Chicken Jalfrezi
Born out of the British colonisation of India. This dish is a perfect marriage of fiery pungency of ginger and mustard and a subtle sweetness of chicken and fried vegetables.
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1 kg chicken thighs, cubed
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 2 tsp ginger paste
- 0.5 tsp turmeric powder (haldi/arad)
- 1.5 tsp Kashmiri chilli paste or 1tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
Fried Vegetables
- 1 onion, cut into large chunks
- 1/2 red pepper, cut into large chunks
- 1/2 green pepper, cut into largr chunks
- 3 green chillies, sliced lengthwise
Rich Tomato base
- 2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter) or oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 tomato, diced
- 1 tsp garlic paste
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- 1.5 tsp cumin powder
- 1.5 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1/2 tin plum tomatos, chopped
- 1 tsp tomato puree
- 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
- salt, to taste
- 1 tsp mustard oil
- 1/4 cup water, as required
- 1 tsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken thighs with salt, garlic and ginger paste, turmeric powder and Kashmiri chilli paste.
- Saute the vegetables in smoking hot oil until they brown around the edges but are still crunchy.
- Fry the marinated chicken thighs in batches until they are brown on all sides.
- Once the first batch has fried remove and place on a plate. Repeat until all the chicken thighs has been fried.
- Once all the chicken has been fried, fry cumin seeds in the same oil (you may need to top-up the oil).
- Fry the onions until they have browned around the edges, add the garlic and ginger paste.
- After the garlic and ginger paste become fragrant add cumin powder, coriander powder, chilli powder, tomato ketchup, tinned plum tomatoes, and tomato puree.
- Add 1/4 cup water and reduce down the tomato sauce for 5 – 10 minutes.
- Add the pan fried chicken, including all the juices.
- Simmer until the chicken is cooked, around 5 minutes.
- Add the kasuri methi and the garam masala, followed by the fried vegetables.
- Finish with a drizzle of mustard oil.
- Garnish with coriander leaves. Chalo Kawa!