Lamb Shank Rogan Josh

How better to to begin this culinary adventure, than to pay homage to an undisputed chunk of heaven on earth, Kashmir?  I love Rogan Josh, and I love grass fed new zealand lamb shanks.  Of course! Why had I never considered it before?


I was inspired, but how could I share my enthusiasm?  And so, we have begun our Culina Adventum.  An arrival of epic portions!  Proportions?


Anyway, here goes...


***then i realized the camera battery was dying and i had left the charger at work - photo documentation will be sparse - i'll try harder next time***


1. Grab a beer or a glass of wine and settle in...


2. Don't forget to put on your favorite music and make it loud.


3. Oh, and make sure you've got the ingredients:

• 4 lamb shanks (probably between 3-4 lbs.)(or 2 lbs. of cubed lamb)
• one large onion (not red)
• some cilantro
• vegetable oil (yes, olives are vegetables too)
• 4 cups of beef stock (only needed if you are doing shanks!)
• 1/2 cup yogurt (more fat, the better...)
• one hot pepper (I use frozen thai bird chiles, but you can use jalepeno, serano, whatever...)
• ginger (one chunk that fills the center of your palm)
• 6 cloves of garlic (or only 2 if you use asafoetida)
• 8 whole cloves
• 6 cardomom pods 
• 1 stick of cinnamon (3 in.)(broken into several pieces)
• 10 whole black pepper corns
• 1/4 tsp whole fennel seeds
• 1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 tbsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp of asafoetida (optional-use more garlic in you don't have this spice)
• a pinch of safron (optional)

Ahead of time:

• Safronize the yogurt. (Put the safron in the yogurt and let it sit at room temp until needed).
• Slice the onion.
• Put the garlic, ginger, and hot pepper along with a bit of water in a blender.  I use a "Magic Bullet" -one of those mini-cuisinart things you see on t.v.  Blend the ingredients until they form a paste.  Add water as necessary, if it is too dry.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Now for the nitty gritty:

1. Cover the bottom of a deep, heavy pan with olive oil (probably about 3 tbsp. or so).  The pan or pot that you use should accommodate the shanks without too much crowding. Over med-high heat, heat the oil until it starts to shimmer.  Brown the shanks as best as possible and then put aside.

2. Turn the heat down a bit (med. will do) and, in the hot oil, add the:

• 8 whole cloves
• 6 cardomom pods 
• 1 stick of cinnamon (3 in.)(broken into several pieces)
• 10 whole black pepper corns
• 1/4 tsp whole fennel seeds
• 1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds
• 1 bay leaves

3. When the cloves are swollen, the bay leaf is browning, and things are starting to pop out of the pot, add the onions and fry for a minute or so.

4. Then add the garlic, ginger, pepper paste and fry for another minute or so.

5. Get another beer, glass of vino, or your preference and relax, this is going to be great!

6. Now add the ground spices and fry for 30 seconds:

• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 tbsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp of asafoetida (optional)

7. Add 1/2 cup of the stock and scrape the bottom of the pot, mixing well.  Then arrange the shanks in the pot and add more stock until it reaches about halfway up the sides of the shanks.

8. Put the shanks in the oven and bake for about 2 hours.  Remember to turn the shanks every 30 minutes or so.

**If you aren't using shanks, then forget the oven!  Add only a cup of water instead of the stock and return the curry to a boil.  Turn the heat down to a simmer and let the stuff bubble away for an hour or so.  The meat should be super-tender and the sauce thick and red.  Serve over rice.

9. In the meantime, make your favorite rice.

10. Remove the shanks from the oven, take the shanks out of the pot and cover to keep warm.

11. Put a tbsp. at a time of sauce into your yogurt and mix thoroughly, bringing the yogurt up to temp.  When you've added at least 5 or 6 tbsp., slowly stir the yogurt into the sauce in the pot.

12. Cook off any remaining water in the sauce (or add some cornstarch to thicken it).

13. Serve over rice.  Warm flatbread is good too.  Garnish with roughly chopped cilantro.

It seemed daunting at first, but in the end it was quite easy...

That was fun, right?

Stay tuned for more.  This will be good.