Simplicity Coimbatore , Byadagi chillies in a Rogan Josh
Dried red chillies in South India
At home when it comes to using dried red chillies we favour two varieties;the small round ones and the tapered medium length ones with the thick skin. These are known as the gundu milagai ,popular in Chettinad cooking and the Guntur sannam which is most popularly used everywhere for it’s adequate spice levels. This variety is also apparently the most widely exported.
Byadagi chillies
Last week a friend sent me the famous Byadagi chillies from Karnataka. At one point of time I used to ask her to get us some when she bought them in bulk for her home. It’s been awhile since we did that so I am truly thankful that she sent some over,knowing how much I like them. These chillies are known for their bright colour and less pungency.
The name Byadagi comes from its place of origin, Byadgi in the Haveri district of Karnataka.The Byadagi chillies consist of 2 varieties. What we buy are the thin long ,wrinkled skin, red ones called kaddi. It has less seeds and imparts a delicious flavour and a very mild spice level. These chillies were given a GI tag in 2011. From January to May is when the picking happens. Rows of sellers are on the street dealing in heaps of these byadagi chillies spilling over from the sacks.
They are available in other parts of Karnataka and form an integral part of the chilli powder mix which forms the base of many authentic Udupi dishes and is added to masala powders. Many factories in and around Byadgi are involved in the making of the bright red chilli powder.
These chillies are used at our home,primarily to make several of the fiery looking pastes which have that brilliant red colour but not necessarily the heat. This time around ,instead of using these to make a thai red curry paste as we normally do,we decided to make a Rogan Josh.
Rogan josh
The Rogan Josh is a fiery red meat dish which uses the Kashmiri dried red chillies. Since this byadagi chilli matched its Kashmiri counterpart in terms of colour ,it seemed worth a try. Also we’re at that time of year where the evenings are still pleasant so we can actually manage to enjoy a meat dish without breaking into a sweat. That and the fact that these chillies are not known for their high spice levels made the Rogan Josh an ideal dish to try using the byadagi chillies.
Cooking food from other parts of India far away from one’s home town is so interesting. It’s almost like understanding a cuisine from a different culture. The Rogan Josh also called roghan ghosht is an aromatic meat dish thought to have its origins in Persia. It is well loved in Kashmir and Punjab as a hearty side to Indian flat bread or fragrant basmati rice.
The Rogan josh was a dish I grew up hearing because my Dad loved it. When I was younger, meat with bones was always too fiddly to eat so I believed it was delicious but never really yearned to try some for myself. Years later ,as an adult ,it’s of course a different story. A well made rogan josh is absolutely delicious and has an unusual amalgamation of flavours.
Spices from the north of India
What I found different was not in the way it was cooked but the kind of ingredients used. Here in the south it’s not so common to use mace, black cardamom,dry ginger powder and fennel powder as spice blends for meat. The meat is cooked on a low fire for about 2 hours in a specific process. The soul of this recipe is undoubtedly the bright ,dried red chili. It is made into a fine powder and mixed with water and other spice powders before coating the meat.
This was probably a dish cooked during the colder months because the recipe had no requirements for fresh ingredients. This was the first time I was cooking an Indian meat dish without using onions, garlic,fresh ginger, green chillies, coriander or curry leaves, tomato etc. The aromas wafting from the pan were so different and extremely flavourful.
True to its characteristic the chilli powder was of a fiery red colour and despite the slow cooking process it didn’t lose the intensity of the hue.The flavour too complemented the meat and it did not need any other spice to add to the taste.
This recipe made with marrow bone and boneless cubes of mutton is a dish meant to be relished with family , seated around the table and partaking of food cooked with a great deal of thought and effort.
Shop online
As with everything these days,the byadagi chillies are also available online. Look for bright red, thin ,gnarly ,dried chillies. From the many Rogan Josh recipes read and tried , this adaptation from Punam Paul’s website truly turned out to be a delight.
INFO
https://punampaul.com/kashmiri-rogan-josh/
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