Rogan josh is a spicy curry from the Kashmir region of India. It’s typically made with lamb or goat, so it’s not a curry I have actually tried, but after my travels in India I set out to experiment with my own vegan version. Instead of slow-cooked meat, I have used the versatile jackfruit. Its soft, stringy consistency is perfect for soaking up all that curry sauce
Serves 3–4
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 cloves
- 3 cardamom pods
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 red capsicum, diced
- 400 g can young jackfruit, drained and rinsed, roughly chopped or coconut cream
- chopped coriander leaves, to serve
- steamed basmati rice or Garlic Naan (see page 290),
to serve
- Rogan josh curry paste
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped coriander stalks
- 2–3 cm piece of ginger, roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 2 red bird’s eye chillies (deseeded if you prefer less heat)
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1⁄2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
To make the curry paste, place all the ingredients in a mortar and gently pound with a pestle for
10 minutes or until you have a smooth paste. (Alternatively, you can use a small food processor.) Set aside. If you are unsure about how much spice you can handle, leave out one of the
chillies and add, to taste, when cooking.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium–high heat. Add the cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom pods, bay leaves and curry paste and sauté for
1 minute or until fragrant. Add the onion, carrot and capsicum and sauté for another minute, then add the jackfruit and 500 ml (2 cups) of water. Reduce the heat to medium–low, then cover
and simmer for 30 minutes or until reduced.
Stir through half the coconut yoghurt or cream and simmer for a further 5 minutes.
Scatter over some coriander and serve with steamed basmati rice or garlic naan and the remaining yoghurt or cream on the side.
‘The Global Vegan by Ellie Bullen, Published by Plum, RRP $34.99, Photography by Ellie Bullen’
