Chicken Jalfrezi In 30 Minutes

Chicken jalfrezi is on every single Indian restaurant menu for a reason. It’s delicious. Now you can make it at home. In 30 minutes. Start to finish. Any night of the week.

The flavours are restaurant worthy. Lush sauce. Bold flavours. Big chunks of lightly charred peppers and onions. And the bite of green chilies. My kind of dish.

This is an old recipe. From back in early 2018. The early days of glebekitchen. I’m dusting it off and bringing it forward.

Because I believe. I want you try it. Something a little different. Something a bit counter-intuitive. But something that works. Works well.

You could buy a jar of jalfrezi sauce. Toss in some chicken. And hope for the best. Pretty sure best isn’t the word that will come out of your mouth though.

Or you can make this chicken jalfrezi. It will surprise you I think.

Char your peppers a bit for great chicken jalfrezi

There’s a secret to making a good chicken jalfrezi. Took me forever to figure it out.

You have to scorch the green peppers when you fry them. Get them to almost blister. Like when you roast chiles.

That gives the dish its signature, smoky flavour. It’s critical. No char. Lower average. With char. Seriously delicious. The difference is not subtle.

It’s dead easy to do. Heat your oil. Pop some nice big green pepper pieces into the pan skin side down. And wait.

After about two minutes take a peek at one. If you see a bit of blistering. A little char. Then you know you’ve arrived.

You can start tossing them around the pan. Secure in the knowledge your jalfrezi is going to be great.

Onions make the sauce

That’s the thing about Indian cooking. It’s almost always the onions. Almost. I am a firm believer onions have no place in a top notch butter chicken . Seriously.

Traditional Indian cooking relies on browning the onions. Lots of onions. And that takes time.

Restaurants get around this by making a thing called curry base or base gravy. It’s basically a curry flavoured onion soup. Making it takes time. A couple hours.

30 minute curry in a hurry is restaurant style. Streamlined. It has a really fast version of the onion soup.

Uses all the restaurant techniques. Gets restaurant results. Not perfect maybe. But really, really close.

And it takes 30 minutes. From the time you open the fridge. To the time you put it on the table.

It uses the least useful kitchen appliance almost everyone owns. The microwave. A 10 minute zap at around 70 percent gets you cooked onions. There’s a point to the microwave after all.

Some water and a quick trip to the blender gets you base gravy. And restaurant technique does the rest.

Why this works

Restaurants don’t make big pots of curry and hope people show up. Can you imagine?

51 dishes on the menu. 51 big pots of expensive curry simmering on the world’s largest stove.

That is a formula for bankruptcy. There’s no way anyone can run a restaurant like that. Plus who would want a chicken jalfrezi that has been simmering for 5 hours…

What they actually do is cook to order. And they have figured out ways to make that work.

They use curry gravy. And it’s when the curry gravy hits hot fat that magic happens. Not really magic. The Maillard reaction. Food science.

You don’t have to understand it. It’s what makes a lot of things take better. It’s like MSG. Except it’s not controversial. Nobody hates on the Maillard reaction.

The curry gravy is onion soup. Remember that. So the first 20 minutes of sweating onions is already done. The onions are cooked.

That’s why this works. You go straight to browning mode. And that saves a ton of time.

30 minutes is not a challenge

I can make this dish in 30 minutes. I’m comfortable with the recipe. I cook a lot. I’m pretty fast in the kitchen.

If that sounds like you then I think you can do it too. 30 minutes is totally doable. But this isn’t a contest.

If it takes you 34 minutes that’s OK. 36 minutes? That’s good too. Don’t rush to hit a number. That just doesn’t make sense. It really doesn’t matter.

What matters is you create something you enjoy eating. And hopefully making. Cooking is supposed to be fun. Always remember that.

Chicken jalfrezi in 30 minutes – curry in a hurry

At the end of the day you have a choice to make. You can open up a jar of sauce. Add some chicken. Cook.

That’s going to take you 15 minutes. It’s almost certain to disappoint. And it isn’t going to be cheap.

Or you can spend an extra 15 minutes and make something. Something worth eating. A meal you are happy to see on your plate. A meal you can serve your friends.

I know what I choose. No contest…

30 minute chicken jalfrezi

Ingredients

The onion paste

• 2 cups onions – coarsely chopped
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup water

Chicken jalfrezi

• 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 3 pieces per thigh.
• 1 green pepper – cut into 3/4 inch pieces
• 1 medium onion – cut into 3/4 inch pieces
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp tandoori masala
• 2 tsp mild kashmiri chili powder
• 1 tsp kasoor methi – dried fenugreek leaves
• 1 tsp kosher salt – use a bit less if you are using table salt
• 2 tbsp garlic ginger paste – see notes
• 1 1/2 tbsp minced cilantro stems
• 1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste diluted to the consistency of tomato sauce
• 2 green chilies – halved lengthwise, seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 6 cherry tomatoes – halved

Instructions

The onion paste

• Place the 2 cups of chopped onions in a microwave safe dish and cover loosely. Microwave at 70 percent until the onions are soft and translucent. This takes 10 minutes in my 1100 watt microwave. I can’t predict how long it will take in yours…
• Remove the onions from the microwave. Be careful. They will be hot. Let them cool slightly. Place the onions, 2 tbsp vegetable oil and 1 cup of warm water in a blender and puree until smooth. Set aside.

Chicken jalfrezi

• In a small bowl, combine the cumin, coriander, turmeric, tandoori masala, Kashmiri chili powder, kasoor methi and salt. This is your spice mix.
• Heat 4 tbsp vegetable oil in a pot over medium heat until it shimmers.
• Add the green pepper, skin side down. Cook for about 2 minutes. Add the remaining chopped onion and continue to cook until the onion starts to brown on the edges and the green pepper scorches a bit. You really want the colour on the green pepper skin. It’s key to the taste of a jalfrezi.
• Add the garlic ginger paste and cilantro stems and cook until the garlic ginger paste stops spluttering.
• Turn the heat to medium low. Add the spice mix and stir continuously until it starts to smell really good – around 30-40 seconds. Watch it carefully. If you burn the spices at this point you have to start over. It will stick a bit. That’s OK – you will deglaze with the tomato mixture.
• Add the diluted tomato paste and stir to combine. Turn the heat up to medium. Cook for 1 minute, scraping up any spice mix that stuck to the pan..
• Add the onion paste and turn the heat up to medium high. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 4 minutes. It will darken a bit as it cooks. Don’t worry if it seems a bit dry. The chicken will release juices as it cooks and you should be left with a nice amount of sauce.
• Turn the heat down to medium low. Add the chicken and green chilies and stir. Cover and simmer until the chicken is done. It’s done when you measure the internal temperature and it says 170F, about 10-12 minutes. An instant read thermometer is a handy thing to have here…
• If the curry is a bit thick add a bit of water or chicken stock and stir. Add the cherry tomatoes. Let the chicken jalfrezi simmer another minute or so. Taste for salt and adjust as needed. It may be a bit under salted at this point.
• Garnish with a bit of cilantro if desired.

Notes

Nutrition

30 minute chicken jalfrezi

Ingredients

The onion paste

• 2 cups onions - coarsely chopped
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup water

Chicken jalfrezi

• 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 3 pieces per thigh.
• 1 green pepper - cut into 3/4 inch pieces
• 1 medium onion - cut into 3/4 inch pieces
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp tandoori masala
• 2 tsp mild kashmiri chili powder
• 1 tsp kasoor methi - dried fenugreek leaves
• 1 tsp kosher salt - use a bit less if you are using table salt
• 2 tbsp garlic ginger paste - see notes
• 1 1/2 tbsp minced cilantro stems
• 1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste diluted to the consistency of tomato sauce
• 2 green chilies - halved lengthwise, seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 6 cherry tomatoes - halved

Instructions

The onion paste

• Place the 2 cups of chopped onions in a microwave safe dish and cover loosely. Microwave at 70 percent until the onions are soft and translucent. This takes 10 minutes in my 1100 watt microwave. I can’t predict how long it will take in yours…
• Remove the onions from the microwave. Be careful. They will be hot. Let them cool slightly. Place the onions, 2 tbsp vegetable oil and 1 cup of warm water in a blender and puree until smooth. Set aside.

Chicken jalfrezi

• In a small bowl, combine the cumin, coriander, turmeric, tandoori masala, Kashmiri chili powder, kasoor methi and salt. This is your spice mix.
• Heat 4 tbsp vegetable oil in a pot over medium heat until it shimmers.
• Add the green pepper, skin side down. Cook for about 2 minutes. Add the remaining chopped onion and continue to cook until the onion starts to brown on the edges and the green pepper scorches a bit. You really want the colour on the green pepper skin. It’s key to the taste of a jalfrezi.
• Add the garlic ginger paste and cilantro stems and cook until the garlic ginger paste stops spluttering.
• Turn the heat to medium low. Add the spice mix and stir continuously until it starts to smell really good - around 30-40 seconds. Watch it carefully. If you burn the spices at this point you have to start over. It will stick a bit. That’s OK - you will deglaze with the tomato mixture.
• Add the diluted tomato paste and stir to combine. Turn the heat up to medium. Cook for 1 minute, scraping up any spice mix that stuck to the pan..
• Add the onion paste and turn the heat up to medium high. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 4 minutes. It will darken a bit as it cooks. Don’t worry if it seems a bit dry. The chicken will release juices as it cooks and you should be left with a nice amount of sauce.
• Turn the heat down to medium low. Add the chicken and green chilies and stir. Cover and simmer until the chicken is done. It’s done when you measure the internal temperature and it says 170F, about 10-12 minutes. An instant read thermometer is a handy thing to have here…
• If the curry is a bit thick add a bit of water or chicken stock and stir. Add the cherry tomatoes. Let the chicken jalfrezi simmer another minute or so. Taste for salt and adjust as needed. It may be a bit under salted at this point.
• Garnish with a bit of cilantro if desired.

Notes

Nutrition

Sometimes delicious is just staring you in the face. This is one of those times. Indian onion salad. Move over Yucatan pickled onions. There’s a new sheriff in town.

Onions. Chilies. Spice. Cilantro. Don’t think you need Indian onion salad in your life? I think you’re wrong…

Indian onion salad is not what you might think

Onion salad. Sounds a bit challenging. I get that. Crazy talk even. Who would want to eat a bunch of raw onions?

Turns out I would. And I bet you will too.

It’s not what you think. The flavours are balanced. Mellow even. With great crunch. A little spicy. But not overpowering.

It works. It works really well actually. Thanks to a little bit of cooking voodoo.

There’s a way to take the bite out of raw onions

I learned this one from Rick Bayless. And it’s a game changer.

Ever wonder by your pico isn’t like the one they serve at your favourite taqueria? Why it’s too sharp?

It’s because they know something. Something you need to learn. De-flaming onions. Sounds exotic. But it’s so simple it’s ridiculous.

Wash that raw onion bite down the drain. That’s it. Seriously. It’s that easy. From ouch to yum in 15 seconds.

Just put the onions in whatever container you have that has holes in it. Colander. Sieve. Steamer basket. Doesn’t really matter.

Stick the onions under the faucet. Run cold water over them for 15 seconds. Done.

Done enough for me anyway. I don’t want onions with absolutely zero bite. If I wanted zero bite I’d use apples. Don’t try that. Apples suck in this recipe.

A perfect match for tandoori chicken

They say necessity is the mother of invention. Truth be told in my case it was more desperation than necessity.

Had friends coming for a backyard BBQ. Was going to make shashlik. Somehow managed to forget to get green peppers. Yes. I am really that dumb.

No time to run to the store. So I started thinking. What could go really well with tandoori chicken?

I came up with Indian onion salad. Wasn’t really all that hopeful at first. Bit of a dinner party hail mary. But sometimes things go your way.

Cool salad against hot tandoori chicken. Crunch from the onion. Bite from the green chilies.

Zing from the lemon. Complexity from the spice. And the way the juices from the tandoori chicken mix with the Indian onion salad dressing.

It was a hit. And so it became a blog post.

Indian onion salad makes for a killer roti chicken tikka roll

I really like Indian onion salad under tandoori chicken. Or chicken tikka. It’s my new go to.

It’s great with poppadum too. Forget that radioactive red onion stuff. This is way better.

Works with tandoori chicken shashlik . That’s a good one. Think stylized Indian fajitas.

But my favourite is on a chicken tikka sandwich. Fast. Easy. And seriously, seriously delicious. The perfect Tuesday night dinner.

Fresh roti. That’s another word for chapatti if you’re wondering. A layer of Indian onion salad. Chicken tikka.

And a creamy green chili cilantro drizzle. That is one serious Indian-ish taco. Always a hit around here. Might have to do a blog post for that one too.

Oh, and if you’re wondering – tikka is just a fancy name for boneless tandoori chicken. Little pieces. Cooked on a skewer. There’s no other difference.

Not sure why tandoori chicken bites wasn’t a good enough name.

Indian or Indian-ish?

There is a straight up Indian onion salad. It’s called laccha pyaaz. That’s where I got the idea. But this isn’t quite the same.

I’m a bit of a heretic. Not so concerned about lines. I have a whole series on Indian-ish. Stuff that doesn’t quite fit the mold. Indian inspired.

This is laacha pyaaz meets pico de gallo. Sort of. When you just make stuff up in a blind panic it’s a little hard to categorize.

I’ve dropped a few ingredients. Changed some other ones. This one is not as assertive as the full blown Indian version.

Which is unusual for me. I’m a big fan of the flavour sledgehammer. But I think it’s actually a strength in this case. Makes it more versatile.

It’s killer with tandoori chicken. The way the spicy drippings work with the cool crunch of onion is amazing.

But I’d serve this with a roast chicken. I’d put it on a grilled pork chop. Anything grilled really. On a sandwich. Or a composed salad. Indian-ish makes it super versatile.

Make Indian onion salad

This is good stuff. I think it’s great stuff. It’s my new go to for any time I make tandoori chicken.

I get it’s a little odd sounding. Not immediately intuitive. So I’m asking you to take a leap of faith.

I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Indian onion salad with tandoori chicken. It’s good living. Seriously good living in fact.

Indian(ish) onion salad

Ingredients

• 1 Large red onion thinly sliced (10 ounces or around 300 grams)
• 2 green chilies seeded and finely chopped
• 1/3 cup cilantro minced
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt less if using fine table salt
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil any neutral oil (canola etc)
• 1/2 lemon juiced

Instructions

• Slice the onions. Thin. I mean like 1/16 of an inch. 1/8 at the outside. This is the hardest part. A sharp knife helps a lot here.
• De-flame the onions. Place the onions in a sieve and run under cold water for 15 seconds. This makes a huge difference. Takes the bite right out of the onions. Kind of magic. Don’t skip this step. Do this when you make pico too.
• In a bowl large enough to hold all the ingredients combine everything (onions, chilies, cilantro, cumin, Kashmiri chili powder, salt, pepper, neutral oil and lemon juice) and mix thoroughly to combine. Tongs are perfect for this. Tongs are perfect for a lot of things. Get a good set of tongs. Your life will be better for it.
• Let stand for an hour at room temperature. This lets the onions soften and everything come together. It winds up sort of like pickled onions from a texture perspective.
• Taste and adjust salt and lemon. Make some chicken tikka and smile.

Nutrition