Rogan Josh is an aromatic lamb curry from Kashmiri cuisine. Quite popular for the aromatics and the tender lamb cooked in a spice blend special to Kashmiri cuisine, it is a very famous recipe. I have never had the privilege to visit the scenic beauty of Kashmir so far, but then have heard and read a lot Kashmiri recipes. Few months back I made a cauliflower yogurt based curry and loved it immensely. Next, I wanted to try out the popular Rogan Josh recipe but then I don’t eat/cook meat at home, so I had to think of something else to get to this dish.
And then during our visit to one of our favorite restaurants recently, I saw Egg Rogan Josh on the menu card. I immediately knew I had to order it, if not for anything else but to figure out the ingredients and the recipe. As the traditional recipe doesn’t use eggs, we were a bit skeptical ordering an egg version. To our surprise, it turned out absolutely delicious. And to my satisfaction, I figured out a few things out of that recipe.
On the following weekend, I browsed the length and breadth of internet to match my predictions of the Rogan Josh only to be disappointed. No two recipes were similar and none matched mine. I decided enough was enough and decided to make my own recipe. It turned out okay-ish, but nothing like the one we got served at the restaurant. Any sane person would have stopped their Rogan Josh attempts after the first meh output, but not me. I went on to try it again, making a few changes to the recipe. It turned out great, better than the restaurant one, even if I say so myself. I used mustard oil and got a few tips off the hundreds of recipes I browsed through, and that did the trick!
To make Egg Rogan Josh
What I used –
- Eggs, 3
- Onions, 2 large
- Tomato Puree, ½ cup
- Thick Yogurt/Curd, ½ cup
- Ginger Garlic Paste, 1 tsp
- Dried Bay Leaf, 1
- Cloves, 2
- Cinnamon, 1” piece
- Cardamom, 1
- Red Chilli Powder, ¾ tsp
- Dry Ginger Powder, ½ tsp
- Fennel/Saunf Powder, ½ tsp
- Garam Masala Powder, ½ tsp
- Turmeric Powder, ¼ tsp
- Mustard Oil, 5 tablespoon + 1 tbsp
- Salt, as required
- Sugar, a generous pinch
- Water, a cup or more as needed
How I made –
1. Start by boiling the eggs in enough water for 12 mins. Run through cold water and remove the shells. Keep aside.
2. In a pan, heat 1.5 tablespoon of mustard oil. Add the whole spices – dried bay leaf, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon. Fry for a minute. Add finely sliced onions and fry until slightly golden brown and caramelized.
3. Add ginger garlic paste along with all the dry spice powders – red chilli powder, dry ginger powder, fennel/saunf powder and turmeric powder. Mix well and keep stir frying until the oil starts to leave from the sides. Add tomato puree.
4. Without adding water, cook the tomato puree until oil starts leaving from the sides. Add thick yogurt/curd along with a generous pinch of sugar and salt required for the gravy. Mix well. On a low flame, cook until everything comes together. Add garam masala powder and cook for 2-3 mins. Add a cup of water and continue to cook it for another 3-4 mins.
5. Meanwhile, in a smaller pan heat 1 tablespoon of mustard oil. On a low heat, shallow fry the eggs until golden brown on all sides. Add these fried eggs to the gravy. Check for salt and spiciness. On a low flame, cook for another 5-7 mins until the eggs are coated in the gravy. Switch off the heat.
6. Serve hot with a helping of sliced raw onions, lemon wedge for any Indian bread.
Note –
- Mustard Oil and Yogurt along with the aromatics like dry ginger powder, fennel powder are very typical to Kashmiri cooking. I would strongly recommend not skipping these. In case mustard oil is not available, regular vegetable oil can be used. Mustard Oil has a slight pungent smell and orangish color that works in favor for this dish.
- Usually, lamb is cooked until tender in oil/ghee before it is added to the gravy. I followed the same approach with eggs and it worked out perfectly. The slightly blistered and goldeny egg absorbed the gravy a lot better than just a boiled egg.
- To perfectly hard boil an egg, boil it at medium heat for only 12-13 mins.
- Adjust spices as per preference.
- It is essential to cook the onions until golden brown for the perfect taste.
- I added both tomato puree and yogurt for this gravy. The first time I made it, I used only Yogurt and felt that the gravy lacked body. With the additional of tomato puree, it turned out perfect.
- I used store bought tomato puree, but it can be made at home too. Blanch tomatoes, remove skin and blend until smooth.
- I added a generous pinch of sugar as tomato puree can be quite tangy.
- With the addition of tomato puree and yogurt, the gravy can be a bit tangy/sour. Adjust salt quantity accordingly. In fact, this recipe requires much less salt because of the acidic content.
- Adjust the quantity of water as per the desired consistency of the gravy.
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Bringing this to Fiesta Friday #127. The co-hosts for this week are Suzanne @ apuginthekitchen and Jess @ Cooking Is My Sport 🙂
Srividhya
Interesting recipe.. Great share from the kashmiri cuisine.
chcooks
Thanks Sri 🙂
Gouthami Yuvarajan
Am trying this!!! Looks super delicious
chcooks
Pls do try and let me know Gouthami 🙂
Vajeea
Love this recipe! Would definitely try this!
chcooks
Thanks much Vajeea 🙂 Let me know how it turned out!
Jhuls
This looks absolutely mouth watering! 🙂
chcooks
Thanks much Jhuls 🙂
michelleoblogoff
Such beautiful photos! Sometimes lamb is too strong for my pallet so this recipe is perfect for me! I love hard boiled eggs ? Thanks!
chcooks
I am glad you liked this Michelle 🙂 Welcome to my blog!
Jess
The ingredients for the sauce of this curry sound just fantastic. Lamb is pretty pricey where I live, do you think this recipe could be substituted with another protein?
(Great recipe and pictures though, thank you for bringing it to FF :-))
chcooks
Jess, I dont eat meat and thats why substituted the original recipe with eggs 🙂 I dont see why chicken wouldnt work!
Lynz Real Cooking
A beautiful and different dish!
chcooks
Thanks dear Lynn 🙂
Osyth
I absolutely know I will love this ... I adore eggs in curry and I have eaten (though never made) Lamb Rogon Josh many times and loved it. I think I may be on my way to Heaven!!
chcooks
Thanks Osyth 🙂 I am glad you like this!
Hilda
This is something like an egg dish I make which I learned in N. India. I like that you use mustard oil. I presume that is black cardamom you use - am I right? Bookmarked!
chcooks
yeah, this is the North Indian style of making egg curry - more so, Kashmiri 🙂 I used green cardamom as I didnt have black cardamom handy but that would be more flavorful 🙂
lynne hoareau
This sounds so interesting I have never had a rogan josh curry! and making the vegetarian version sounds really good. Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
chcooks
Thanks for stopping by Lynne 🙂 Your comments always brighten my day!
Zeba@Food For The Soul
Looks lovely and I bet it taste delicious!
chcooks
It really is so delicious 🙂
kushigalu
Lovely color and delicious recipe!
chcooks
Thanks dear 🙂
Sharvari (Mumbai to Melbourne)
Sensational recipe . I make the same rohan josh with pAneer at home. I use canned tomatoes and hung curd so it's not too sour and I toast fennel seeds and grind them .
I loved how u mDe it with egg. I like the idea using mustard oil should try it .
Love the pics
http://www.mumbaitomelbourne.com/food-and-health-blog-posts/dhaniya-chicken-cilantro-chicken
chcooks
I just love your description of the Rogan Josh.. I will surely try it with paneer 🙂
roughseasinthemed
Looking forward to this for our tea/supper tonight 🙂
chcooks
Did you make it?! 🙂 *curious*
roughseasinthemed
Yes I did. My husband's not keen on yoghurt, so I rarely have it in, but it suited us perfectly well without it. I used fresh tomatoes, and as I didn't have mustard oil, I added a few mustard seeds to the olive oil.
There was some sauce left, so we had it again the next day with more eggs, and I added some tempeh too. Really enjoyed it, I'll def be making it again. Many thanks.
chcooks
Oh I am so so happy to know this 🙂 You made my day!
tentimestea
This sounds so delicious CH! I love the use of boiled eggs, especially browning them before adding them to the gravy. Just in general I love eggs, so this version sounds even better than the traditional rogan josh 🙂
chcooks
Thank you so much T 🙂
Nish Kitchen
Absolutely love this version of roganjosh! Definitely trying!
chcooks
Pls do try - I am sure you will love it! 🙂
Suchitra
Looks delectable!
chcooks
Thanks a lot Suchitra 🙂
petra08
I would have ordered a Rogan Josh with eggs any time over the lamb version if I found it on a menu. It looks absolutely delicious 🙂
chcooks
Thanks much Petra 🙂
dreamzandclouds
it looks yummm! 😀
chcooks
Thanks M 🙂