Chicken Jalfrezi from Scratch

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a bowl of freshly cooked chicken jalfrezi garnished with coriander leaves ready to serve with mini naan bread

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This easy chicken jalfrezi is a delicious recipe made from scratch of the well loved British Indian classic which is even better when made ahead. One pan and no need for a base sauce. A great fakeaway for a weeknight dinner, which lends itself to batch cooking.

Servings:

Author: Helen Best-Shaw

Prep Time5

Cook Time50

Total Time55

Ingredients

For the chicken

500 g chicken thighs - 1
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp turmeric

For the sauce

1 tbsp ghee or oil
1 large onion
1 green chilli - 2
1 red chilli - 2
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp turmeric
1 can chopped tomatoes
2 tsp ginger paste - 3
2 tsp garlic paste - 3
2 bell peppers - 4
1 tbsp tomato puree / paste

Instructions

Chicken – If needed remove the skin and bone and then cut into bite sized pieces. I find a sharp pair of kitchen scissors is the easiest way to do this.
500 g chicken thighs
Onion – peel, top, tail and dice
Chilli – finely chop, discarding membranes and seeds to remove some of the heat. I nearly always wear prep gloves when preparing chillies as however much you scrub your hands some of the capsicum remains.
Peppers – cut into bit sized pieces discarding the stalk, membranes and seeds.
1 large onion, 1 red chilli, 2 bell peppers, 1 green chilli
Add the chicken, cumin, coriander, turmeric and garam masala to a bowl. Mix well so that the meat is coated. Cover and leave in the fridge for at least half an hour. You can leave this for up to overnight, or about 8 hours.
1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp turmeric
Add ghee or oil to a large frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the chicken, stirring well so that it's cooked on all sides.
1 tbsp ghee or oil
Add onion, peppers and chillies. Fry for a few minutes until onions are fragrant.
Add the remaining spices and the garlic and ginger paste, fry for another minute.
1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp ground cumin, 2 tsp ginger paste, 2 tsp garlic paste
Add tomatoes and tomato puree. add some water the the empty can, swirl to rise and add to the curry. If you prefer a drier curry with a thicker sauce use less water.
Stir well.
Cover, turn the heat right down and simmer for 40 minutes.
1 can chopped tomatoes, 1 tbsp tomato puree / paste
Check the curry, if you want the sauce to thicken, cook for a further 10 minutes with the lid ajar
I like to add a generous knob of butter at the end of cooking to make a glossy sauce and temper the spices.

Notes

1 - Thighs are always my first choice for chicken pieces. They have more flavour and more fat, so they will not dry out when cooking. They are also cheaper than chicken breast.

2 - green finger chillies are popular in Indian restaurant cooking. Just be aware of how hot they are and adjust the quantity according to taste. I’ve used one red and one green.

3 - Prepared garlic and ginger paste - This is central to easy Indian cooking at home, and a massive time saver. Depending where you buy you can buy a jar of mixed ginger and garlic, or individual jars of just the one ingredient. Leftovers can be portioned into an ice cube tray and frozen.

4 - One red and one green for the differing flavours and appearance, but it really does not matter that much.

Storage

This chicken jalfrezi recipe is ideal for making ahead of time and may actually benefit from it, as the flavours have longer to infuse the meat.

Fridge – Allow to cool, and as soon as it is cold pack into an airtight container. You can keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze for 3 months. Defrost (from frozen) and reheat in a pan on the stove top, or heat in the microwave, making sure it is properly hot before serving.

Freezer – Cool and pack into an airtight container. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. To use, defrost and reheat in a pan on the stove top, or heat in the microwave, making sure it is properly hot before serving.

You can increase the quantity of sauce and freeze this separately in the same way.

Hints and tips

Take the time to fry the chicken and spices properly, so that it is golden but still moist.

Adding the right amount of liquid is an art and not an exact science, so do read the notes above. How much you need will depend on your choice of chicken, how you like the sauce and the brand of tomatoes that you use. Generally raw chicken will need much less liquid then using leftovers or ready cooked chicken.

Curries lend themselves very well to batch cooking and it is easy to double this recipe up – I find that when doubling a recipe less liquid is needed. Here, I would use 180% of the recipe quantities rather than 200%.
I don’t recommend halving this recipe – the spice quantities become fiddly and a smaller batch is more likely to dry out. It freezes and reheats so well it is the perfect dish to cook once and eat twice.

• Please note that the nutrition information provided below is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

• Unless stated otherwise cup conversions have been made with an online tool. For accuracy please check with your favoured conversion tool. We recommend buying inexpensive digital kitchen scales.