23 January, 2023
ROGAN JOSH | Kashmir’s Signature Dish
About Dish:
‘Rogan Josh’ is an aromatic mutton dish cooked and eaten with relish by the Kashmiri people. The vibrant red colour of thick gravy and tender meat distinguish this delicacy. This is one of the first courses to be served during “Wazwan” (Kashmir’s multi-course meal or traditional feast).
Despite having the distinct red colour, this dish is not that spicy. It consists of pieces of lamb mixed with curd and slow cooked till tender, also a blend of some aromatic spices and Kashmiri red chillies. Its deep red colour comes from two ingredients: Mawal (flower) and Alkanet Bark (Ratanjot or Ratanjog). Some cooks use tomato based gravy to get the red colour. But tomatoes are not part of the traditional recipe.
During ‘Wazwan’, the chief ‘Waza’ (Kashmiri Wazwan Chef) adds the best cuts or the prime cuts of meat to the ‘Rogan Josh’. So it has ribs and the back leg of lamb but not the shoulder. And the remaining cuts of meat are added to the subsequent courses of the ‘Wazwan’.
In some novice restaurants, a substandard version of ‘Rogan Josh’ is served containing insipid curry and colours. But the real version cooked in the homes of Kashmiri people contains less gravy.
How “Rogan Josh” Arrived in Kashmir?
“Rogan Josh” can be traced back to “Persia” where ‘Rogan‘ means ‘Clarified Butter‘ or ‘Oil‘ referring to the way the spices of this dish are cooked and ‘Josh’ means ‘Fiery‘ or ‘Heat‘ referring to the deep red colour of the dish. This Persian delicacy arrived in Kashmir through the famous ‘Silk Route‘.
There is a myth that this dish is inspired by Mughal Cuisine but neither the ‘Rogan Josh’ recipe nor the ‘Wazwan’ is inspired by Mughal Cuisine.
The influence on Kashmir is from the ‘Silk Route’. From the crossroads of the famous ‘Silk Route’ in India, there were many different routes and one of the routes would pass through Kashmir. Hence, the Persian and Central Asian influence has been there in Kashmir’s food for centuries and this is much older than the arrival of the Mughals in India.
Mughals encouraged the blossoming of Kashmiri Cuisine. After Emperor Jehangir, a lot of Mughal food was inspired by Kashmiri ingredients and recipes.
Is this true, Kashmiri Pandits Consume ‘Rogan Josh’?
A small minority of Kashmiri Pandits used to live in Kashmir. Kashmiri Pandits are Brahmins and they refrain from eating ginger and garlic. But since they lived in the Kashmir valley, this was the compulsion of the climate, they included meat (mutton) in their diet. Still their non-vegetarian food doesn’t have ginger and garlic. To balance this flavour they add asafoetida (heeng) to the dish.
‘Rogan Josh‘ is a compulsory dish in any ‘Wazwan’ whether it is cooked in Kashmiri Muslim homes or Kashmiri Pandits. There are two ways of cooking it. First one is Kashmiri Pandit style and the other is Kashmiri Muslim style. The divergence in the ways of their cooking lies in the fact that Kashmiri Pandits don’t use the garlic but the Kashmiri Muslims make generous use of it.
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