Spice up your life, how Rogan Josh got its name

05/11/19

The UK’s favourite curry is *drumroll* the Jalfrezi. Sitting at the top of the pops since 2011, the Jalfrezi’s fiery, green chilli has captured our hearts and our tastebuds. With Madras in second place and the creamy Korma dawdling in 4th place, we turn our attention to the UK’s third favourite curry – the Rogan Josh – to see why it has trounced the Tikka and take a look at its history…

Rogue, rojo, rua, red - rogan
While rogan means ‘oil’ in Persian, it means ‘red’ in Hindi. Similar to the word for ‘red’ in many languages, including French, Spanish, Irish and English, the rogan josh does indeed have a richly red coloured sauce. Josh means ‘heat’, ‘hot’, ‘boiling’, or ‘passionate’, which means that Rogan josh signifies a dish cooked in oil at intense heat.

Rogan josh was brought to the Kashmir region of India by the Mughals, whose own cuisine was influenced by Persian cuisine. Beaten into submission by the unrelenting summer heat of the Indian plains, the Mughals would relocate to the cooler climate and higher altitude of Kashmir.

Traditionally, rogan josh is a meat dish and most cooks begin by browning the meat, usually lamb. The seared meat is then removed while spices are added to the hot oil in stages. The spices include garlic, ginger, whole black pepper, cardamom, and bay leaves. The warming heat of the rogan josh comes from the addition of the aromatic heat of cloves and cinnamon. Chopped coriander and red pepper are then added to the hot oil before the meat is returned to the pan. A dollop of plain yogurt goes in and the pan is covered and cooked over low heat until the meat becomes very tender.

Although the name suggests a fiery, hot curry, the rogan josh is instead a deeply flavoured, warming curry that makes a great option for anyone who wants to make a break from the world of chicken tikka but doesn’t want to overdo things on the spice front.

Can a curry be good for you?
Although rogan josh is closely connected with cooking in oil, there are ways that you can make sure your curry is doing you good.

Curry sauces, in themselves, tend not to be very calorific although the oil used in cooking can be. Using a cooking spray takes care of cutting most of these calories out. Traditionally a lamb dish, swapping red meat for lean white meat, like chicken, or even vegetables, such as aubergine and tomatoes, will drop the calorie count dramatically.

To max out your benefits, go easy on the sides – maybe go for naan or rice?  - and you will be benefiting from all the goodness a rogan josh can bring:

·         Diabetes: Cinnamon can reduce glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes.

·         Poor digestion: Cloves stimulate the secretion of digestive enzymes that reduce flatulence and relieve other digestive problems.

·         Eye problems: Vitamin A, found in paprika and cayenne pepper, helps to prevent vision problems like macular degeneration.