Chicken Jalfrezi is an Indo-Chinese dish. It is a mix-up of the stir fry and curry. Jalfrezi is one of the dishes influenced by Chinese cuisine, just like chicken fried rice, gobi Manchurian, noodles, soups, etc.

Chicken Jalfrezi is a chicken stir fry with vegetables in a spicy, non-creamy tomato sauce. The robust tomato flavor in the sauce is balanced with the right spices, and the subtle taste coming from the bell peppers makes this the most satisfying meal! It takes less than 40 minutes to put this dish on the table. So if you have all the ingredients ready, this is one of the fastest Indian dishes you can make. ((comparing it to the most famous butter chicken and chicken tikka masala).

This dish does require marinating the chicken for 1 hour, but it is not necessary as we are stir-frying the chicken with all the spices. This recipe makes it an excellent option to put together for a weekday meal. I will mention below how to make it even easier for a weekday meal by prepping the ingredients ahead of time.

Make-ahead version of Chicken Jalfrezi:

1. Marinate the chicken with all the spices and set it aside. Marinated chicken is good to store in the refrigerator for two days. Or, to make it simpler, you can even cook it save it in the fridge for up to three days.
2. For the sauce, saute the ginger, garlic, and onions for a longer time. It should be slightly caramelized. Add the concentrated tomato puree/paste and cook for 5 minutes and save the sauce in the fridge.
3. On the day of serving, stir fry the chicken, onion tomato sauce, and vegetables and serve it hot!

Details of the Ingredients:

1. Chicken: Since this recipe is similar to stir fry, boneless chicken works the best. I have used boneless chicken thighs. I highly recommend the boneless thighs vs. boneless chicken breasts. Chicken breasts tend to get rubbery when stir-fried and cooked in the sauce.
2. Ginger and Garlic: Using fresh ginger and garlic gives an excellent taste to the dish; however, it is okay to use ready ginger and garlic paste available in Asian markets.
3. Onions: I have used red onions. Red onions add a slightly sweet flavor to the dish. Another good option is yellow onions.
4. Tomatoes: The reason to use concentrated ready tomato paste in this dish is that it gives an acidic taste and a thick consistency. Fresh tomato puree has to be cooked for a long time to attain the taste and texture.  
5. Bell Peppers: Bell peppers should be cooked as little as possible in the curry. It is added to the end of the process to keep the vegetables crunchy.  

Alternatives, Tips, and Tricks:

1. Marinating the chicken is one of the essential steps that help the chicken coat with spices before dunking it in the sauce/curry. 
2. Tomato paste works best for this recipe, but if you prefer adding fresh tomatoes, blend three tomatoes with 1/4 cup of water and use in place of tomato paste concentrate. The fresh tomato puree has to be boiled for a longer time to get the right consistency and flavor.
3. I have not used cream in this recipe. But if you prefer this dish to be creamier, it will taste good with heavy cream. Some of the other alternatives are almond creamer and coconut creamer. 
4. Along with colored bell peppers, you can add diced onions at the end for extra flavor. Another option is to saute the diced bell peppers and onions in oil before adding to the curry.
5. Garnish with sliced ginger and cilantro before serving!

Method:

Take 1 lb of boneless chicken (preferably chicken thighs). Add 1 tsp of salt, 1.5 tsp of coriander powder, 1 tsp of cumin powder, 1/4 tsp garam masala powder, 1 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, and 2 tsp of oil and mix well. Marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for about an hour.

In a pan, take 2 Tbsp of oil, add 1 Tbsp of sliced garlic, 1 Tbsp of ginger, saute for a few seconds. Add 1 cup of sliced onions, and cook until it is translucent. It takes about 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the marinated chicken and saute for 7 to 8 minutes or until it gets cooked on both sides. Add 1/4 cup of tomato paste or puree, mix and add the green chilies. Adjust the salt if you need to at this point.

Add 1 cup of green and red bell peppers and 1/4 cup of cilantro. Add 1/2 cup of water—cover and cook for at least 15 minutes. Keep the flame on low to medium.
Garnish with cilantro and sliced ginger. Serve it hot with rice, roti, or naan.

Storage Instructions:

1. Fully prepared chicken jalfrezi is suitable for storing in the refrigerator for two days. Curry with sliced onions tends to get bad after two days.
2. If you are doing a make-ahead version of the chicken jalfrezi, then the coked chicken stores well for three days and sauce base stores well for three days when both are stored separately.

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