Roger's Rohanjosh Recipe

Roger's Rohanjosh Notes

I found a recipe for a Kashmiri dish called Rohanjosh in Sudha Koul's "Curries Without Worries." I found that after adapting it for my family's tastes (i.e., using beef instead of lamb and altering the spice combinations and other ingredients), my family and friends constantly request it. Indeed, a friend of mine back home in Georgia (I live in Illinois now) constantly reminisces about this dish which I serve with lots of steaming-hot, white basmati rice. I have even submitted it to the Georgia Cattleman's Association of which my dad is a member!

Ingredients

• 2 pounds beef stew meat, in large chunks (lamb may be used instead)
• 1 cup full fat yogurt
• 1 medium onion, sliced thin
• 2 tablespoons ground cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds, coarsely ground with mortar and pestle
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Serves / Yields

4 hungry folks

Preparation Instructions

Heat vegetable oil on high until smoking and add sliced onions. Cook them until they are soft. Add beef, and cook until all liquid is evaporated and beef is seared on all sides of cubes.

Mix yogurt with ground fennel seed and ground ginger, and add to beef. Once again, cook until all the liquid is gone and the yogurt is thick, creamy and adheres to the beef (I find this dish works best with a nonstick pan).

Remove from heat, and stir in the cayenne pepper until a rich red color develops. Put pan back on heat and add salt and remaining spices. Turn heat to low, cover and simmer for 2 hours until beef is very tender.

Helpful Hints

A little bit goes a long way, but it's so good that it will be hard to stop with a small serving.
Though you think this will be unbearably hot, it's not. Yogurt's enzymes literally disintegrate a good deal of the capsaicin in the cayenne which causes the heat. What you're left with is a vibrant red color and a pleasing heat that complements the spices.

Serve it with white rice (basmati is best).

This keeps very well. Oftimes in Georgia, I've made it and packed it away in smaller containers to take to work for lunches during the week.

Special Equipment

Use a heavy bottom, deep nonstick pan.

If you don't have a mortar and pestle, the fennel can be crushed with the back side of a heavy pan. Place the fennel in a zip-lock bag, and pound away on a hard surface.

Credit

This recipe was provided by Roger Boyd from Chicago.

Cuisines, Courses and Ingredients

• Beef, Indian, Lamb, Main Dish, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern

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