Rogan josh (); English: /ˌroʊɡən ˈdʒɑʃ/), also spelled roghan josh or roghan ghosht, is an aromatic curried meat dish in Kashmiri cuisine, from the time of the Mughal Empire. It is one of the main dishes in the wazwan, the traditional multi-course Kashmiri feast. Rogan josh is made with red meat—traditionally mutton or goat, coloured and flavoured primarily by alkanet flower (or root) and Kashmiri chillies. In the West, tomatoes are often used instead.
Etymology
A variety of origins of the name have been suggested. means "ghee, clarified butter" or "oil" in Persian, while means to "stew" or "braise" and ultimately derives from the verb , "to boil". Rogan josh, by this definition, would mean "stewed in ghee". along with either , "meat", often romanised as "rogan ghosht" or "gosht", The exact etymology remains uncertain as both "rogan josh" and "rogan ghosht" are used for the dish, and it is unclear which of the names is the original.
Origin
In Persian cuisine, rogan josh was a dish of meat fried in hot butter. It was brought to North India by the Mughals in the 16th century. According to the food historian Lizzie Collingham, the summer heat of the central Indian plains led the Mughals to spend time in the cooler northern region of Kashmir, bringing their cuisine with them. They then made use of Kashmiri herbs to colour and flavour their food. Rogan josh has become a staple of Kashmiri cuisine and is one of the main dishes of the Kashmiri multi-course meal, the wazwan.
thumb|center|upright=2.5|Rogan Josh has developed from a mildly-spiced Persian dish to a Kashmiri dish red with herbs in the time of the [[Mughal Empire, Its characteristic deep red colour traditionally comes from herbs such as the dried flowers or root of Alkanna tinctoria (ratan jot, dyer's alkanet)
There are different approaches in preparation. Some use praan, a local form of shallot, and petals of maval, the cockscomb flower, for colouring (and for its supposed "cooling" effect);
Adaptations
While the traditional preparation uses whole dried chillies that are de-seeded, soaked in water, and ground to a paste, non-traditional shortcuts use either Kashmiri chilli powder or a mixture of paprika (predominantly) and cayenne pepper, adjusted to taste. Madhur Jaffrey suggests anything from 4 to 16 times as much paprika as cayenne. An updated version served in Sanjeev Kapoor's restaurants uses white and black cardamom, anise, and bay leaves.
Western interpretations of the dish commonly add tomatoes to the sauce. Ready-made pour-over cooking sauces do this to the point where the dish can be considered tomato-based. The authenticity of including tomatoes is disputed: some authors state that tomatoes are not part of the traditional dish or of traditional Indian cuisine and should not be included. British versions combine this with a commercial spice paste, while British Indian restaurants sometimes use both tomatoes and red peppers to obtain the desired red colour. Foreigners such as Americans visiting these restaurants had their first taste of Indian food, helping to spread the dish to other countries. while others have identified tomatoes with a Punjabi version of the dish. There is a variety with beef, brisket being preferred.
See also
- Dum aloo
- Goshtaab
- Methi maaz