Paneer Jalfrezi is a melange of Indian Cottage Cheese or Paneer and vegetables in a spicy onion tomato sauce. It is very easy to make restaurant style recipe at home using basic ingredients. Here is how to make Paneer Jalfrezi Recipe.
What is Paneer Jalfrezi?
Paneer Jalfrezi is one the paneer dishes that you will find in most Indian restaurants. Jalfrezi is a curry dish originating in the Indian subcontinent and popular throughout the region and beyond.
It consists of a main ingredient such as meat, fish, paneer or vegetables, stir-fried and served in a thick onion tomato based spicy sauce that includes green chilli peppers.
Jalfrezi recipes appeared in cookbooks of the British India as a way of using up leftovers by frying them with chilli and onion. This English language usage derived from the colloquial Bengali word jhāl porhezī: in Bengali, jhāl means spicy food; porhezi comes from the Persian word, parhezī means suitable for a diet.
Jalfrezi is usually prepared by stir-frying ingredients, a technique introduced to the region by Chinese cuisine. – Source WIKIPEDIA
Difference between Kadai Paneer and Paneer Jalfrezi
You might think that kadai paneer and paneer jalfrezi are one and the same thing, but that is not the case. In jalfrezi, everything is stir fried and then mixed in an onion tomato based gravy. It is spicy hot gravy and no cream is used to make it.
In kadai paneer, a fresh coriander seeds and red chilli powder is added which gives it a unique flavour.
Onion and capsicum are the basic requirement to make this curry. You can also add vegetables like carrot, baby corn and bell peppers of your choice. You can even make baby corn jalfrezi by replacing paneer with baby corn.
However, in kadai paneer, only capsicum is added along with paneer.
Paneer Jalfrezi Recipe
We can divide the whole recipe into 2 parts for our comfort and make things easier. First is chopping and stir frying the vegetables and second is making the hot and spicy gravy.
I have used onion and capsicum along with paneer to make paneer jalfrezi. You can add your choice of vegetable to it if you want.
You will need onions, capsicum, garlic, tomato, green chilli, ginger and fresh coriander. The whole spices that you will need are cumin seeds, cinnamon, and green cardamom. Dry spices required are coriander powder, turmeric powder, Kashmiri red chilli powder, salt, garam masala and kasuri methi.
To get started, thinly sliced onion and capsicum and make a paste of onions and puree tomatoes. Take some oil in a pan and let it heat. Once hot, add thinly sliced onion, capsicum and garlic.
Fry until onion turns translucent. Remove the onion and capsicum in a plate and keep aside.
Heat 3 tbsp of oil in the same pan and add cumin seeds, cinnamon and cardamom and fry for a few seconds. Add onion paste and fry until it turns slightly brown
Add tomato, tomato puree and tomato ketchup and cook for 2-3 minutes. Now add green chilli and ginger and cook for another 2 minutes. Add coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and cook until oil starts to separate from the sides. You can add a little water if the masala is too dry.
Once the gravy is ready, add the cooked onion and capsicum, paneer, salt and garam masala. Add kasuri methi, lemon juice and fresh coriander and mix well. Serve hot with roti or paratha.
Paneer Vegetable Jalfrezi
To make paneer vegetable jalfrezi, you can add your choice of vegetables, like carrots, baby corn, French beans, cauliflower along with paneer. You can choose fresh vegetable as per your liking. I have a Veg Jalfrezi Recipe here which you can check.
You can make baby corn jalfrezi in the same manner. Just replace paneer with steamed baby corns.
Paneer Jalfrezi Recipe
Paneer Jalfrezi
Paneer Jalfrezi is a melange of Indian Cottage Cheese or Paneer and vegetables in a spicy onion tomato sauce. It is very easy to make restaurant style recipe at home using basic ingredients. Here is how to make Paneer Jalfrezi Recipe.
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 1/2 cup Onion Thinly Sliced
- 1 cup Capsicum Thinly Sliced
- 2 tsp Garlic Chopped
- 1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1 inch Cinnamon
- 2 Green Cardamom
- 1 cup Onion Paste
- 1 cup Tomato Grated
- 1/4 cup Tomato Puree
- 2 tbsp Tomato Ketchup
- 2 Green Chilli Slit into half
- 1 tsp Ginger Chopped
- 2 tsp Coriander Powder
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 2 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
- 400 g Paneer
- Salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp Garam Masala Powder
- 2 tbsp Kasuri Methi
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 2 tbsp Fresh Coriander
Instructions
Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a pan.
Add sliced onion, capsicum and garlic and fry until onion turns translucent.
Remove the onion and capsicum on a plate and keep aside.
Heat the remaining 3 tbsp oil in the same pan.
Add cumin seeds, cinnamon and cardamom and fry for a few seconds.
Add onion paste and fry until it turns slightly brown.
Now add tomato, tomato puree and tomato ketchup and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add green chilli and ginger and cook for another 2 minutes.
Add coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and cook until oil starts to separate from the sides.
Now add little water if the masala is too dry.
Add the cooked onion and capsicum, paneer , salt and garam masala and mix well.
Add kauri methi, lemon juice and fresh coriander and mix well.
Serve hot.
Recipe Notes
Use store bought puree in this recipe.
You can add other vegetables along with paneer.
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