Paneer Jalfrezi (Restaurant Style)

Paneer Jalfrezi is an Indian stir fried dish of paneer, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes and spices. It’s one of the most popular Paneer dishes on the restaurant menus in India. It is usually eaten with Naan, Tandoori roti or Jeera rice. My recipe is quick and makes for a delicious restaurant style dish under 30 mins. I also have 3 easy variations and substitutes for paneer in the variations section below.

Jalfrezi is considered the second most popular curry in the UK, first being Tikka Masala. This dish has a Bengal and colonial India origin story. Food historians believe that originally Jalfrezi was born out of the necessity to use up leftover roasted meat/ chicken in the absence of refrigeration.

Jhal in Bengali means hot & spicy while Frezi is literally stir fry, so Jalfrezi is a hot stir fry. This curried dish is a unique fusion of Indian and Chinese cooking styles but was invented for the British homes.

It is prepared with locally available vegetables & spices but stir fried using a high heat technique, introduced to the local Bengalis by the Chinese immigrants. Originally Jalfrezi is a stir fry made with roast chicken, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, chili and Indian spices.

Prominent features of a good jalfrezi include crunchiness of vegetables, tang from tomatoes and a moderate amount of heat that comes from red & green chilies. Due to high flame burners and woks used in restaurants, their jalfrezi gets a nice smoky flavor.

About Paneer Jalfrezi

In India, Paneer Jalfrezi and Vegetable Jalfrezi are more common than the meat versions. Here we replace chicken with paneer & add a few more spices to make it more delicious. Since this is a semi-dry dish you won’t have tons of gravy/sauce. But it isn’t too dry as well because my recipe uses more tomatoes for a moist dish.

But it goes well with just anything – naan, tandoori roti, basmati rice, jeera rice or even in wraps, kathi rolls and sandwiches.

Ingredients & Substitutes

• Paneer is the star ingredient of this dish. You may substitute with boiled chickpeas (chana), tofu, halloumi, boiled eggs or shrimp. Except for the first substitute, all others are best pan-fried briefly before adding to the jalfrezi. More details in the variations section.
• Onions are used in 2 forms – chopped/sliced and diced. Chopped or sliced onions help balance the tang from tomatoes and add body to the tomato base. Diced are kept crunchy and partially cooked to retain their sweet flavors.
• Bell peppers are a special ingredient that you will always find in a Jalfrezi. Green, red, yellow and orange bell peppers go well. If you don’t prefer them, substitute with carrots, baby corn, green beans, zucchini or baby French beans.
• Chillies provide the heat and spicy flavor to your dish. I use dried red and fresh green chilies but you may use any one.
• Spices like garam masala, coriander powder, red chili powder and cumin help flavor the dish and balance the tangy from tomatoes.

Fresh vs canned tomatoes

Most restaurant jalfrezi recipes use a small amount of tomato paste or ketchup or canned tomato puree for a tangy flavor. If you are trying to avoid processed foods, go with fresh ripe tomatoes like the way I used here. Cook down the fresh tomatoes well and add a small amount of vinegar to get a similar tangy tomatoey flavor.

The next best option is to use store bought tomato puree/ passata or tomato paste that comes in glass jars/ bottles. Most of these have no citric acid or preservative added to it. My favorite is mutti double concentrated paste or mutti passata.

More Paneer recipes
Matar Paneer
Paneer Makhani
Restaurant Paneer Butter Masala
Paneer Bhurji

Photo Guide

How to make Paneer Jalfrezi (Stepwise Photos)

Preparation

This recipe uses 250 to 300 grams of paneer & served 3 to 4. I cut mine to ¾ * 2 inch long but you may cut to any shape and size you want. Sometimes store bought paneer can be hard, if you want you may soak it in warm water for 10 mins. I just rinse mine under clean tap water before cutting.

1. Add 3 medium chopped tomatoes (260 grams,1½ cups chopped) to a blender jar and make a smooth puree. Or use ½ cup store bought tomato puree (like passata, without citric acid added) or use 3 tablespoons tomato paste (50 grams) mixed with ½ cup water.

Make the Stir Fry

2. Pour 2 to 3 tablespoon (30 to 45 ml) oil or ghee to a hot pan. Add ½ to ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 slit deseeded green chili and 2 dried chilies. (make sure you deseed the chilies else the seeds will splutter in the oil.

3. When they begin to sizzle, add ¾ cup sliced or fine chopped onions (from 1 medium onion – 170 grams, reserve half cup diced & layers seperated for later). Stir fry on a medium heat for 5 mins, until light golden.

4. Add 2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste (or 1 teaspoon each, ginger & garlic minced or grated) & saute for a minute.

5. Reduce the heat and stir in

• ½ to 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (adjust to taste, I use 1 tsp)
• Optional – ¼ teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon garam masala (or use ¾ tsp garam masala + ½ tsp coriander powder if your gm is strong or pungent)

6. Pour the tomato puree and cook on a medium high heat until thick, for 5 to 7 mins. If you are using store bought puree or paste it takes only 2 to 3 mins.

7. Add

• half cup diced onions , layers seperated
• 1 cup (120 grams) bell peppers/ capsicum (sliced to ¼ inch thin, I use ½ cup each green & red )

8. Stir fry on a medium high heat until slightly tender, yet crunchy. It takes me about 4 to 5 mins. If your pan dries out, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. I added 2 tbsps. (If you want you may cover and cook). It is important to taste test at this stage and adjust salt. Also add ¾ to 1 tablespoon vinegar (optional, white or apple cider or tomato paste or ketchup mixed in 2 tbsps water)(only if needed) and 1 teaspoon jaggery or sugar.

Add Paneer

9. Add 250 to 300 grams paneer (8 to 10 oz). Crush 1 teaspoon kasuri methi in your palms and sprinkle here.

10. Gently coat the paneer with the sauce. Cover and cook for 2 to 3 mins until heated through.

Add 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves. Serve paneer jalfrezi with Naan, Tandoori Roti, Plain Paratha, Jeera Rice or plain basmati rice.

Expert Tips

• Do not cut down the amount of tomatoes in the recipe. You may use more but don’t reduce else your dish will be dry when you let it sit for a while.
• This dish can easily become too hot. If you are making this for kids, omit the green chilies. A quick way to fix an excessively hot jalfrezi is to stir in some cashew cream or heavy cream.
• For the best paneer jalfrezi, keep the veggies (bell peppers) crunchy. Do not overcook them. Cook them for a few minutes on high flame until they lose the raw flavor.
• To give the dish extra tart flavor, adding vinegar or tomato paste is highly recommended. Restaurants add tomato ketchup.
• Don’t overcook the paneer else it will dry out and become hard.

Variations

• Boiled egg jalfrezi – hard boil 6 to 8 eggs, make slits and fry in 1 tbsp ghee or oil, until blistered. Add to the jalfrezi when the bell peppers are done.
• Shrimp jalfrezi – marinate the shrimp with little salt and red chili. Sear on a pan, until partially cooked for 1 minute on each side. Add to the sauce and cook just until done.
• Chickpea jalfrezi – Add more water and cook the boiled chickpeas with the tomato base. Later add the bell peppers and stir fry.

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Recipe Card

This Paneer Jalfrezi recipe was first published in July 2015. Updated in July 2026.