit the yogurt with 1/2tsp sugar and 1/2cup water. Bit it well, there should be no lumps. Reduce heat to medium. Add the yogurt to the meat. Add salt. Mix well.

4.Cover the pan and reduce heat to low medium. Now let it cook like that till the meat is done. The meat will release a lot of water and it will be cooked in its own juices. Mine took 2and 1/2 hr. I just stirred in between and I did not need to add any extra water. [Note:If you see there is no enough water and the meat and spices may stick to the bottom then add little hot water.]

5. As the meat is cooking dry roast the spices shah jeera, cradamom, black cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black peppercorn, dry red chili(optional) and grind to a coarse powder. As oil separates from the masalas add this freshly made spice powder.

6. If you want it to be completely dry then uncover the pan and keep cooking till the juices dry up. But I prefered to have a little gravy on my bhuna gosht.

I had my bhuna gosht along with aromatic khushka biryani and green salad.

Mutton curry

PaNthar Mangsho Bhat..Mutton curry and Rice

In Bengali households Sundays are not complete without paNthar mangsho (goat meat curry) and bhat (cooked rice).  It was a practice in our house too. Ma used to cook an aromatic red mutton curry with some quartered potatoes in that.  Sunday mornings were as usual laid back, one of the most interesting thing to do on Sunday mornings was to accompany Baba to the ‘bajar’(market). We (my elder brother and I) used to love the bajar, the crowds, the noise, the bargain, even that fishy smell in the fish market. But those screaming chickens and hanging goats in the meat shop were a big turn off. At the end we used get a bubble gum or a pack of poppins. Those were the biggest attraction for us. Even right now I’m smiling thinking of those wonderful memories. After the bajar, the other fun thing for me was to sort the veggies in the kitchen. In my Ma’s kitchen there were separate baskets (and still there are) for potatoes, onions, green chilies and other vegetables. I used to sit on the kitchen floor and play with the veggies more than sorting them…..:)

Ok, no more childhood stories, let’s come back to our mutton curry. Ma used to cook the mutton curry in a pressure cooker. Whistling pressure cookers, was the common sound from almost all the kitchens on Sundays in the neighbourhood. Also a reminder to take a bath and be ready for the lunch. See I’m being nostalgic again. So no more stories, straight to the mutton curry.

How to cook Sunday special mutton curry:

Take a pressure cooker, heat some mustard oil. Bengalis cook almost everything in mustard oil. When the oil is hot add quatered potatoes, fry them till nice golden-brown. Keep aside.

In that oil add one inch cinnamon sticks(2 no.), 3-4 green cardamom, 5-6 cloves, 1 blabk cardamom (only the seeds, discard the skin), 1 bay leaf, 1/2tsp shah jira.

Add chopped onion. Add a spoonful sugar, this will bring a nice red color to the curry. Mix well. Cover and cook in medium flame for 4-5 min.

When the onion is soft and transparent add ginger paste and crushed garlic. Mix well and cook for 4-5min.

Add chopped tomato. Mix well. Sprinkle a little salt. Cover and cook for 7-8min.

When the tomatoes are soft and mushy add turmeric powder, red chili powder, kashmiri red chili powder. Mix it well. Cook for 3-4min in low medium heat.

Add the cleaned and washed mutton pieces. Add salt. Mix well. Cover and cook in medium flame for 10min.

The mutton will release a lot of water, now uncover and cook in medium heat. Just take care so the mutton does not stick to the bottom.

Gradually all the water will evaporate and oil will separate from the masala. Add hot water and mix well. The amount of water depends on the amount of gravy one need. Close the pressure cooker, put the weight on. Keep the heat to medium. Wait till 2 whistles. Switch off the flame and wait till pressure releases. Once the pressure is released check if the mutton is fully cooked or not. It should be thoroughly cooked by this time. Now add the fried potatoes along with a teaspoon full ghee and garam masala powder and again close the pressure cooker, put the weight on. Keep the heat to medium and wait till 1 whistle. Remove from heat. Wait till pressure releases.

Serve hot with rice and green salad.

Mutton chaap

For Bengali's 'mutton' is synonymous to goat meat. Goat meat is meat of the domestic goat. Goat is the most widely-consumed meat in the world. Goat can be prepared in a variety of ways, such as being stewed, curried, baked, grilled, minced, fried.  Other than Mutton curry there are several other delicious preparations, one of them is Mutton chaap (or chaNp). The Bengali cuisine has a significant Mughlai influence. Use of wide range of spices like mace (Javitri), nutmeg (Jaiphal), saffron (Jafran) and marinating meat and slow cooking procedures are mere influence of Mughlai cuisine.