Rogan Josh

I love a good curry, especially when using red meat and you cook it for hours and hours so that the meat becomes really tender. Too bad this can only be done when you have lots of time though, not a really quick weeknight meal.

I found this recipe in this book below

I got this book years and years ago for my 21st and it has some really good recipes in it. I haven't cooked too many of the recipes (due to my ever growing cook book collection) but the few I have, have been very good.

Rogan Josh is an aromatic lamb dish hailing from Kashmir. The name is interpreted as either meaning cooked in oil at intense heat, or a meat dish which is red in colour. The red colour is essential to this dish which comes from ground red peppers, or tomatoes. There are many versions of this dish and I really loved this version.

This didn't have too many ingredients for an indian curry which is also a win. Well there are a few spices, but I had most of them in my cupboard anyway.

To serve with the curry I made a traditional indian eggplant recipe which is called Baingan Bhurta, which you basically bake an eggplant until it's soft, then chop up and mix with tomato, onion, green chillies, salt and oil. It worked really beautifully with the Rogan Josh and added a nice freshness to it.

I also saved some of the yoghurt I was using for the curry and mixed that with some mint and coriander and salt.

The toasted almonds on the top gave this a nice textural contrast as well.

Rogan Josh - from Essential Asian

1kg Lamb
1 Tablespoon of Ghee or Oil
2 Medium Onions - chopped
1/2 Cup (125g) Yoghurt
1 Teaspoon Chilli Powder
1 Tbs Ground Coriander
2 Tsp Ground Cumin
1 Tsp Ground Cardamom
1/2 Tsp Ground Cloves
1 Tsp Ground Turmeric
3 Cloves Garlic - crushed
1 Tbs Grated Fresh Ginger
1 Tsp Salt
Can of Chopped Tomatoes
1/4 Cup Slivered Almonds
3 Teaspoons Garam Masala
Chopped Coriander Leaves to Garnish

1. Cut Lamb into biteable cubes

2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and cook stirring until soft. Then add the yoghurt, chilli powder, coriander, cumin, cardamom, cloves, turmeric, garlic and ginger. Combine well and then add the salt and tomatoes. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.

3. Add the lamb and stir until coated. Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 1 - 1.5 hours, or until the lamb is tender. Uncover and simmer until sauce is thick.

4. Toast the almonds until they have a bit of colour. Then add the garam masala to the lamb mixture and stir through. Serve the Rogan Josh on rice with almonds and coriander.

Lamb Cutlets with Couscous and Ratatouille

I was watching Poh's kitchen the other day for the first time in ages. I always seem to miss when it's on, so I have only seen a few shows out of the season. You can watch the episodes online at the show's website too, so I need to catch up on the ones that I have missed out on. I am hoping to get her cookbook soon cause I love the way it is presented and want to try a lot of the recipes.

On this episode she had her friend Emmanuel who seems to feature a lot on her program. Poh cooked this delicious pork dish and he cooked a slow cooked lamb dish with a side of couscous and ratatouille. I haven't cooked much with couscous before and I don't know why, cause it's such an easy grain to cook with and you can do so many variations with it. Although in the recipe on the website it doesn't specify the exact amount of water to use and I ended up using too much and had to start again.

The couscous is delicious and so light and pairs very well with the ratatouille and lamb. I didn't cook the slow cooked lamb, but used some lamb cutlets that I got from Aldi (which were sensational) and marinated them in some olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic and rosemary for a few hours. The marinade was delicious and gave the cutlets a nice crust from the caramelisation of the red wine vinegar.

Couscous Salad - Adapted from Poh's Kitchen Website

200g Couscous
2tbs Olive Oil
1 Green Capsicum - diced
1 Lebanese Cucumber - diced
2 Tomatoes - flesh and seeds removed and diced
2 Shallots (I forgot to add these) - diced
2 Lemons (I think I used only 1 as mine was quite big) - juiced
1 Small bunch of Coriander - chopped

1. Put the couscous in a bowl and add olive oil, salt and pepper, and just enough boiling water to cover it (don't add too much otherwise it will become claggy). Leave for about 10 minutes for the water so soak up.

2. Fluff up the couscous and add all the other ingredients and then season to taste. So easy!

Ratatouille - Adapted from Poh's Kitchen Website

1 Brown Onion
2 Garlic Cloves - sliced finely
1 Red Capsicum
1 Small Eggplant
1 Zucchini
Tin of crushed tomatoes
2 Sprigs of Thyme
1 Bay Leaf
Chopped Parsley
100ml Vegetable Stock

1. Dice all the vegetables in chunks (My favourite way of dicing vegetables!)

2. Add some olive oil in a pot/pan and saute the onion for a minute and then add the garlic

3. Add the capsicum for a few minutes and then add the eggplant and zucchini.

4. Finally add the crushed tomatoes, vegetable stock, thyme, bay leaf, and salt and pepper.

5. Cook on low heat for about 20 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender.