Paneer Jalfrezi Recipe

Paneer Jalfrezi is a vegetarian take on the “Jalfrezi“, a classic curried dish popular in the UK. This quick dish is made with paneer, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes & spices. A tempering of cumin (jeera) with sautéed aromatics and a generous sprinkling of spices completes this delicious stir-fry recipe. Paneer jalfrezi is a perfect side for your Naans, rotis, simple Jeera Rice, or even a bowl of steaming aromatic rice like basmati or jasmine.

What is Jalfrezi?

While Jalfrezi is considered the second most popular curry in the UK, the dish has a Bengal and colonial India origin story. Food historians believe that jalfrezi (the original curry) was born out of the necessity to use leftover roasted meat in the absence of refrigeration.

Jhal in Bengali means hot & spicy while Frezi is literally stir fry. This curry dish is a unique mix of Indian and Chinese cooking styles but was invented for the British homes. The dish is prepared with locally available vegetables & spices but stir fried using a high heat technique, introduced to the local Bengalis by the Chinese immigrants.

So Jalfrezi is a stir fry made with meat, fish or cottage cheese, vegetables along with tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, chili and spices. A prominent feature of a good jalfrezi is the crunchiness of its vegetables.

While the modern, meat-based jalfrezi is made with fresh stir fried meat, you have vegetarian versions too. A popular one being this paneer jalfrezi.

About Paneer Jalfrezi

Paneer Jalfrezi is a quick and easy to make Indian dish that comes together in less than 30 minutes. Aromatics like onion and ginger are sautéed with cumin seeds in hot oil. The addition of pureed tomatoes follows a quick stir fry with spices, bell peppers, and any other vegetable you choose to add.

Lastly paneer and kasuri methi are tossed in the flavorsome spicy and hot stir fry. How easy right?

Paneer jalfrezi is a good mix of protein and nutritious veggies. When you combine this with a wholegrain main dish, it makes a balanced lunch or dinner meal. This tasty dish complements any mains from flatbread to cooked grains. Serve it with cooked rice, pulao, biryani, roti, naan, paratha or chapati.

Jalfrezi is a semi-dry dish and you won’t have tons of gravy/sauce. So this also makes a great filling for your wrap and sandwiches. On occasions, I have also made kathi rolls and sandwiches with these filling. You will need some salad veggies like cucumber, zucchini, onions and carrots when you assemble them.

Variations

A versatile recipe, it can be adapted into a Vegetable Jalfrezi where you sub paneer with mixed vegetables. I often make a boiled egg jalfrezi when we get tired of the paneer version. Vegans who need to avoid dairy can use tofu or try kabuli chana/chickpea jalfrezi. Use boiled chickpeas as the protein base and follow the standard recipe steps.

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

Photo Guide

How to make Paneer Jalfrezi (Stepwise Photos)

Preparation

1. Wash and chop 2 large tomatoes (250 grams to make about 1¼ cups chopped). Add them to a blender and make a smooth puree. Or If you want you may substitute fresh tomatoes with half cup store bought tomato puree (like passata, without citric acid added)

2. Prep up the other ingredients.

• You need 250 grams (8 to 9 oz) paneer, cut to 2 * ¾ inch or 1 * ¾ inch. You may cut to any shape and size you want. If using store bought paneer, optionally you may soak the block in warm water for 10 mins. Remove and cut to desired sizes.
• Slice ½ medium green or yellow bell pepper to nearly the same size as your paneer.
• Slice ½ medium red or yellow bell pepper to nearly the same size as your paneer.
• Slice 1 medium to large onion to make 1 cup sliced & layers seperated. (yellow or red onion)
• Slit and deseeded 1 green chili
• You also need 1½ teaspoon ginger garlic paste or 1 teaspoon each, ginger & garlic minced

Temper & Stir Fry

3. Add 2 tablespoon oil or ghee to a hot pan. Add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds to hot oil.

4. When they begin to sizzle, add green chilli and onions. Stir fry on a high heat just until transparent, for 4 to 5 mins.

5. Add ginger garlic paste.

6. Stir fry for 50 to 60 seconds, until aromatic.

7. Add the tomato puree and stir fry on a high heat.

8. Add the following ground spices:

• ⅓ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon turmeric
• ½ to ¾ teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder
• 1 to 1¼  teaspoon garam masala. If your garam masala is too strong then add ¾ teaspoon garam masala & ½ teaspoon coriander powder.

9. Mix well and stir fry until the raw smell of tomatoes is gone.

Make Paneer Jalfrezi

10. Add bell peppers.

11. Stir fry until the peppers are slightly tender, yet crunchy, for 4 to 5 mins. Taste test and adjust salt and spice at this stage. If you want you can add 1 teaspoon sugar and 1 teaspoon vinegar or tomato paste (dissolved with 1 tbsp water) at this stage for a more tart flavor.

12. Add 250 grams (8 to 9 oz) paneer. Mix everything gently to coat the paneer with the masala. Be gentle else paneer may break. Cook covered on a low heat for just 2 minutes, until heated through. I also added 1 teaspoon kasuri methi, Just a personal choice. If you don’t want skip that.

13. Add 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves.

Serve paneer jalfrezi with naan, roti or plain basmati rice.

Pro Tips

• 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, add one teaspoon of vinegar or tomato paste. Restaurants add tomato ketchup or tomato paste.
• Don’t overcook the paneer else it will dry out and become hard.
• Skip the green chili if you prefer low heat.

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Paneer Jalfrezi first published in July 2015. Updated & republished in May 2022.