Chicken Rogan Josh

In the time I have been blogging about food, I have posted several different curries.  Curries don't get the respect they deserve.  They are quick to prepare and especially scrumptious.

It is believed that the English word curry was adopted from the Tamil word kari, which means sauce.  The theory goes that Britons adopted the word from Tamil merchants in the mid 17th century while trading with the East India Company.

Curry has pre-historic origins.  Inhabitants of the Indus Valley prepared highly spiced meat dishes many years ago.  Buddhist monks from India brought curry to Burma, Thailand, China, and Indonesia in the 7th century. 

This particular curry is a Kashmiri rogan josh.  The area of Kashmir currently falls within India, Pakistan, and China. 

This recipe came from the Cooking Channel.  They used lamb, but I used chicken for monetary considerations.  I like lamb, so I'll use lamb the next time I make it.

The ingredients I used are 5 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon pepper, 2 teaspoons ground cardamom, 4 whole cloves, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 bay leaves, 1 onion, 1 1/2 pounds chicken, 6 garlic cloves, 1 inch piece fresh ginger, 2 teaspoons ground coriander, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes, 2 teaspoons fennel seeds, 1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala, 14 ounces tomato puree, 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, salt, water and handful chopped cilantro.

I heated the oil in a large skillet.  I added the pepper, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and bay leaves and fried these spices for a minute or two.

I added the onions and fried them for 8 minutes.  

I added the chopped chicken and fried the pieces for 4 minutes.  I stirred regularly.  The chicken became brown but was still raw inside.

I added the grated ginger and minced garlic.  I cooked the mixture for another 3 to 4 minutes.

I added the ground coriander, cumin, red chile flakes, fennel seeds, garam masala, tomato pure, and yogurt.  I chopped the fennel seeds as finely as possible.  

I let the curry simmer for ten minutes.  I added a little water too.

After ten minutes, I removed the pan pot from the burner.  I added fresh cilantro just before serving.

This dish was flavorful and fragrant.  There were many warm and alluring spices.

The fresh coriander was bright and fresh.

I think simmering the yogurt for ten minutes was a bad idea.  The yogurt broke in the heat.  I will add the yogurt towards the end of the cooking time the next time I make this dish.

I will also use lamb instead of chicken the next time.  Lamb is a heartier and more flavorful meat.  Lamb's robust flavor would hold its own in the deep flavors of the curry.  I enjoyed the curry.  It is one of my favorite Indian curries, but there is room for improvement.