Chicken Jalfrezi Recipe

The word 'Jalfrezi' means a type of Indian technique through which a hot & spicy curry is made with fried meat and vegetables. In Bengali, 'Jal or jhal' means spicy and 'frezi' means stir-fried. So you would be correct in saying a Jalfrezi is an Indian-styled stir fry. 

Traditionally this meal was cooked with leftover meats and was quite spicey, the restaurant version has been toned down for the English palette but it still has some heat. if you prefer you can leave out some of the chillies or add more to suit your heat preference.  

As with most Indian food, the meat can be swapped out for any you prefer although this is one dish in which chicken does work well. 

Enough for 1 person

Ingredients

1 x chef spoon of  vegetable oil
1 x chicken breast cut into bite-sized chunks

1 x medium onion cut into 3cm chunks
1/2 x green pepper, deseeded and cut into rough 3cm chunks
2 x teaspoons of chopped coriander

2 x birds' eye green chillies, Split into strips
1 x garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 x fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 x teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 x teaspoon  garam masala
1 x teaspoon  ground turmeric
1/2 x teaspoon salt
2 x heaped tablespoons of natural yoghurt

200ml cold water

 

Method

Heat a wok or large balti bowl, if you have neither then use a large frying pan over high heat.

Add the onions and pepper and dry fry until the pepper and onion just start to catch. 

Add the oil, garlic, chopped chillies, and spices, then stir-fry for 2 minutes. Don’t let the garlic or spices burn or they will add a bitter flavour to the sauce. 

Next, add the chicken pieces and tomatoes and cook for 3 or 4 minutes.

Pour over the yoghurt and the coriander leaving a little for garnish. Add enough water to obtain quite a running sauce at this stage and cook for about 8 - 10 minutes, occasionally stirring until the chicken is tender and cooked through and the sauce has reduced by about a third. The yoghurt may separate to start with but continue to stir this back into the sauce.

The final result should be a thick rich sauce.

When the chicken is cooked transfer it to a serving dish and garnish with the remaining coriander. You can add a whole fresh green chilli and a twist of lemon for the presentation.