My Brother's Favourite Dish

I have been into cooking since the last twenty years. Yes, I distinctly remember preparing the first proper Bengali meal for my Baba and Bitan (my brother) when my mother had to be away to attend to my grandpa who was unwell. I was a teenager who believed that our house-help Basanti, was not good enough at cooking. There has been no looking back since. The kitchen always makes me happy.

I love food and I love to cook too. I love it more when people polish off the dishes and compliment me with daarun hoyeche.These magical words draw out my most spontaneous and beautiful smile. The feeling of contentment I have as I hear these words is simply inexplicable.

The dish which unfailingly earns me this happiness is the Rogan Josh. It also happens to be my brother's favourite and insists on it every time he visits.I cooked the Rogan Josh for the first time on my parents' 25^th anniversary in my ma's kitchen in February 1999.

A kilo of meat (lamb/goat medium pieces with a bit of fat)

Fennel  ground to a coarse powder is a chief ingredient.

 2tablespoons of coriander powder  and  1 tsp of Kashmiri red chilli powder

3 large cardamoms,4 whole cloves,2 sticks of cinnamon.

1 cup of beaten curd.Salt to taste.

This dish is authentically prepared in ghee but I use 3 tablespoons of white oil and 1tsp of ghee.It is to be simmered on slow fire till the meat becomes tender but I cook it in a pressure cooker.Purists may balk at this but the end result I obtain is a delightful dish.

When the oil is heated in go the whole garam masala,as they crackle and a sweet aroma wafts out,the marinated meat tumbles in.Salt goes in.It is sautéed in the oil for a while and gives out water, as the water reduces to half ,a tablespoon of fennel powder is added together with the coriander powder and the Kashmiri red chilli powder.The meat and the masalas mingle well.The meat is now cooked in pressure till two whistles.The heat is turned off and the meat is allowed to sit in for ten minutes,soaking in the fragrant fennel.

Then ,the lid is removed and the tenderness of the meat checked,The cup of beaten curd is stirred in, 2 tbsps of fennel powder is added and a pinch of freshly ground garam masala(green cardamom,clove and cinnamon finely powdered)is added.The meat is stirred well and cooked for two to three whistles.

By this stage the heady aroma will make your stomach grumble.So,it is better to have steamed rice/light cashew and raisin pulao  ready to go with it.

When ready for serving dish add a tiny dollop of ghee and the Rogan Josh is all set to go.

Just try it and wait for the magical words...