Jalfrezi is an Indian dish and style of cooking that involves blending spices and vegetables with a main ingredient like meat or paneer. The dish is made by sautéing onions, peppers, and spices before adding the main ingredient and tomatoes. The heat can be adjusted with chiles and it can be served with rice or Indian bread.
Jalfrezi is an Indian dish which can also be considered a style of cooking. It involves blending a fairly standard list of spices and veggies along with a main ingredient like meat, paneer, or even just more veggies. Spices include many Indian classics such as turmeric, coriander, cloves and cumin. Some spices are fried in oil before the vegetables are added, while others are added after all other ingredients. The vegetables that make up the base of the dish include peppers, onions and tomatoes, although others can be added too – such as carrots or aubergines.
The type of meat in the dish can vary greatly. In the UK, where the dish is very popular, chicken is very often the key ingredient. A Pakistani version uses mutton. Within India, variations include the use of paneer or even tofu. The spices in the authentic dish are intentionally heavy because, originally, jalfrezi was a recipe used with leftover meats and vegetables and the spices masked all the flavours.
Making jalfrezi starts with heating oil or ghee in a pan and using it to saute the onions, peppers, and any hot peppers included. After they are cooked, the turmeric, cumin and coriander are added to the pan and roasted until they have released their oils and become aromatic. Ensuring the spices have time to roast in the oil is an important aspect that can affect the flavor of the final dish.
Next, the main ingredient of jalfrezi is added. While chicken or other meats can hold up well to the entire cooking process, items like paneer or tofu just need to be browned and then removed from the pan to prevent them from falling apart. The meat should be browned on all sides to provide some texture and flavor, although it doesn’t need to be cooked through at this point.
Tomatoes, which are a key ingredient in jalfrezi, are added to the pan along with any remaining spices, such as ginger or garlic. Fresh or canned tomatoes can be used, but they must be diced and some of the liquid kept and added to the pan as well. The whole mixture then simmers until the chicken is done cooking and the liquid in the pan, which helps combine the flavors of the spices, has reduced some.
The heat of the dish can be adjusted by adding more or less chiles, which can also be omitted altogether. The completed jalfrezi can be served with rice or in a bowl with Indian bread. Depending on the recipe, yogurt may be added to help reduce the spiciness.
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