Jalfrezi is a popular recipe with crunchy bell peppers, onions and tomatoes. This recipe is commonly made with chicken or paneer as a vegetarian option. The origins of this dish can be traced back to colonial British India, where cooks would add the leftover meats to the spicy curries. Jalfrezi literally translates to “Jhol” meaning hot/spicy, frezi is fry. Today this dish is commonly found in menus of Indian restaurants in the U.K. Nevertheless it is a delicious, easy recipe with lots of vegetables.
Ingredients Highlights
- Chicken: Jalfrezi is made with boneless skinless pieces of chicken. I tend to gravitate towards chicken thighs was it remains moist and succulent even in high heat. Having said that chicken breast will work with a little bit of marinating. Chop the pieces into cubes about the same size as the peppers.
- Bell peppers: Green and red bell pepper combo are best for this recipe, they add a striking contrast, but you can use yellow orange or whichever you have on hand.
- Onion: we will use onions in two forms. One in the base of the curry and some cubed and added along with the bell peppers. Both red and yellow onion work great for this.
- Garlic + ginger: finely chopped or minced in a food processor.
- Tomatoes: Use fresh Roma/plum, vine, or any other fleshy tomato. I’ve even had success with grape tomatoes. Finely chop or purée them in a food processor to get the saucy consistency.
- Tomato paste: Optional! to introduce a little sweetness.
- Spices: Ground turmeric, red chili powder (or cayenne), coriander, garam masala, Kashmiri chili powder or paprika for color and black pepper are the main spices.
Chicken Jalfrezi
Ingredients
- 2 medium onions, one finely chopped and the other cubed
- 2-3 tbsp avocado or olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter, optional
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs cubed
- 1 medium red bell pepper, cubed
- 1 medium yellow or orange bell pepper
- 1 green bell pepper, cubed
- 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
- 1 inch ginger minced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced, about one heaped teaspoon
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder or mild paprika, for color
- ½-1 tsp hot chili powder as desired
- 1-2 hot green chillies, chopped optional or use as needed
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- chopped cilantro to garnish
- 1 inch julienne ginger, optional garnish
Instructions
- In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat warm the oil. Add the cumin seeds and onion. Sauté until the onions are lightly golden (~7-8 minutes). Add the garlic and ginger and sauté for another minute, until aromatic.
- Add the red and green bell peppers, cubed onion petals (if using), green chili pepper and salt. Sauté for another 4-5 minutes, until the bell peppers have softened, but still crunchy to your liking. If the curry is looks dry or lost all its moisture, add about 2 tbsp-1/4 cup of water and sauté to desired consistency. Take it off the heat. This curry is not meant to be very saucy.
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Love one pot meals lime this, your recipes are so fun and creative yet keep the traditional flavours.
Thank you Sangeeta.