About Jalfrezi

“Jalfrezi” translates to “hot/spicy stir fry”, where Jal or jhal means hot (spicy) in Bengali/ Bangla & frezi means a stir fry. (It is believed that “frezi” may have been a misspelled or mispronounced word for “fry”).
Jalfrezi is a stir-fried dish that was invented by the Indian-Bangla cooks, as a means to use-up the left over roast chicken. To revive the dry roast chicken, it would be stir-fried with tomatoes, veggies and spices. This new dish gained its identity as Chicken Jalfrezi, meaning a “Spicy Chicken stir-fry”. Though Jalfrezi originated in undivided India it became popular in the UK. It is said that Chicken Jalfrezi is one of the most popular dishes in the British Indian Restaurants in UK. This dish, like the Chicken Tikka Masala has been westernized in a lot of restaurants. So you are likely to find several versions derived from the authentic Jalfrezi. Vegetable, Shrimp & Lamb Jalfrezi too exist on the restaurant menus, each tasting so much different from the other. Jalfrezi is basically a dry dish that has some sauce coated all over the chicken and veggies. Though it does not have a lot of sauce or gravy like a Chicken Curry, it goes well with steamed rice, flavored rice like Turmeric Rice, cumin rice, & with flatbreads like Chapati, Roti or Naan. On occasions we whip up a spicy noodle meal by simply stirring in some cooked noodles or pasta into the chicken jalfrezi. We also make awesome chicken rolls or throw the left overs on the pizza base! One dish but so many ways to relish! This recipe will help you make restaurant quality dish and you may tweak this to make British Indian restaurant style with my tips from the Pro Tips section below.

How to Make Chicken Jalfrezi (Stepwise Photos)

Preparation

  1. First measure your spices and keep them aside. Here are the quantities

1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder ¾ to 1 teaspoon garam masala 1 to 1 ½ teaspoon coriander powder ½ teaspoon cumin powder ½ teaspoon fennel powder (optional) ¼ teaspoon turmeric 1 tablespoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

You will also need (to marinate)

¼ teaspoon black pepper (crushed/ powder) ½ teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder 2 teaspoons lemon juice ¼ teaspoon salt

  1. To a mixing bowl, add 500 to 600 grams of boneless chicken (thighs or breast), black pepper, Kashmiri chilli powder, lemon juice and salt. Coat the chicken with the spices. Cover and rest aside for 15 to 20 mins, until you prepare the other ingredients.
  2. Fine chop ¾ cup onions (1 medium, about100 grams). You will also need ½ tablespoon ginger paste (or grate) & ½ to ¾ tablespoon garlic paste (or grate). ½ cup onions (diced, layers separated) & 1½ cups bell pepper (diced any color), 1 green chilli (optional, deseed & slit). You will need 1¼ cups fresh tomato puree (250 grams or ¾ cup bottled tomato puree – passata). Read notes in the recipe card.

Make Jalfrezi

  1. To a large pan or wok, add 2 tablespoons oil & heat it. Add onions and saute them on a medium heat until golden or light brown. This step takes about 6 to 7 mins.
  2. Stir in the ginger garlic paste. Saute for a minute until aromatic.
  3. Add the chicken and stir fry on a medium heat until pale. This takes about 3 minutes. Make sure you don’t use very high or low heat here.
  4. Add red chilli powder, garam masala, salt, turmeric, fennel powder, coriander powder and cumin powder. Stir fry for another minute.
  5. Pour the tomato puree.
  6. Stir fry until oil begins to separate from the masala. Meanwhile boil ¼ cup water in a small pot.
  7. When you see the oil begins to release from the masala, pour the hot water. If your chicken begins to release a lot of moisture (juices), do not add water. Mix well and cook covered on a low heat until chicken is fully cooked and tender.

Make Jalfrezi

This step is the heart and life of this dish where you stir fry the veggies in a high heat and then add to the chicken. However if you want to make it a one pan dish or aiming to eat low fat, you may skip this step and simply add the bell peppers to the chicken jalfrezi & stir fry in the sauce. But the flavors are completely different. 11. Meanwhile in a wok or pan, heat 1 to 2 tablespoons oil or ghee on a medium heat. Add the slit green chilies, 1 inch ginger juliennes (optional) and 1 broken dried red chili. None of these are added in the restaurants but for a homemade version, these help to mimic the smoky wok flavors to some extent. So if you don’t prefer you may skip them. 12. Increase the heat to high and add bell peppers and onions. Stir fry for 3 to 4 mins until aromatic & slightly tender yet crunchy. Note that ginger can burn if you don’t stir well. 13. Meanwhile check the Chicken, it should be fully cooked and the sauce has to be thick. Add 1 teaspoon sugar (only if using store bought tomato puree) and 1 tablespoon kasuri methi. If there is excess liquid you may evaporate by cooking on a medium heat before proceeding to the next step. 14. Add the stir fried veggies and mix well. Taste test and adjust salt at this stage. 15. Stir fry chicken jalfrezi just for another minute or 2. This is the right consistency with no excess liquid or runny sauce. If you like soft bell pepper, you may cover and cook for a few minutes. Serve Chicken Jalfrezi as side with rice, roti, naan. You can also simply stir in the cooked noodles or pasta.

Pro Tips

To make British restaurant style jalfrezi, leave out the chopped onions & kasuri methi in the recipe and cut down passata to 6 tablespoons. You will saute the ginger garlic and then stir fry the chicken. Add the passata and pour half cup British-Indian restaurant base gravy. If required you may add a splash of water or stock or more gravy. Cook the chicken jalfrezi until thick. Related Recipes

Recipe Card

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