Thursday, September 1, 2005

Beef Curry - Rogan Josh

Beef Curry – Rogan Josh

From Madhur Jaffrey’s Indian Cookery

Prep time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 2- 2 ½ hours
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
2-3 lbs/1kg stewing beef ( I like chuck for flavor) cut in 1” cubes (you could also make this dish with lamb, just use a little less water and cook for 1 hour or so instead of 2)
Paste:
2” piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
8 cloves of garlic (not a mistake!), peeled
4 tbsp water

10 tbsp vegetable oil
10 whole cardamom pods
2 bay leaves
6 whole cloves
10 black peppercorns
1” piece of cinnamon stick
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
4 tsp red paprika mixed with some cayenne pepper to your taste
1 tsp salt
6 tbsp plain yoghurt
1 cup water
¼ - ½ tsp garam masala

Directions
1.
In an electric blender, combine ginger, garlic and 4 tbsp water and blend until a very smooth paste is created.

2. In a large sauté pan or skillet, heat the oil and brown the meat on all sides. Do this in small batches so the meat sears. If you add too much meat at one time, it will be more like steaming it, which turns the meat grey and leaches out the juices. Don’t rush this stage! As the meat browns, remove it to a bowl and continue until all the meat is browned.

3. In the same oil, add cardamom, bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon stick. Stir once or twice and wait until the cloves swell and the bay leaves begin to color – just a few seconds. You’ll really know by the smell!

4. Add the onions, stir and cook for about 5 minutes or until they turn brown. Add the ginger –garlic paste and stir until the aroma makes you swoon – 20 – 30 seconds. Add the coriander, cumin, paprika, cayenne & salt. Stir for another 30 seconds. Add the seared meat and juices, stir and then begin to add the yoghurt one tbsp at a time, blending well before you add the next spoonful. Stir for 3-4 minutes.

5. Add 1 cup water and mix well. Bring to a boil, scraping all the browned spices off the bottom of the pan.

6. Cover. Lower heat to low and simmer for at least two hours or until the meat is tender. Stir every 15 minutes or so during the process. You could bake this at 350°F/180°C instead. I like to do this the day before I want to serve it because I love how much more tender the meat gets.

7. Once the meat, is tender, take the lid off and turn up the heat to boil away some of the liquid and thicken the sauce. It intensifies the flavor. This was quite mild (good for me, since I’m a delicate flower) so you might want to add some garam masala before serving.

This is great with turmeric rice and nan bread.


Related links:

8 comments:

Pattie @ Olla-Podrida said...

I made this and the turmeric rice recipe last night. The beef curry is the best use of a chuck roast EVER! And I totally get that whole "swoon" thing. The aroma was incredible! Thanks for posting.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting this! Just been in the kitchen making it and it is smelling GOOD.... My mother used to make a variation on this Madhur Jaffrey recipe so really looking forward to tasting!

Barga14 said...

My favourite Rhogan Josh recioe, Madhur's recipes are wondeful! We are having this tonight for dinner!

Martha said...

Thank you for sharing this recipe! I was looking for a good use for stew beef in conjunction with an Indian meal. We loved it. I didn't have the cardomom pods but I added about 1/4 t ground cardamom in with the ground spices and it was so delicious.

Ruth Daniels said...

What I love about a really great dish... first made in 2005 and found year after year by others... still delicious.

Thank you all for reminding me about it. Now to get the beef out of the freezer and make it again.

Anonymous said...

Wow! Yuuummy! Thank you for the recipe along with the turmeric rice. I threw the meat into a slow cooker for a few hours. ~

Anonymous said...

Wow! Yuuummy! Thank you for the recipe along with the turmeric rice. I threw the meat into a slow cooker for a few hours. ~

Anonymous said...

Made this and the Turmeric Rice for the first time yesterday. This is a forgiving recipe. I got totally distracted in the middle and added the whole spice/ground spice/paste mixtures all at the wrong times and in the wrong order (I was so mad at myself) and to top it off the guests were an hour late arriving so both dishes sat for too long. And still, dinner was utterly delicious.

I served it with a raita of Jaffrey's -- a perfect foil. I will absolutely make Rogan Josh again, and again, and again.