Chicken jalfrezi recipe with step by step photos and a video. Chicken Jalfrezi is an easy restaurant-style, stir-fried curry from Indo-Chinese cuisine. It is made with boneless chicken chunks, bell peppers, and onions, that are stir-fried, and cooked in a flavorful onion-tomato-based sauce seasoned with Indian spices. Make this restaurant-style dish easily at home within 30 minutes. Perfect for busy weeknights. The dish has a spicy and tangy flavor and is often served with Naan, Paratha, or rice.
This flavorful jalfrezi chicken curry tastes similar to what you get at restaurants. The chicken is juicy and tender with stir-fried bell peppers and onions, coated with an onion-tomato sauce flavored with Indian spices.
It is one of the popular dishes among UK Indians and South Asian restaurants. Love to make restaurant-style dishes at home? You may also like this Chilli Chicken Gravy, Chicken Ruby, Dragon Chicken, Chicken Pathia, and Garlic Chicken.
Table of Contents
About Chicken Jalfrezi Recipe
In this recipe post, I am sharing the delicious and easy-to-make Chicken Jalfrezi recipe from scratch. With step-by-step photos and a video guide, you’ll be able to recreate the flavors of your favorite restaurant at home.
Jalfrezi is a thick spicy chicken curry that originated in Bengal. In Bengali, ‘Jal or jhal’ means spicy and ‘frezi‘ means stir-fried. It is a spicy curry made with stir-fried chicken, bell pepper, and onions.
Jalfrezi originated to make use of leftover chicken. Cooking the leftover chicken in tomato-based gravy with crisp stir-fried vegetables originated this new dish Chicken Jalfrezi.
This chicken stir-fry recipe has British influence as it originated when India was under British rule. The cooking process involves the use of Indian spices & Chinese stir-fried techniques. So basically, you can call it an Indo-Chinese recipe.
You can serve this Jalfrezi with fried rice or noodles. Or you can serve it with Naan or Paratha (Indian flatbread).
You may also like these other popular chicken recipes from this website
- Madras Chicken
- Chicken Pathia
- Chicken Ruby
- Chicken Bhuna Masala
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Black Pepper Chicken Stir-Fry
Why You Need This Recipe
- With our easy-to-follow instructions and a recipe video, making Chicken Jalfrezi at home has never been easier.
- One-pot recipe – You can make it in one pot. Easy to clean up.
- Quick and easy – The recipe can be made within 30 minutes.
- Easy to customize – This recipe is made with simple ingredients easily available in your kitchen. Check out the ingredient list below for alternative ingredients.
- Make ahead recipe – You can cook it in advance. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Stays good for 2 days.
- Balanced flavor – You can easily customize the spice level and adjust the ingredients to suit your taste preferences. This is the dish that your whole family can enjoy including the kids.
- Gluten-free
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Chicken – Boneless chicken is preferred to make Jalfrezi curry. You can use either boneless skinless chicken breasts or boneless skinless chicken thighs. I have used boneless chicken breast cut into bite-size pieces.
- Vegetables – For the authentic jalfrezi chicken recipe, bell peppers & onions are used. I have used red and green bell peppers. You can use whatever bell pepper you have on hand. Also, I have used red onions. To substitute use yellow onions.
- Fresh Ginger and garlic cloves – Basics of Indian cuisine.
- Flavoring – Turmeric, ground black pepper, ground coriander, garam masala powder, ground cumin, and salt. You can skip ground cumin if you do not have it.
- Red chili powder – I have used a combination of two different red chili powders. Spicy red chili powder to flavor the dish. You can substitute it with cayenne pepper. Kashmiri red chili powder gives a bright red color to the dish and it is not too spicy. You can substitute it with paprika.
- Oil – Use any neutral flavor oil. I have used sunflower oil.
- Tomatoes – I have used fresh plum tomatoes for this recipe. You can also use canned tomatoes.
- Tomato Ketchup – This enhances the flavor of tomatoes in the curry. Do not skip adding it. You can substitute it with tomato paste.
- Lemon juice – You can substitute it with vinegar.
- Sugar – It balances the acidity of tomatoes. You can skip it.
- Butter – The addition of butter adds richness and enhances the flavor of jalfrezi. This is optional.
- Coriander leaves (Cilantro) – Used to garnish the curry. Skip if you do not have it.
For the detailed list of ingredients & their measurements, please check out the recipe card below.
Cooking Tips
- Stir fry the bell pepper & onions separately. Do not cook them directly by adding them to the curry. This ensures that the veggies remain crisp & are perfectly cooked.
- Stir fry the veggies (bell pepper and onion cubes) until you get some char marks (black spots) over them. This will make the same restaurant-style jalfrezi at home.
- You can grill the vegetables in the oven too.
- Cook the onions until golden. This brings out the sweet flavor of the onions to the curry.
- I have used Kashmiri red chili powder that gives a bright red color to the curry & is less spicy. You can skip it & use normal red chili powder (add it as per taste).
- Kashmiri red chili powder alone cannot make the dish spicy. Add spicy red chili powder to the curry if you prefer spicy.
- The addition of tomato ketchup or tomato paste is a must. Do not skip them.
- Adjust the seasoning as per your taste.
- The authentic jalfrezi curry is thick but you can adjust the consistency of the gravy to your liking.
- You can add green chilli to it while sautéing ginger and garlic. I skipped the addition of green chilies as I was making it for kids.
How to make Chicken Jalfrezi Recipe (Step by step instructions with photos)
Preparations
- Cut the boneless chicken breast into bite-size chunks.
- Chop the veggies & set them aside.
- Keep all the spices & sauces ready.
Making the Restaurant-Style Chicken Jalfrezi Recipe
- Heat 2 tsp of oil in a heavy bottom pan over medium heat. Add the bell pepper & onion cubes.
- Stir-fry bell pepper & onions for 3-4 minutes. It should be crisp-fried. Remove & set it aside.
- Heat 1 tsp of oil in the same pan over medium heat.
- Add onions and saute until the onions are golden.
- Next, add ginger & garlic to it. Stir-fry it for a minute.
- Add chicken & cook until the color of the chicken changes from pink to white.
- Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt, ground cumin, ground coriander, garam masala, & ground black pepper. Cook it for a minute.
- Add tomatoes and tomato ketchup. Combine and cook it for 2 minutes. Cover and cook until tomatoes are soft.
- Add 1/4 cup water and stir. Cover & cook until the chicken is completely cooked.
- Add the stir-fried bell pepper & onions back to the pan. Add lemon juice and sugar (optional). Combine and cook the curry sauce on low-medium heat for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Finally, add butter and coriander leaves. Stir and serve chicken jalfrezi with Naan or rice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Jalfrezi is a stir-fried curry dish that originated in Bengal, India. In Bengali, ‘Jal or jhal’ means spicy and ‘frezi’ means stir-fried. It is a spicy curry made with stir-fried chicken, bell pepper, and onions.
It is a spicy chicken curry. However, you can control the number of spices that go in it. The recipe that I have shared here will give you a mild spicy curry.
Yes, definitely you can. Butter adds richness to the gravy and flavors it. It is added only to give that restaurant-style touch to the curry.
Storage Suggestions
- Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Stays good for 2 days. Reheat and serve it.
- If the curry is too dry, sprinkle some water over it and reheat.
- Store the leftovers within 2 hours of cooking.
- For a longer shelf life, you can store it in freezer. Stays good for a month.
- Before consuming, check for any signs of spoilage like foul smell or black spots. If there are any such signs discard them immediately.
Serving Suggestions
- Serve Jalfrezi with steamed basmati rice or Jeera rice.
- Roti, Paratha, or Naan Bread.
- Indian Pilaf (pulao) or Biryani.
- Sliced bread.
Variations that you can try
- You can make it with prawns instead of chicken to make Prawns Jalfrezi.
- Make Paneer Jalfrezi – You can substitute chicken with paneer and make Paneer Jalfrezi.
- Make Vegetable Jalfrezi – Add some stir-fried vegetables instead of chicken.
- You can make it with any other meat like lamb to make Lamb Jalfrezi.
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Chicken Jalfrezi Recipe
Equipment
- Heavy bottom pan
Ingredients
To make Jalfrezi
- 500 gram boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-size chunks
- 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into cubes
- 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into cubes
- 1 red onion, cut into cubes
- 1 medium size onion, finely chopped
- 2 tsp garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ginger finely chopped
- salt to taste
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder (or use normal red chili powder as per taste.)
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin (optional)
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 4 medium size plum tomatoes, chopped (320 grams)
- 3 tbsp tomato ketchup (or add tomato paste)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped (optiona, for garnishing)
Instructions
Preparations
- Cut the boneless chicken breast into bite-size chunks.
- Chop the vegetables & set them aside.
- Keep all the spices & sauces ready.
Making the chicken jalfrezi
- Heat 2 tsp of oil in a heavy bottom pan over medium heat. Add the bell pepper & onion cubes.
- Stir-fry bell pepper & onions for 3-4 minutes. It should be crisp fried. Remove and set it aside.
- Heat 1 tsp of oil in the same pan over medium heat.
- Add onions and saute until golden.
- Next, add ginger & garlic to it. Stir-fry it for a minute.
- Add chicken & cook until the color of the chicken changes from pink to white.
- Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt, ground cumin, ground coriander, garam masala, & ground black pepper. Cook it for a minute.
- Add tomatoes, & tomato ketchup. Combine and cook it for 2 minutes. Cover & cook until tomatoes are soft.
- Add 1/4 cup water and stir. Cover & cook until the chicken is completely cooked.
- Add the stir-fried bell pepper & onions back to the pan. Add lemon juice and sugar (optional). Combine & cook on low-medium heat for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Finally, add butter (optional) and coriander leaves. Stir and serve chicken jalfrezi with Naan and rice.
Video
Notes
- Stir fry the bell pepper & onions separately. Do not cook them directly by adding them to the curry. This ensures that the veggies remain crisp & are perfectly cooked.
- Stir fry the veggies (bell pepper and onion cubes) until you get some char marks (black spots) over them. This will make the same restaurant-style jalfrezi at home.
- You can grill the vegetables in the oven too.
- Cook the onions until golden. This brings out the sweet flavor from the onions to the curry.
- I have used Kashmiri red chili powder that gives a bright red color to the curry & is less spicy. You can skip it & use normal red chili powder (add it as per taste).
- Kashmiri red chili powder alone cannot make the dish spicy. Add spicy red chili powder to the curry if you prefer spicy.
- The addition of tomato ketchup or tomato paste is a must. Do not skip them.
- Adjust the seasoning as per your taste.
- The authentic jalfrezi curry is thick but you can adjust the consistency of the gravy as per your liking.
- You can add green chilies to it while sautéing ginger and garlic. I skipped the addition of green chilies as I was making it for kids.
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