Chicken Rogan Josh

Vibrantly red, gently spiced, and unmistakably aromatic, Chicken Rogan Josh is one of those curries that delivers huge flavour without heat overload. This version stays true to its Kashmiri roots — fragrant spices, yoghurt richness, and juicy chicken.

Chicken Rogan Josh is a deeply aromatic curry that leads with fragrance rather than fiery heat. Originating up north in Kashmir, this curry relies on Kashmiri chilli for its signature red hue, yoghurt for richness, and fragrant fennel for its signature flavour.

Unlike many Indian curries, Rogan Josh isn’t about heavy sauces — it’s about balance, restraint, and letting the spices do their thing. This chicken version follows the same principles as the lamb classic, but cooks more quickly while delivering that unmistakable Rogan Josh depth.

This recipe is part of my Indian Hub and Asian Curry Collection, where I curate authentic flavours for the home cook.

What's Ahead?

What is Rogan Josh?

Rogan Josh is a traditional Kashmiri curry known for its deep red colour, warming spices, and yoghurt-based sauce. Despite its appearance, it’s not meant to be aggressively spicy — the colour comes primarily from Kashmiri chilli, which is mild and aromatic. It's essential in giving the vibrant hue, other chilli powders will just not achieve the same intensity.

The name comes from the Persian-influenced Kashmiri language: rogan meaning oil or fat, and josh broadly meaning heat or intensity. The name refers not to spiciness, but to oil-rich, aromatic cooking at a lively simmer, where depth and fragrance matter more than chilli heat.

Why you'll love it

• It's rich and decadent without being overly spicy.
• It has an authentic restaurant-style flavour of a traditional lamb rogan josh, in half the time.
• It reheats like a dream - next day chicken rogan josh is spectacular!
• It has a rich and creamy sauce, without the need for cream.

Stuff You'll Need

This curry relies on a few staples that are essential to achieve the signature look and flavour. Many traditional recipes (from Pandit cuisine) dispense with onion, garlic and ginger in the recipe, but my version, and many modern recipes feature these.

• Chicken - For this recipe, I used bone-in chicken thighs, cutting each in half with a cleaver. You can also use boneless thighs or whole legs — dark meat works best here, staying juicy and tender, while chicken breast tends to dry out.
• Kashmiri chilli powder - Essential to achieve a mild but vibrant curry. Widely available in Indian stores and online. I buy EXTRA red powder whenever I can find it.
• Fennel powder - fennel is a key flavour to rogan josh, so be sure to hunt it out. You can grind up some seeds if that's all you can find.
• Yoghurt - this is an essential so that the sauce has its rich, tangy flavour.
• Ginger powder (sonth) is another fragrant spice typical to Kashmiri cuisine.
• Mustard oil - essential to give the depth of flavour with a slow spiced burn.
• Other spices include, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cayenne, turmeric and asafoetida (hing) - a smelly and powerful spice that brings a hit of umami.
• Garlic, ginger, tomato and onion - add a depth of flavour to the sauce.

Step by Step

Curries may often seem like a lot of work and stages, but honestly, this rogan josh recipe is super easy, and straightforward. The curry only takes 30 minutes to cook too!

1. Fry the whole spices in mustard oil to 'bloom' their flavours.
2. Add the onion and fry gently until soft.
3. Add the garlic and ginger and fry this gently until the raw flavour of garlic has gone.
4. Add the tomato and cook down until soft.
5. Add the powdered spices and stir well.
6. Add the chicken pieces and bring the pan to a heat again.
7. Add the yoghurt and stir well.
8. Bring to a simmer and cook until some of the oil separates.
9. Top up with water and cook for 30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and juicy.
10. Lastly, pour over a little melted ghee (optional) to give the ultimate luxurious glossiness to the sauce and serve.

Substitutions and variations

You don't need to stick to the recipe verbatim to achieve a tasty curry, but some of the key ingredients will give the best results. Here are some of the ingredients which can be substituted.

• Chicken - you can switch chicken for lamb or goat and increase the cooking time to 90+ minutes, until tender. You may need a little more water too.
• Mustard oil - use ghee or any oil (will affect the end flavour)
• Asafoetida - leave this out if you can't find any.
• Cayenne - I add a little because I like a little chilli heat, it's not traditional but my own addition. You can leave this out if you like.
• Black cardamom has a smoky depth to it, if you can't find then add a few more green cardamom.
• Ginger powder - add more fresh ginger if you don't have powdered.
• Onion, garlic, ginger and tomato - can be left out. If you use none, just add the ground spices to the warm oil (not too hot) and then skip to adding the chicken then yoghurt to create the sauce. It will be a little thinner, but that's fine.

Serving & Storage Suggestions

In Kashmir, short grain rice is served with rogan josh, but outside of the state, Basmati rice is perfect with this curry.

• Fridge - leftovers will be fine for 3-4 days in an airtight container. Reheat until piping hot, adding a little water if needed to avoid the sauce drying out.
• Freezer - this curry freezes excellently. It'll be good for 3+ months in portions in airtight containers. Reheat from frozen in the microwave until piping hot. Add a little water before cooking to ensure it doesn't dry out.

Ready to get cooking?

This is one of my most favourite dishes to cook, it never fails to garner a little ripple of applause when it's placed on the table - that red sauce is a showstopper for sure. And honestly, the mild and fragrant flavour is unlike any other curry I cook. It truly does have a unique personality that no other curry can replicate.

You'll see for yourself why this is a top 10 curry in my household and WAY WAY better than anything you can take out. Hope you enjoy!

More Indian recipes

If you liked rogan josh, I'm sure you'll love some more of my Northern Indian recipes.

• Beef Balti
• Mughlai Chicken
• Chicken Rezala
• Saag Gosht

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