Last night was snowy and cold once again here in New England — a perfect evening for Rogan Josh! This Indian stew is commonly made with lamb, but I decided to make it with beef, since the roads were bad and this is what I had on-hand in the freezer. Beef works well. The aroma from the wonderful spices in this dish made the whole house smell great as it was braising in the oven. Whether it’s cold or not where you are, I think you’ll like this dish, so please try it tonight!
2 inches ginger, peeled and finely grated
8 cloves garlic, peeled
4 Tbsp plus 15 oz water
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 lbs beef chuck, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
10 cardamom pods
2 bay leaves
6 cloves
10 black peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick, about 2 inches
1 large onion, peeled and finely diced
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp plain yogurt
1/4 tsp garam masala
Ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Add ginger, garlic and 4 Tbsp water to a blender. Blend into a paste.
Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add meat and stir until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add another Tbsp oil to the same pan. Add the cardamom pods, bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon. Stir until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the onions and cook until they start to turn brown, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger paste and stir 30 seconds. Add the coriander, cumin, paprika, cayenne and salt and stir another 30 seconds. Add back the meat with its juices. Add the yogurt 1 Tbsp at a time, stirring well after each. Cook mixture about 3 minutes.
Add 15 oz water to the pan. Bring to a boil, stirring to deglaze. Cover, place in oven and cook for 2 hours. Remove from oven and stir in garam masala. Season with additional salt and ground black pepper, if desired. Serve with steamed long-grain or basmati rice, as well as an assortment of relishes, chutneys and naan.
Serves 4.
AnotherDish.com 
One of my most favorites!
Thank you Chef Mimi! One of my favorites, too.
It looks like Indonesian Rendang. 😀
I’m gonna save the recipe so that I can try it later.
I want to know how different it is from rendang. 🙂
Hi Hari, this dish is quite different from Rendang, but it is also delicious. Rendang daging/sapi is one of my favorite Indonesian dishes – I have many recipes for it, and I’m still trying to come up with the perfect version. One thing I think is key is using roasted, shredded coconut (among the other wonderful “key” ingredients), and please correct me if I’m not right. Any advice is appreciated!
There are so many versions of rendang. It was originally from West Sumatra (a signature dish of Minang folks) but it has been adapted by many other provinces, cooked by people from other tribes.
In our province, North Sumatra, there are at least 3 versions of rendang commonly seen: the original one, the Peranakan version and Aceh version.
The original rendang, as I understand it, use water buffalo meat and thick coconut milk (which was extracted without using even a drop of water).
We rarely use water buffalo meat but we do use thick coconut milk here in North Sumatra. I think that was the “main key” to delicious rendang.
Furthermore, our herbs and spices are all freshly processed. We do not use dried ingredients much.
🙂
Looks (and sounds) delicious! I can imagine the aroma of all these wonderful spices and beef cooking for hours in the oven. Perfect winter dinner.
Thanks. I’m out of the snow tonight and into the rain in Seattle for my regular business visit here — I’m already making my list of restaurants to go to. Always fun. Long Provincial Vietnamese is always on the list. Let’s see. My standing list is always long.
Nice! Hope you have a wonderful time in Seattle. Countless fabulous restaurants. It is difficult to choose. You might consider this place too http://thewalrusbar.com. (if you haven’t already) I’ve got to get to Long Provincial Vietnamese! 🙂
Had a great time in Seattle. Didn’t make it to the Walrus and the Carpenter, but it’s on my list when I return in a couple months. One of the places I went to was Kedai Makan on East Olive Way in Capital Hill. Fantastic Malaysian! I had the roti canai and nasi goring, which were to die for. It’s a take-out window, where you can then take your food home, or next door to the Montana bar (which is what I did). I absolutely recommend this place.
Oh great! Thank you for the recommendation. I’ll definitely check it out. I really like the walk-up windows. How can you ever make it to every great restaurant in this city? It’s loaded with them. There are so many places I haven’t been to and I live here!
Yum! This looks delicious. I adore Rogan Josh but often find it is too spicy. Cooking it myself would fix that. I never knew this was cooked in oven. I bet it concentrates the flavours very nicely.
Thanks! This can also be done on top of the stove, but I think the oven braises the beef nicely, and yes, I think it brings the flavors together nicely.