I’ve had Roghan Josh once in my life; I vividly remember the unforgettable mehhek and deliciously tender melt-in-your-mouth texture of the meat. My second time was last week when I made theRoghan Josh for this blog.

Lizzie Collingham says in her book Curry, Tale of Cooks and Conquerors:

One of the Mughals’ favorite destinations during the hot summer was the mountainous province of Kashmir. There, they escaped from the unrelenting heat of the plains in enchanting lakeside gardens. The presence of the Mughals encouraged a blossoming of Kashmiri cuisine and it was here that Rogan Josh, familiar to all (from the subcontinent) was perfected.

Rogan Josh originated in Persia.

In Persian, the name implies a stew of meat cooked in butter (rogan means clarified butter in Persian) at an intense heat (josh means hot). In Kashmir, the dish is flavoured with regional spices and these vary according to the religion of the cook. Kashmiri Brahmans are unusual in that they eat meat without any qualms but they do avoid onions and garlic, so their version of Rogan Josh uses fennel seeds (commonly used in Kashmir) and asafetida to flavor the lamb. The Muslim version uses lots of garlic and onion and the dried flower of the cockscomb plant (maval). This is a plant indigenous to Kashmir that produces a furry red flower shaped like a cockscomb. Kashmiri Muslims have a particular liking for this herb and it imparts a bright red color to the food. Some food historians claim that this redness is the source of the dish’s name as roghan in Kashmiri means red.