As promised, this issue we have a tahr recipe – just what we need in winter to keep us warm. Tahr should be on every hunter’s menu – it is well and truly on someone else’s radar at the moment.
This subject seems to be the talk of the country, so go and get yourself a nanny. Rather than be told what to do – get out there and do your part for conservation.
In Indian cookery, rogan josh is one of the signature dishes from the Kashmiri cuisine which uses goat, mainly due to the fact that mutton or lamb is hard to come by and very expensive. Rogan (or roghan) means ‘brown’ or ‘red’ and this relates to both the colour of the meat and also the curry sauce.
This recipe is great for first-time cooks who want to give curry a go, as it is easy to make. The hardest part will be getting your tahr, but at least you know it will work with lamb if you don’t have tahr meat. As you may have noticed, there is no mention of the ingredient sage as it doesn’t go well with tahr in a curry.
Serves approximately 4-6 depending on the appetites of your hunters
60 ml canola oil
5 green cardamom pods
5 cloves
1 large onion
1 Tb crushed garlic
1 Tb grated fresh ginger
500-600g diced back leg of tahr, trimmed
1 ts ground turmeric
1½ ts garam masala
1 ts salt
1 ts paprika
4 medium tomatoes, diced
½ cup tomato puree
1 small bunch (approx ½ cup) fresh coriander, chopped
2 cups cold water
1/3 cup plain unsweetened yoghurt
Seasonings to taste (salt, pepper, chilli)
Method
- In a blender, process the onion, garlic and ginger to a paste or mix with a pestle and mortar.
- Heat the oil in a large pot and add the cardamom and cloves. Cook to release the flavours and aromas, then add the onion/garlic/ginger mix and stir so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Cook until almost brown.
- Add the diced tahr and continue to cook until browned. Add the turmeric, garam masala, salt and paprika and cook again until you can smell the aroma of the spices.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and puree and cook for about four minutes. Keep stirring as it may stick to the bottom of the pan. Add the chopped coriander and the water and cook for approximately five minutes, then remove from the heat and stir in the yoghurt.
- Place a lid on the pot and simmer again over a low heat. This may take a few hours and you may need to add more water (depending on the size of your pot) if the sauce reduces too far.
- Check to see if the meat is tender – if not – continue to cook a little more until the dish is done. You may notice some oil floating on the surface, this is normal so don’t panic.
- Season with salt, pepper and/or chilli if you wish, and garnish with chopped fresh coriander. Serve with steamed basmati rice and naan bread.
- Leftovers will taste even better the next day but you may need to add a little water just to let the sauce down with.
- If you are in a hurry to cook this dish, you can use a pressure cooker. If you’re not in a rush, you can use a slow cooker instead of a big pot and just stir the curry from time to time.