Kashmiri culture and ways of preparing the food lends to its exquisite and unique taste. An art form which is then accented by how the food is served….in copper dishes, with flavorful white rice, rich yogurt and tart chutneys.
Rogan Josh is a signature dish of the Kashmiri cuisine usually cooked with lamb. This particular recipe is with Chicken or “Kokur” and therefore the title. The subtle but important difference in the preparation is frying the chicken pieces beforehand which gives it the crispy exterior.
The rest of the spices are familiar with just a slight change is the way they are used in the thecooking process that differentiates it from other curries. The aromatic whole spices are fried in ghee to bring out the oils and aroma. The touch of water further steams through the spices.
I have used Mawal here, which is responsible for the deep red color. Mawal is dried cockscomb flower and is boiled with an equal quantity of water and then strained through a fine mesh. A couple of tablespoons of the liquid are then added towards the end of cooking. A pinch of saffron dissolved in warm milk or water is the last flavor and aroma enrichment.
This dish is cooked with love and the process of cooking it is something to be enjoyed as much and eating it. Many of the traditional ways of using the ingredients have been adjusted in my American kitchen but the uniqueness of flavor still commands the respect of the cook and the guest.
Kokur Roganjosh
Kashmiri Chicken Roganjosh
Ingredients
- 1 whole organic chicken cut into about 10 – 12 pieces
- 2 onions
- Olive or walnut oil for frying
- 4 cloves
- 8 green cardamom
- 2 black cardamom
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1 1/2 tsp fennel pwd
- 1 1/2 tsp ginger pwd
- 1 tablespoon crushed garlic
- 2 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder soaked in warm water
- 2 tablespoons mawal liquid ( optional)
- 1/2 cup ghee
- Salt
- Pinch of Saffron( 4-5 strands) soaked in warm milk
- Black pepper
- 4-5 cups water
Directions
- Pat dry the chicken pieces and shallow fry them in batches until golden brown. Set aside
- Slice and fry the onions until golden, grind to a paste and set aside
- If using Mawal(cockscomb), boil in equal quantity of water for a couple of minutes. Strain through a fine sieved and bottle it up to use as needed.
- Add ghee to a heave bottomed an and add the cloves, bay leaf and cardamom. Fry until they sizzle.
- Remove from heat and add a tbsp of water and cover to let the spices steam
- Return to heat and add the garlic, saute for a minute
- Add chicken turmeric, chili, fennel pwd, ginger pwd, onion paste and salt.
- Add enough water to cover the chicken and bring to a boil
- Cook the chicken until tender ( about 20 mins)
- Add the mawal liquid, saffron and black pepper.
- Once it has returned to a boil, turn off the heat.
Serve beautifully!
Linked to Fiesta Friday with Antonia and Kat
Food For The Soul 
We recently had roganjosh for the first time. By that I mean, the first time having it knowing full well what it is. I probably had it before, but din’t know that it was roganjosh. We really liked it! I think your chicken version here may even be better than the lamb. Another winner, Zeba! And I’m excited to learn about mawal!
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I know you will love it!! If you email me your address I can mail you some dried Mawal, it’s just a dried flower used for coloring the food.
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I just googled it; it looks just like celosia that I plant every summer. I think it’s the same thing! Had no idea it’s edible. Thanks for the offer, but if it’s true that it’s the same flower then I should have easy access to it. But I may still take you up on the offer, though 😀 Just don’t want to be greedy 😀
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Ya .. looks the same. My offer is still open, I have tons of dried and powdered and would love to share
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Aaw…thanks, Zeba!
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Wow, what a comforting and flavorful dish! Such strong flavors, I love it! Thank you for sharing at Fiesta Friday this week!
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Thanks much Antonia!
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Rogan Josh is a great dish that we’ve made more than once, but always with lamb. Your chicken version sounds great. The mawal liquid and the pinch of Saffron are new additions for me. We’ll pin this one and use your recipe the next time we making Rogan Josh.
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Thanks so much Ron..always appreciate your thoughtful comments. I hope you try it soon and love it.
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