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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

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.

---

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

---

Frequently Asked Questions

---

---

---

Thanks For Stopping by and Hope To See You Soon!