Rogan Josh

Serves 4. Takes around 2 hours

Another recipe adapted from the Camelia Panjabi book 50 Great Curries of India. Usually this would be made with lamb, we’ve tried it with stewing beef and it works very well indeed. We've also done it with ox cheek which has a lovely flavour, but can be quite fatty and tough, so it takes an hour longer to cook. This dish is both spicy and quite fiery; reduce the amount of chilli powder if you don't like hot curries If you can, make this the day before serving, as the flavours seem to settle overnight. It also freezes well, so it is worth doing a large batch

700g stewing lamb or beef plus 250g bones (optional)

500ml of lamb or beef stock (optional)

4 cloves of garlic finely chopped

2 tsps chilli powder

1 tsp paprika

100ml full fat yogurt

250g shallots finely chopped

50ml ghee or oil

4 cloves

2 black cardamoms (replace with green ones if you can’t get hold of these)

4 green cardamoms

2 bay leaves

1 blade of mace

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground fennel seeds

1 tsp ginger powder

1/2 tsp ground tumeric

• Either:- Boil the lamb or beef and bones in 1.2 litres of water along with the garlic and a pinch of salt in a large saucepan for 20 minutes. Remove the meat, separate from the bones. Skim, strain and reserve the cooking liquor
• Or:- Add meat to stock plus 700ml water and boil for 20 minutes. Skim, strain and reserve the cooking liquor
• Make a paste of chilli powder and paprika with a drop of water
• Gently fry the shallots in the ghee or oil until lightly browned (10 to 12 mins). Add the cloves, cardomoms, bay leaves and mace and fry for 1 minute
• Then add coriander, fennel, ginger, tumeric, and the chilli and paprika paste and 2 tablespoons water. Fry for 2 minutes stirring continuously. Add the meat. Saute for 5 minutes. Lower the heat and add the yogurt. Stir through and fry for 3 minutes more
• Add 800mls of the reserved cooking liquor (we usually freeze the rest for next time). Cook until meat is melting, usually 60-90 minutes. Serve with Chapatis or steamed or pilaf rice