Homemade Chicken Jalfrezi in a deliciously thick, spicy sauce. I love this for a quick weeknight meal when I’m craving a good curry. Serve it with my quick and easy pilau rice – all ready in 40 minutes.
We love a good curry at home, and you’ll often find me whipping up a quick Thai curry on a busy weeknight, or making a slow cooker curry when we’ve got friends round for dinner. It’s also the number one food I crave when we come back from holiday.
We have so much fun trying all the local cuisines and basically eating everything in sight, but when I get back home, dinner is a saucy curry with lots of rice.
This jalfrezi is a great one to make when you’re craving that spicy-curry kick.
I like to marinate the chicken first with cumin, coriander, turmeric and garam masala. No too long – 10-15 minutes is enough. Then after that, we’re talking 30 minutes from start to finish.
Fry the marinated chicken in a little oil and butter.
Then add in sliced onions, chillies, garlic and ginger before adding the next layer of spices.
We’re using the same spices you used to marinate the chicken (this time to flavour the sauce). We also add in a little salt.
Next in goes chopped peppers, tinned tomatoes, stock and tomato puree. That needs to bubble away for about 10 minutes, then it’s ready to serve.
Lots of spices and a nice kick of heat, with plenty of sauce to soak into the rice.
Speaking of rice – did you know how easy it is to make pilau rice at home? I’ve got the recipe for you here (click on the image to take you to the recipe):
Dish the jalfrezi up with that lovely fragrant Pilau rice, and sprinkle on some red onion and coriander before serving.
What to serve with your curry:
- Homemade Chapati or Garlic Naan
- Saag Aloo from this recipe
- Boiled Rice or Restaurant Style Pilau Rice
- A Fresh Tomato & Onion Salad
- These spicy Lamb Samosa cups make a great starter
- And these Pistachio and White Chocolate Blondies are a great dessert to finish off the meal.
📺 Watch how to make this Chicken Jalfrezi (and the pilau rice too!)
Want to use the Curry Base Gravy Method for this Curry?
Check out the notes section of the recipe card of my Curry Base Gravy to see how I convert this recipe to use a make-ahead curry base.
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Chicken Jalfrezi Recipe
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 3 chicken breasts (about 500g/1.1lbs) chopped into bitesized chunks
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp garam masala
Sauce:
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 large onion peeled and sliced
- 1 red chilli sliced
- 1 green chilli sliced
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 2 tsp minced ginger
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 red bell pepper sliced
- 1 green bell pepper sliced
- 400 g (14 oz) tin chopped tomatoes
- 240 ml (1 cup) chicken stock ensure this is a gluten-free stock if required
- 1 tbsp tomato puree paste for US
To Serve:
- pilau rice or boiled rice
- fresh coriander
- chilli flakes
- sliced red onion
Instructions
- Coat the chicken in the cumin, coriander, turmeric, and garam masala and leave to marinade for 10 minutes, covered in the fridge.3 chicken breasts (about 500g/1.1lbs), 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp coriander, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp garam masala
- Once the chicken has marinated, heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan and add the chicken. Cook on a high heat for 4-5 minutes until the chicken is sealed.1 tbsp sunflower oil, 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- Add the onion to the pan, turn the heat down to low-medium and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, until the onion softens.1 large onion
- Add the red and green chilli, garlic, and ginger and cook for a further 2 minutes.1 red chilli, 1 green chilli, 2 cloves garlic, 2 tsp minced ginger
- Add in the garam masala, turmeric, salt, cumin, and ground coriander. Stir to coat the onions, and cook for a further 2 minutes.1 tsp garam masala, 2 tsp turmeric, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp cumin, 2 tsp ground coriander
- Add in the red and green pepper, tinned tomatoes, chicken stock, and tomato puree.1 red bell pepper, 1 green bell pepper, 400 g (14 oz) tin chopped tomatoes, 240 ml (1 cup) chicken stock, 1 tbsp tomato puree
- Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes until thickened.
- Stir in the fresh coriander and serve with rice, topped with fresh coriander, a few chilli flakes, and some sliced red onion.pilau rice, fresh coriander, chilli flakes, sliced red onion
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
Posted in Sept 2019 updated July 2020 and October 2021 with new hints and tips and for housekeeping reasons.
Another great recipe that can easily be adjusted added extra veggies and spices.
Canada here — all your curry recipes look so delicious and easy to prepare. I would like to make the Chicken Jalfrezi along with the Pilau Rice. I need some help from you to clarify two ingredients id’d in the recipes. (1) for the chicken jalfrezi – does tomato puree paste for US’ mean plain ‘tomato paste?’ (2) what color of cardamom seeds would I use in the pilau rice – green or black? I am not familiar with cooking Indian dishes which we love. Many thanx!
Hi Missy – yes, we say tomato puree in the UK, but it’s tomato paste in the US. It’s basically the concentrated plain tomato paste you can buy in a tube or can.
I use green cardamom in all of my curries – it has a lighter, more citrussy/herby flavour than the more intense, smoky black cardamom.
I made this great curry Saturday 18/1/25 the only thing I added extra was a little more chilli and a teaspoon of cayenne pepper but the curry was spot on, Thank you for sharing 😋 👌 👍.
Oh wow! This was so easy to make. Thank you for the suggestion to make it hotter, which I did. I have a partner who likes his curry hot and up until this recipe and all but one restaurant – none had been hot enough. He absolutely loved it! it was perfect (yes, I did a little dance for joy!) – thank you so much.
Yum Yum and so easy to make
Really delicious. I used thighs and was so tender. Frozen a few portions and was probably even better.