Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Julia's Cuisine

From Scratch Cooking Made Easy

  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers, Dips & Drinks
    • Breads, Rolls, Muffins & Loaf Cakes
    • Breakfast & Brunch
    • Main Courses
      • Beef & Pork
      • Chicken & Turkey
      • Fish & Seafood
      • Pasta & Pizza
      • Vegeterian
    • Salads & Sides
    • Soups & Sauces
    • Sweets
  • Quick Dinners
  • About
  • Privacy Policy

September 19, 2022 By Julia Pinney 2 Comments

Chicken Jalfrezi Recipe

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

This Chicken Jalfrezi Recipe is a dinner you need to make! Tender pieces of chicken wrapped up in a spiced tomato sauce with bell peppers. Serve over Basmati rice for your perfect Indian inspired dinner.

Chicken jalfrezi in a bowl.
Chicken Jalfrezi Recipe

Here’s a recipe that’s been going on our dinner table for a long time. Yes, it appeared on the Blog back in 2015 but was removed in 2020 due to lack of proper photos. I finally took the time to get this recipe back on the Blog.

My version of Chicken Jalfrezi is less spicy than traditional Jalfrei recipes. I used dried chilies in this recipe. Traditionally Jalfrezi uses fresh green chilies, which are quite hot. So, although this recipe doesn’t follow the exact traditional method of a Chicken Jalfrezi, it still bring a little heat to the table and is a great dinner.

Chicken Jalfrezi on a black tea towel.
Chicken Jalfrezi

What makes This a Great Dinner Recipe

  • Flavour – By marinading the chicken and making a sauce from scratch, this chicken dinner is full of deep and rich flavours.
  • Can make ahead– Although this is a time consuming dish to make, it can be made in advance. In fact, it’s even better the next day.
  • Cooked on the stovetop – All of the cooking is done on the stovetop and no special equipment is required.
Chicken Jalfrezi in a skillet.
Chicken Jalfrezi Recipe

Ingredients

FOR THE SAUCE

  • Onion – I used a large white onion
  • Water – water is used in this recipe to cook down the onion
  • Can tomatoes – I used a large can of whole tomatoes
  • Spices – Ground coriander, cumin and turmeric
  • Chilies – I used dried chilies for this recipe
  • Garlic – I used fresh minced garlic4 crushed garlic cloves
  • Oil – my choice was olive oil
  • Seasonings – salt and pepper

FOR THE CHICKEN AND REST OF THE DISH

  • Chicken – I used bonesless, skinless chicken breast
  • Peppers – In this recipe, I used both a green and red pepper
  • Onion – I used a white onion
  • Garlic – Fresh minced garlic works best
  • Lemon juice – Fresh squeezed lemon juice for marinading the chicken
  • Oil – olive oil
  • Spices – Ground turmeric, ground coriander, ground cumin and ground garam masala
  • Seasonings – Salt and pepper
  • Herbs – Fresh cilantro/corinader for topping the dish

REMEMBER, The full recipe and instructions is always found at the end of the post in the recipe card.

Ingredients to make Chicken Jalfrezi.
Ingredients to make Chicken Jalfrezi

Instructions – for The Sauce

  1. Cook and blend the onions – Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the olive oil, garlic, chilies and then the onion. Cook over high heat to brown the onions for about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the water. Continue to cook uncovered until about half of the water has evaporated and the onions are soft. Approximately 5 – 8 minutes. Remove from heat and blend until smooth. Set aside.
  2. Finish the sauce – Next, heat the spices and olive oil in a saucepan. Blend the can tomatoes until smooth and then add to the spices. Cook for a few minutes until flavours are blended. Remove from heat.
Sliced onions on a wooden board.
Slice onions for the sauce
Frying garlic and chilies in a skillet.
Fry the garlic and chilies
Adding onions to a skillet.
Add onions to the skillet
Cooked onions in a skillet.
Cook down the onions for about 10 minutes
Onions in a skillet.
Add water and reduce by half
Blended onion mixture in a glass bowl.
Blend the onion mixture
Blended tomatoes in a bowl.
Blend the tomatoes
Adding spices to a hot skillet.
Add the spices to a hot skillet
Spices cooking in a skillet.
Stir the spices until fragrant, about a minute
Making jalfrezi sauce in a skillet.
Add the tomatoes and onion mixture back to the skillet
Jalfrezi sauce in a skillet.
Simmer for about 5 minutes

instructions – For The Chicken

  1. Marinade chicken – Combine the chicken to a large glass bowl with the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, coriander, turmeric, cumin, garlic, salt and pepper. Give it a good stir to coat the chicken completely. Cover and refrigerate for one hour up to overnight
  2. Brown the chicken – Add the chicken to a large skillet set over high heat. Toss around for just a few minutes and remove chicken and add it to the sauce.
  3. Cook the peppers – In the same skillet you seared the chicken, add the peppers and onions. Toss well and let cook for about 8 minutes until soft. Add the peppers to the sauce and stir well.
  4. Reduce heat and simmer – Leave the dish to simmer and allow the chicken to cook fully. Cover and leave for about 15 minutes.
  5. Garnish and serve – Add the garam masala and fresh cilantro and stir well. Remove from heat and serve with rice or couscous.
Marinade chicken in a glass bowl.
Marinade chicken
Sliced pepper and onions.
Chop the peppers and onions
Browning chicken in a skillet.
Brown the chicken
Cooking peppers in a skillet.
Cook the peppers
Adding chicken to a jalfrezi sauce.
Add the chicken to the sauce
Chicken jalfrezi in a skillet.
Add peppers and finish the dish

Recipe Tips

  • Read entire recipe before starting – I think this is stating the obvious, but please read the entire recipe before starting to make this dish. There are many ingredients and steps and it will help the dish come together quicker.
  • Marinade time – Don’t skip the marinade time! It’s important to get full flavour for this dish. The recommended marinade time is one hour. But you could even do it the night before for extra flavour.
  • Prep ahead – This is a time consuming dish, they are many different steps requiring cooking in different pans, marinating, etc.
Chicken jalfrezi in a bowl with a black tea towel.
Chicken Jalfrezi Recipe

Substitutions

  • Chicken breast – I used white chicken meat for this recipe, but you could use boneless skinless chicken thighs if you prefer dark meat.
  • Can tomatoes – This recipe used whole can tomatoes, you can use can chopped tomatoes as well.
  • Peppers – I used a mix of red and green bell peppers. Any colour will work. You can just use one kind or even yellow or orange.
  • Cilantro – You can leave out the cilantro or opt to use fresh parsley instead.
  • Chilies – I used dried chilies for this dish. However, you can use red pepper flakes, fresh green chilies or any type of chili that you like. Just keep in mind that the heat of the dish will depend on what kind of chili pepper you add to the dish.
Chicken jalfrezi in a bowl.
Spiced Chicken Jalfrezi

What To Serve With This dish

  • Flatbread Pizza Dough
  • Stovetop Nann Bread
  • Homemade Chapatis
  • Curried Peas
  • Onion Bhajis with Spicy Mangy Chutney
  • Toasted Almond Basmati Rice
Close up of chicken jalfrezi in a skillet.
Chicken Jalfrezi

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Garam Masala?

This is actually a purchased spice blend. Commonly using cinnamon, peppercorns, cardamom, mustard seeds, coriander seeds. cloves, and nutmeg. It enhances the overall flavour in the dish.

What is Chicken Jalfrezi?

Chicken jalfrezi traditionally is spiced chicken dish made with green chilies and stir fried bell peppers.

over head table view of the chicken tikka masala
Chicken Tikka Masala
close up of the indian butter chicken
Indian Butter Chicken
Red Thai Chicken Curry in a Bowl
Red Thai Chicken Curry

Chicken jalfrezi in a bowl.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Chicken Jalfrezi

Chicken Jalfrezi is a dinner you need to make! Tender pieces of chicken wrapped up in a spiced tomato sauce with bell peppers. Serve over Basmati rice for your perfect Indian inspired dinner.
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time55 mins
Marinade Time1 hr
Total Time2 hrs 15 mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: chicken, dinner, indian food
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 287kcal
Author: Julia Pinney

Ingredients

For the Sauce

  • 1 large onion roughly chopped
  • 1 large can tomatoes
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 4 crushed garlic cloves
  • 4 chilies finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Other

  • 1 1/2 lbs chicken breast cut into slices
  • 1 large red pepper thinly sliced
  • 1 onion thinly sliced
  • cloves garlic crushed
  • juice of one lemon
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon coriander
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 2 tablespoons garam masala
  • salt and pepper
  • Large bunch of fresh coriander chopped
US Customary – Metric

Instructions

For the sauce

  • Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the olive oil, garlic, chilies and then the onion. Cook over high heat to brown the onions for about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the water. Continue to cook uncovered until about half of the water has evaporated and the onions are soft. Approximately 5 – 8 minutes. Remove from heat and blend until smooth. Set aside.
  • Next, heat the spices and olive oil in a saucepan. Blend the can tomatoes until smooth and then add to the spices. Cook for a few minutes until flavours are blended. Remove from heat.

For the chicken and remaining dish

  • Combine the chicken to a large glass bowl with the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, coriander, turmeric, cumin, garlic, salt and pepper. Give it a good stir to coat the chicken completely. Cover and refrigerate for one hour up to overnight.
  • Add the chicken to a large skillet set over high heat. Toss around for just a few minutes and remove chicken and add it to the sauce.
  • In the same skillet you seared the chicken, add the peppers and onions. Toss well and let cook for about 8 minutes until soft. Add the peppers to the sauce and stir well.
  • Leave the dish to simmer and allow the chicken to cook fully. Cover and leave for about 15 minutes.
  • Add the garam masala and fresh cilantro and stir well. Remove from heat and serve with rice or couscous.

Notes

The chicken can be marinaded overnight if you have the time.
Nutrition Facts
Chicken Jalfrezi
Amount Per Serving (1 serving)
Calories 287 Calories from Fat 108
% Daily Value*
Fat 12g18%
Saturated Fat 2g13%
Trans Fat 1g
Cholesterol 96mg32%
Sodium 184mg8%
Potassium 821mg23%
Carbohydrates 10g3%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 5g6%
Protein 34g68%
Vitamin A 1198IU24%
Vitamin C 84mg102%
Calcium 37mg4%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Thanks For Stopping by and Hope To See You Soon!

Share the Love

  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Other Recipes You'll Enjoy

Filed Under: Chicken & Turkey, Main Courses, Recipes Tagged With: chicken dinner, Indian cuisine

Subscribe to the Weekly Newsletter and New Recipes!

Enter your email address to subscribe Julia's Cuisine and receive notifications of new posts by email as well as a weekly Newsletter!

Previous Post: « Glazed Carrot Bundt Cake
Next Post: Pumpkin & Squash Recipes To Make This Fall »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. sara says

    October 28, 2022 at 9:46 pm

    It would really help to separate out the ingredients for the marinade rather than just saying other! The recipe jumps around too much making it difficult to follow the order. The chillis should also be in the sauce section rather than ‘other’ – mine have just gone in the marinade!

    Reply
    • Julia Pinney says

      October 29, 2022 at 7:41 am

      Hi Sara,
      Thanks for the input on the recipe, greatly appreciated. I’ve just read through the entire recipe and instructions both in the blog post section as well as in the recipe card. I’m unsure of where you’re referring to? I’ve made this dish with varying options over the years, with the dried chilies in the marinade, in the sauce and in both. To be completely honest, it doesn’t really change much when it comes to the flavour of the dish. I hope this helps. I going to reread it over again to see where the confusion is. Thanks Sara.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Get to know me

Hi, I'm Julia! Making from scratch meals easy and feeding a family every day! Grab a cup, take a seat and see what's cooking! Read More…

Get social

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Sign Up For The Weekly Newsletter!

Copyright © 2023 · Divine theme by Restored 316