by Kenneth Andrews

Created on: September 17, 2008

Even though Rogan Josh sounds like it should be the name of a burly space pirate, I cooked a rather yummy yoghurt-marinated lamb curry by the same name a couple of months ago. Thinking back to Heston Blumenthal's tikka massala episode last year, where he investigated whether marinades actually do anything, I have to say that they do. I've never had such ridiculously tender lamb.

Anyway. Rogan Josh, and how I did it.

This recipe requires a lot of ingredients, but if you enjoy Indian food, you will find they quickly become store cupboard staples - there's nothing particularly obscure.

INGREDIENTS

MARINADE (up to 24 hours in advance)

250ml yoghurt
900g lamb, cubed
1 inch cube ginger, grated
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped or crushed
1 lemon, juice only

THE REST
3tbs oil
4 cardamom pods
1/2tsp cumin seeds
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 green chilli, finely chopped
2tsp ground cumin
2tsp ground coriander
400g chopped tomatoes
3tbs tomato puree
2 bay leaves

1) Mix 250 ml of yoghurt, 3tbs of lemon juice, 1 finely chopped garlic clove and a knob of grated ginger. Add 900g of cubed lamb (I used a combination of rump steak and leg joint), mix and leave to marinate overnight.

2) Heat 3tbs of oil (I used olive oil, but only because it was nearest. Vegetable oil will do just as well) and stir fry 1/2tsp of cumin seeds for around two minutes, until they start to pop. Then add 4 cardamom pods and fry those for another couple of minutes. I usually bruise the cardamom pods slightly with the flat of a knife to release a bit more flavour. Then add one chopped onion, one finely chopped garlic clove and one finely chopped green chilli and fry for about 5 minutes until the onion is nice and soft.

3) Add 2tsp of ground cumin and 2tsp of ground coriander and stir fry for another 2 minutes. Then add the lamb and marinade and mix it all up and fry for about five minutes. THEN add 400g of chopped tomatoes, 3tbs of tomato puree, 2 bay leaves and 150ml of water.

4) Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 75-90 minutes. Then eat it, served with naan breads or basmati rice (or both, of course...).

Perhaps I'm greedier than most people, but I found these amounts were just about right for a hungry four people with rice.

I was a bit worried early on that it wasn't red enough, but as it boils down, the sauce turns a lovely rich reddish colour and it all smells of yum. I added an extra half chilli, to suit my guests' heat-hungry tastes.

This is really rather a simple recipe - although the marinating time does mean you have to prepare and plan ahead. Apart from that, though, it's basically just a case of frying stuff and then leaving to simmer for an hour and a bit. If you're cooking for little ones or fussy people, you can always reduce the amount of chilli and still have a very flavoursome dish.

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