Lisa Henderson's Roghan Josh - a Tofino recipe

by Lisa Henderson, Tofino

Born and raised on the lower mainland Lisa came to Tofino in the early 90's to run a local cafe. She is very much a self taught chef, "Graduating with honours from the School of Hard Knocks,"as she puts it. One of her first food memories is of her Auntie Elsie who could cook the perfect pie in her old fashion wood stove. So inspired by the craft and skill, a seed was planted in Lisa, that would blossom into a culinary career. Lisa realises that cooking for the most part is grunt work, where simplicity is the essence of good food. Taste it for yourself at the Raincoast Cafe.

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Roghan Josh

• 6 lamb shanks
• 1 large white onion, roughly chopped

Dredge the shanks in flour and add to oiled brazier pan or large heavy roasting pan. Brown the meat on all sides and remove shanks onto plate. Add the onion onion to pan and saute until golden brown.

Meanwhile, dry roast the following ingredients in a small pan over low heat, until fragrant:

• 1/4-1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1tbsp cumin
• 2 tbsp coriander, ground
• 1 tbsp cardamom, ground
• 3 tbsp coconut flakes

Combine with the following (except broth, yoghurt & tomatoes) in a blender to make a paste:

• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp chili powder.
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 cup water
• 6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1" cube of ginger, coarsely chopped

• 1-1 1/2cups chicken broth (low salt preferred)
• 2 cups plain yoghurt
• 3 medium tomatoes, peeled and seeded, roughly chopped

Add the paste from the blender to the pan with the onions. Whisk in yoghurt until incorporated. Add 1 cup chicken broth. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add shanks to sauce. If the sauce doesn't cover the meat, add more chicken broth or water. Cover with foil and place in the oven for 4 hours at 225 F, turning shanks halfway through cooking. The meat will be very tender. Allow to cool before removing shanks from the pan, or they will fall apart. Skim surface of oil and blend pan ingredients in a blender. Reheat the shanks with the gravy until heated through. If the sauce thickens too much, add a little water.

Serve with basmati rice and a saute of blanched cauliflower and snap peas. We saute ours in a garam masala mix.

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Quick Garam Masala

• 2 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 tbsp ground coriander
• 2 tbsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Combine all in a jar and shake. Makes 1/3 cup and stores for about 3 months.