Rogan josh curry is even better done as a rogan josh balti!
Balti cooking is all about making tasty curries easily and fast. This lamb rogan josh balti is a great place to start your balti journey.
The rogan josh curry is of course very popular at curry houses around the UK but it’s even better done as a rogan josh balti!
So good!
Why I cooked this rogan josh balti on the barbecue…
You could of course cook your rogan josh balti over high heat on your stove. That’s how it’s done at restaurants after all.
I like to cook them right over the hot coals. I think it gives the curry an even better flavour and baltis need to be cooked over high heat which can be easily done over a fire.
Working ahead…
You will need to make the base sauce as it is an important part of getting the texture and flavour of an authentic rogan josh balti.
The base sauce is easy to make and keeps in the fridge for at least three days. It can also be frozen in 300ml – 500ml portions for use in this or other curries.
Here is my base sauce recipe but you might also like to try my new base sauce which is cooked on the barbecue. It’s my current favourite base sauce recipe.
Pre-cooking the meat…
At Indian restaurants and balit houses, the meat is cooked ahead of time.
This is done not only for speed but flavour. You could try my pre-cooked meat recipe. It’s really nice and the cooking stock adds so much flavour to your balti curries.
If cooking outdoors on the barbecue, you might also like to try my tandoori lamb tikka recipe. This is really convenient when cooking outside as you can cook the meat and the rogan josh balti at the same time.
Step by step photographs…
Fry the garlic and ginger paste in the hot oil and then stir in the ground spices.
Swirl in the tomato puree and bring to a simmer.
Add one ladle of the hot base sauce and top it up from time to time during cooking. Bring to a rolling simmer, scraping off any caramelised sauce from the sides back into the sauce.
Stir in the pre-cooked lamb and coat it with the sauce.
Once the lamb is heated through and tender, add a tbsp of yogurt and the cashew paste.
Stir it all up really well.
Stir in some of the chopped red onion.
International & UK Orders
Serve hot in the same bowl it was cooked in.
Dig in. Great served with hot naans or chapatis to scoop it all up with.
Lamb Rogan Josh Balti
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoons garlic and ginger paste
- 1 1/2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon red chilli powder (or more to taste)
- 1 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tbsp mixed powder*
- 70ml (1/4 cup) tomato puree
- 300ml (1 1/4 cup) heated curry sauce
- 350g (12oz) tandoori lamb tikka
- 1 generous tablespoons cashew paste (Simply pound a cashews with a little water into a paste)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons plain natural yogurt
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tomato quartered
- salt to taste
- 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves
- Chopped red onion to garnish
Instructions
- Heat the ghee or oil until bubbling hot over high heat in a balti bowl.
- When hot, add the garlic and ginger paste and let it come to a sizzle for about 30 seconds.
- Stir in the paprika, cumin, mixed powder and chilli powder. Stir well to combine..
- Add the tomato puree followed by a ladle of the base curry sauce. Bring to a simmer. Baltis are served quite dry so add more base sauce when needed but try to keep the sauce thick.
- Stir in the meat and stir well to combine.
- The stir in the cashew paste and one tbsp of the yoghurt.
- Add the quartered tomato and get it right down into the sauce.
- Check for seasoning and add salt to taste along with the dried fenugreek leaves.
- Top with chopped onion and a little more yoghurt with naan or chapati.
Heather
Sunday 10th of March 2024
This was really tasty. I love red curries, but it was too mild for me because I only had mild chilli, so I had some cayenne at the end (sorry!) I’d definitely add hotter chilli if only to balance the sweetness. I wonder if there’s a way to make it less sweet.
Dan Toombs
Tuesday 19th of March 2024
Great idea to add hotter chillies if that’s your preference The cashew paste adds a bit of sweetness so try adding a bit less of that and more chillies as you say. Thanks Dan
Andy Halsey
Saturday 8th of May 2021
Hi Dan, if you have your curry base sauce would you use this instead of some of the ingredients. Could you also make the sauce in advance and refrigerate if prepping ahead.
Thanks again.
Dan Toombs
Tuesday 11th of May 2021
Yes, you could certainly use a bit of base sauce in this recipe. You could make the sauce in advance and leave in the fridge for a few days. Thanks
Dan
kate
Tuesday 11th of August 2015
Hi Dan, just wanted to say how thrilled I am to have found your site. Last weekend I entertained 20 friends with a curry night using four of your recipes, rogan josh, paneer masala, vindaloo and butter chicken. Being vegetarian I did not taste the 3 meat dishes before serving them but I was told they were absolutely beautiful and there were a few friendly arguments as to who deserved to take a doggie bag home with the leftovers! It was a lovely evening and I will definitely be making more curries very soon, many many thanks.
Dan Toombs
Sunday 4th of October 2015
Thank you very much Kate. I'm really glad the recipes worked for you. It makes all the work worth it. :-)
Cheers Dan