On the heat. Medium — colour, not fire

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg lamb, cubed or bone-in
• 4 tbsp ghee
• 2 black cardamom, 6 green, 6 cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks, 2 bay leaves
• 3 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder (for colour)
• 2 tsp ground fennel
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp asafoetida
• 400 g full-fat yoghurt, whisked smooth
• 500 ml water · salt
• Pinch saffron · ½ tsp garam masala

Method

1. Ghee hot, whole spices in until they swell and smell. Asafoetida for five seconds only — it burns instantly.
2. Lamb in and browned hard, in two batches. Traditional rogan josh has no onion and no garlic, so this browning is the only savoury base you get.
3. Off the heat, stir in the Kashmiri chilli, fennel and ginger. Off the heat, so the chilli gives colour instead of scorching.
4. Back on low. Add the yoghurt one spoon at a time, stirring constantly until each is absorbed. Rush this and it splits.
5. Water and salt in. Lid on, lowest heat, 90 minutes, until the fat rises red and clear on the surface. That red fat is the name of the dish.
6. Saffron and garam masala in for the last five minutes. Rest 10. Plain rice.

Cook's note. The colour is chilli, not tomato. Kashmiri chilli is mild and intensely red. Substituting hot chilli powder gives you a fierce, muddy dish that is not this one.

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