Chicken Jalfrezi

Chicken Jalfrezi doesn’t have a long tradition in India. It was a dish developed by cooks of the British Raj as a way to use up leftovers using a cooking technique introduced by the Chinese. Instead of the braising the chicken and peppers together for hours like most curries, the ingredients for Jalfrezi are quickly stir-fried. This not only makes it a viable weeknight meal, but it also preserves the flavor and texture of the peppers and onions.

Chinese immigrants have worked their way to the far corners of the Earth, so it’s no surprise that some settlers ended up in nearby India. In the US the migration led to American-Chinese dishes like Orange Chicken and Chop Suey, and in India, it created Indian-Chinese mashups like Chicken Jalfrezi and Gobi Manchurian.

Like most dishes in the Indian culinary repertoire, every cook has their way of making Chicken Jalfrezi. Most versions include a protein, peppers, onions, and tomatoes that are stir-fried together with aromatics and spices like ginger, garlic, cloves, and cumin seeds. 

For my version, I like to add two spices that give it a unique flavor profile, setting it apart from other Indian curries. The first is star anise. It’s a nod to its Chinese roots, and the fragrant spice adds another dimension to the more familiar Indian spices without becoming a distraction. 

The second spice is Nigella seeds. Known in Hindi as Kalonji, the spice is often mislabeled black caraway, black cumin or black onion seeds. It has an anise-like flavor with hints of onion, but Nigella Sativa is unrelated to caraway, cumin or onion. They can be a little hard to find, but Nigella seeds add a wonderful fresh herbal flavor that takes this dish to a whole new level. If you can’t find them in your local store, try checking online.

Chicken Jalfrezi is a stir-fry, so it’s essential to have all your prep done ahead of time as it comes together quickly once you start cooking. I start by browning the chicken to render out some fat and develop some brown fond on the chicken. Then, I remove the chicken to keep it from getting overcooked. 

The whole spices get fried in the fat to bring out their flavors before the ginger and garlic are fried until they start to caramelize. Then, the bulk of the veggies go in and are stir-fried until they’re vibrant in color, but no so long that they lose their texture. Finally, the chicken goes back in with some tomato puree to simmer just long enough for the flavors to meld. 

The mixture is seasoned with garam masala and salt, and I like to add a bit of sugar to balance the tartness of the tomatoes, as well as some cayenne pepper to kick up the heat. 

I like to serve Chicken Jalfrezi with naan, or pulao, but I sometimes serve this over pasta. If you have a little more time and feel like turning this into a feast, it’s delicious with Chicken Biryani and a side of Eggplant Curry.