Two Indian lamb dishes make it to the ‘50 Best Lamb Dishes In The World’

Taste Atlas, which has released top lists about the popular foods of the world, once again created a stir with its “50 Best Lamb Dishes In The World”. This Croatia-based food guide has listed some Indian foods and restaurants in its various lists. In the ‘best lamb dishes’, two Indian dishes - Roghan Josh and Galouti Kebab, have been named at number 23 and 26 respectively with the final ratings of 4.4 out of 5. (Images courtesy: Canva)

Roghan Josh is a Kashmiri curry made with lamb meat, whole and ground spices in a rich gravy of yoghurt and onions. It doesn’t use tomatoes but has a unique taste in it that comes from the spices and the time used in cooking this dish. This curry is prepared in mustard oil and is infamous for its red colour that comes from the Kashmiri red chillies. It is believed that Roghan Josh is the result of Persian cuisine’s influence and came via Samarkand.

These kebabs are quite famous for their origin and are said to melt in the mouth. As per a popular legend, these kebabs were made for the Nawab Asad-ud-Daula who was known for his love for meat delicacies. As he was toothless, the Nawab wished for a kebab that could easily melt in the mouth as he had no tooth left for chewing the meat. Thus, the Khansama or the chef made a kebab by tenderizing the minced lamb meat with raw papaya along with a melange of traditional spices. He shaped the meat in the shape of small tikkis which were cooked on a tawa kept on tandoor. When the Nawab ate these kebabs, he became a fan of these and thus there were called Galouti Kebabs, with the word Galouti meaning ‘melt-in-the-mouth’.

As per the list shared by Taste Atlas, Turkey’s Iskender Kebap and Cag Kebabi have been placed at number 1 and 2 respectively. While Kebab Torsh from Iran and Khashlama from Georgia have gained the 3rd and 4th spots. Everyone’s favourite Doner Kebab has gained the 5th spot in the list.