Hairy Bikers Lamb Rogan Josh Recipe

Rogan josh is a Kashmiri classic, and this Hairy Bikers lamb rogan josh from their Great Curries book does it properly. Slow-melted onions and kashmiri chilli build a deep red sauce. Lamb leg, potato and spinach make it a one-pot meal for six at around 450 calories.

The colour is the giveaway with a good rogan josh, and ours gets it honestly. Kashmiri chilli powder brings that rich red without much heat, so you can taste the spice rather than just feel the burn.

Si and Dave are firm on one step: the onions must cook low and slow for over half an hour until golden. Rush them and the sauce stays thin and harsh, but melt them down properly and they thicken the whole curry with a sweet, deep base.

Hairy Bikers Lamb Rogan Josh Recipe

Author: Alex Saidani Cooking Method:Baking Cuisine:British Indian Courses:Main Course

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 25 minutesCook time:1 hour 50 minutesRest time: minutesTotal time:2 hours 15 minutesServings:6 servingsCalories:450 kcal Best Season:Summer

Description

Si and Dave’s lamb rogan josh where onions melt down slowly into a rich base, spiced with kashmiri chilli, fennel and garam masala. Lamb leg braises in tomato and yoghurt with potatoes, finished with wilted spinach.

Ingredients

For the Curry Base:

• 3 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced
• 3 tbsp sunflower oil or ghee
• 1 plump red chilli, roughly chopped (deseed for less heat)
• 25g fresh root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp flaked sea salt

For the Spices:

• 2 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• Pinch of asafoetida (optional)

For the Lamb:

• 650g boneless lamb leg, cut into 3cm chunks
• 1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 400ml cold water
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Small bunch of coriander, chopped
• 100ml plain natural yoghurt
• 600g Maris Piper potatoes, cut into 2.5cm chunks
• 150g young spinach leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Melt the onions: Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a wide pan and cook the onions over a medium heat for 30 to 35 minutes until soft and golden brown, stirring often so they do not stick. This slow cooking is what gives the sauce its body.
2. Make the paste: While the onions cook, blitz the chilli, ginger, garlic and salt in a processor to a fine paste. Season the lamb chunks with salt and pepper and set aside.
3. Bloom the spices: Stir the paste into the golden onions and cook for 5 minutes. Add the kashmiri chilli, garam masala, coriander, fennel, cumin, turmeric and asafoetida, then cook for 3 minutes more until fragrant.
4. Build the sauce: Tip the spiced onions into a large flameproof casserole. Add the tomatoes, water, bay leaves, cinnamon and half the coriander, then stir. Heat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4.
5. Brown and braise: Brown the lamb in batches in the onion pan with the last of the oil, then add it to the casserole. Stir in the yoghurt, bring to a simmer, cover and bake for 1 hour.
6. Add the potatoes: Stir in the potatoes, plus a splash more water if it looks dry. Cover and bake for another 50 to 60 minutes until the lamb and potatoes are tender and the sauce is thick, stirring halfway.
7. Finish with spinach: Wilt the spinach in a little boiling water for 30 seconds, drain well, then stir it through the curry. Adjust the seasoning, scatter with the rest of the coriander and serve.

FAQs

Why use kashmiri chilli powder?

Kashmiri chilli powder is what gives a rogan josh its deep red colour without making it blow-your-head-off hot. It is milder than ordinary chilli powder but much redder, so you get the signature look and a gentle warmth rather than fierce heat.

If you cannot find it, mix ordinary chilli powder with a good amount of paprika, which fakes the colour reasonably well. The bikers rate it worth seeking out though, because nothing else gives quite that authentic glow to the sauce.

Why cook the onions for so long?

The slow-melted onions are the backbone of the whole curry, which is why Si and Dave insist on the full half hour. Cooked down to a soft golden brown, they dissolve into the sauce and thicken it naturally, with no need for flour or cream.

Skip or rush this step and the sauce stays thin and the flavour tastes raw and harsh. You can blitz the onions in a processor to speed up the slicing, but the actual cooking time is not something to cut short.

Does rogan josh have potatoes in it?

Not always, but this Hairy Bikers version adds them, and they work brilliantly. The potato chunks soak up the spiced sauce and turn meltingly soft. That stretches the dish further and makes it a proper one-pot meal rather than just a meat curry.

The spinach stirred in at the end does the same job for greens, so you get protein, carbs and veg in one pot. If you like that spinach-and-lamb combination, the lamb curry leans into it even more with a proper saag-style sauce.

How do I stop the yoghurt splitting?

Yoghurt can curdle if it hits a fierce heat. So stir it in once the curry is at a gentle simmer rather than a hard boil. Full-fat natural yoghurt is more stable than low-fat, so it holds together better through the long oven cook.

In this recipe the yoghurt goes in before the casserole bakes covered, which is a gentle steady heat, so splitting is rarely a problem. If you ever add yoghurt at the end of a curry, take the pan off the heat first.

Can I make it ahead or freeze it?

Rogan josh is one of those curries that tastes even better the next day, once the spices have settled into the lamb. Cool it fully, then keep it in the fridge for up to three days and reheat gently until piping hot throughout.

It freezes well too, though it is best to freeze it before adding the spinach so the greens stay fresh. The lamb dhansak reheats just as well if you want another curry to batch-cook, the lamb dopiaza is for when you fancy a deep onion hit, and a lamb biryani makes a fragrant rice dish to share when you have people round.