Kashmiri Phool Rogan Josh

Being South Indian, I have a desire for every north Indian curry and end up in ordering them at restaurants. In fact, I have tried almost every vegetarian North Indian Curry on the menu card. I don’t eat lamb and never had the intention to try it in spite of several attempts by my friends. Their usual choice is Rogan Josh and hot white rice at any social gatherings. The strong and bold flavor of the curry always tempts me. Uffff, One has to see the expressions on my friends’ face while relishing this spicy yogurt based curry at their dinner. It urges me to take a spoonful of curry, mix with white rice and eat it without their conscience. The proud Karthi is me calms me down. Since then, I wanted to experiment rogan josh with my chicken or with my favorite vegetable. Cauliflower/Gobhi tastes similar to non-vegetarian when marinated with freshly grounded spices. Why not, Combine my favorite Gobhi in this authentic lip-smacking Kashmiri Curry? Here it is the masterpiece from my Kitchen.

Rogan Josh is a flavorful lamb dish of Persian origin which is a signature dish of Kashmir. As Persian language, Rogan means clarified butter and Josh means intensity, which translates to a dish cooked in oil at high intensity of heat. The luscious curry was brought to Kashmir by Mughals who often visited Kashmir for its cool climate. The dish has flawless red color due to the use of Kashmiri chilies. In addition, saffron/ rattan jot is also added to the curry for the crimson red color. The curry is usually prepared with lamb but that never holds you from trying it out with your favorite vegetables. Isn’t it? The spicy aromatic lamb curry is tried with cauliflower and I should say that this tasted neither less than the authentic one with lamb. The florets are marinated and simmered in yogurt infused with spices to prepare the vegetarian version of Rogan Josh. Enjoy this delicious curry with roti or simply with plain rice.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Cauliflower Florets
• 1 ½ cup thick Yogurt
• For Marination:
  • ½ teaspoon Fennel Seeds
  • ½ teaspoon Green Cardamom
  • ½ teaspoon Black Cardamom
  • ½ teaspoon Cloves
  • ½ teaspoon Black Peppercorns
  • 5-6 Kashmiri Red Chilies
  • 2 Inch Cinnamon Stick
  • ¼ teaspoon Salt
• For curry:
  • ¼ cup Mustard Oil/Cooking Oil
  • 3-4 Cloves
  • 3-4 Green Cardamom
  • 3-4 Black Cardamom
  • 1 inch Cinnamon Stick
  • 10-15 Black Peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon Fennel Seeds
  • ½ teaspoon Hing
  • ½ teaspoon Dry Ginger Powder
  • ½ teaspoon Red Chili Powder (adjust according to your spice level)
  • ½ teaspoon Salt
  • Rattan Jot infused in oil

Method:

• Wash Cauliflower and cut them into medium size florets. Allow it to dry
• In a mixer, add all the ingredients mentioned under marination and ground them into fine powder
• In a bowl, add the chopped cauliflower florets and the grounded powders. Combine them together. Marinate the florets and set it aside for about 1 to 1.5 hours.
• Heat oil in a non-stick pan on high flame. Once the oil is smoking hot, add cinnamon stick, cardamoms, cloves and fennel seeds. Cook until the seeds sizzle.
• Add peppercorns and cook for about a minute.
• Reduce the flame and add the marinated florets to the spices in the pan. Combine them well
• Season it with salt. Add hing and dry ginger powder. Give them a stir.
• Now, add the red chili powder and combine them well.
• If you are adding rattan jot, add at this stage. Heat oil in a small pan. Once the oil is warm, add the root and allow it to infuse in the oil for an hour. Add the infused oil to the florets at this stage. The root is added to the curry for the rich red color. Some prefer to use saffron. Infuse saffron in warm milk and add it to the curry
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, add thick curd and beat them using a whisker
• Add the whisked yogurt to the florets and mix them well
• Lower the flame and cook the curry in low flame till the florets are cooked thoroughly and oil separates from it.
• Adjust salt if needed.
• Switch off the flame and serve Phool Rogan Josh warmly with plain white rice

You can find some more delicacies from Kashmir here Kashmiri Veth Chaman and Tamatar Wangun

If you try the recipe, do let me know how they tasted in comments. If you like my space, do like and follow my profile at here –
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Yours Truly

Karthi