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Easy chicken jalfrezi

Easy chicken jalfrezi

This easy chicken jalfrezi fills your kitchen with the warm scent of toasted spices as marinated chicken sizzles alongside sweet peppers and green chillies. A rich, spiced tomato sauce brings everything together in one pan — vibrant, comforting and ready in under half an hour.

Prep: Overnight (or a few hours) marinating
Cook: 10 to 30 mins
Serves: Serves 4
Dietary: Nut-free, Pregnancy-friendly
Saturday Kitchen Chef photoBy Matt Tebbutt
From Saturday Kitchen Recipes

Nutri-Score C rating for chicken jalfrezi

This chicken jalfrezi earns a Nutri-Score of C. Lean chicken thighs, fresh peppers, chillies and tomatoes bring plenty of protein, fibre and vitamin C, balanced with a modest amount of added oil. Serve with rice or flatbread to round out the meal.

Approximate nutrition per serving (without rice): 385 kcal | Fat 24g | Carbohydrates 12g | Sugars 8g | Fibre 3g | Protein 30g

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Ingredients

Marinated chicken

  • 6 boneless chicken thighs, cut into pieces
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • ½ tsp chilli powder
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp salt

For the sauce

  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 large onion, cut into chunks
  • 1 red pepper, sliced
  • 1 green pepper, sliced
  • 4 green chillies, sliced
  • 1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
  • 6 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder or mild chilli powder
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée
  • 400g tin chopped tomatoes
  • 150ml/5fl oz water or chicken stock
  • 1 tsp caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 handful fresh coriander leaves

Customise

Ingredient swaps that hold up beautifully in this chicken jalfrezi:

  • Swap chicken thighs for boneless chicken breasts if you prefer leaner meat — just reduce the final simmer by a couple of minutes.
  • Replace Kashmiri chilli powder with sweet paprika plus a pinch of cayenne for colour and gentle heat.
  • Use chicken stock instead of water for a deeper, richer sauce.
  • Stir in a diced yellow pepper for extra sweetness and colour alongside the red and green peppers.
  • Add a spoonful of yoghurt at the end for a creamier, milder finish.

Method

Marinate the chicken (5 minutes prep, overnight ahead)

  1. Mix the marinade. Grab a mixing bowl and stir together the ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, garam masala, chilli powder, vegetable oil and salt. This spice paste is where all the flavour starts, so give it a good mix so everything is evenly blended.
  2. Coat the chicken. Add the chicken thigh pieces and toss them really well until every piece is glistening with the spice marinade. Cover the bowl and pop it in the fridge for a few hours — or better still, overnight. Doing this the night before is a brilliant time-saver and lets the spices sink deep into the meat.

Sear the chicken (10 minutes)

  1. Heat the pan. Place a large large frying pan over a high heat and let it get properly hot before you add anything — a hot pan means lovely colour rather than grey, steamed chicken.
  2. Brown the chicken. Add the marinated chicken pieces and fry them until they are coloured all over. You are not cooking them through just yet, so don’t worry about that. Once nicely browned, lift them out of the pan and set them aside while you build the sauce.

Build the sauce (15 minutes — overlaps with the chicken resting)

  1. Fry the onions and peppers. Add the vegetable oil to the same pan — all those tasty leftover spice bits will flavour the sauce. Toss in the onion chunks and sliced peppers and fry over a high heat for a few minutes until they start to colour at the edges. That little bit of char adds real depth.
  2. Wake up the aromatics. Add the sliced green chillies, chopped ginger, garlic, cumin seeds, ground coriander, turmeric and chilli powder. Give everything a good stir with a wooden spoon for a minute or so — the heat will toast the spices and make your kitchen smell amazing.
  3. Add the tomatoes. Stir in the tomato purée and the tin of chopped tomatoes, then let the sauce simmer away for 5 minutes so it thickens slightly and the raw tomato taste cooks out.

Bring it all together (10 minutes)

  1. Simmer the chicken in the sauce. Pour in the water or chicken stock, then return the seared chicken and any resting juices to the pan. Turn the heat down and let everything simmer gently for 8–10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened to a lovely spoon-coating consistency. If it looks a little dry, splash in a bit more stock — easy fix.
  2. Balance the flavours. Stir in the caster sugar, lemon juice and garam masala. This final trio lifts the whole dish — the sugar softens the acidity, the lemon brightens it, and the garam masala adds that warm aromatic finish. Taste and adjust if you like.
  3. Serve and scatter. Spoon the chicken jalfrezi onto warm serving plates and finish with a generous scatter of fresh coriander leaves. It is wonderful with fluffy rice or warm flatbread, and any leftovers taste even better the next day.

Additional Notes

  • Marinate the chicken overnight for the deepest flavour — a few hours will still work well if you are short on time.
  • This dish is nut-free and pregnancy-friendly, as the chicken is cooked through completely.
  • Like most curries, chicken jalfrezi reheats beautifully, so make extra and enjoy it for lunch the next day.

 

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