It's the weekend and we wanted a change from our normal curries so I had my partner look at the recipes on here and she picked "Chicken Jalfrezi", which I promptly printed off and set about making...

However I had to make a few adjustments due to not having the exact ingredients....

That aside, what a fantastic recipe... we both loved it... made a very nice change from our normal ones....

So here's the basics ...

Chicken was actually Turkey but no one would notice...

The spices were added as instructions but not premixed,just thrown into the bowl with the meat (using garlic purée, instead of fresh and making garam masala on the fly rather than a premade batch -leaving out the bayleaf as unable to grind, see later note)

http://www.askcy.com/food/redjalfrezi/001%20meat.jpg

Onion, and peppers cooked in a clean pan - note I didn't have any green peppers or green chilli peppers so used red (hence the title of my post)

http://www.askcy.com/food/redjalfrezi/002%20onion%20peppers.jpg

After a few minutes by themselves I added the fresh tomatoes, but I used about 5 as they were only about the size of a large ping pong ball and I wasn't sure I was going to get enough moisture

http://www.askcy.com/food/redjalfrezi/003%20with%20tomatoes.jpg

The onion/pepper/tomato mix was taken out and the pan cleaned, fresh oil added and the meat was put in to brown. Now I had a bit of a problem here as the recipe said for 5 minutes and after a very short while the spices were sticking like mad to the bottom of the pan (maybe because I didn't use a lot of oil, maybe be because it wasn't more fatty chicken) So I had to cut short the frying time slightly and de-glaze the pan with red wine vinegar. This didn't cause any problems I might add.. nothing burn't.

http://www.askcy.com/food/redjalfrezi/004%20cooking%20meat.jpg

The onions mix was added back to the pan and it looked fantastic..

http://www.askcy.com/food/redjalfrezi/005%20added%20onion%20mix.jpg

I know this is a described as a dry curry but I was asked to make more sauce, so added a full tin of chopped tomatoes (you will also notice a bayleaf in the picture which being the dried type was too much trouble to grind at the start so I simply added them once the sauce was made)

http://www.askcy.com/food/redjalfrezi/006%20chopped%20tomatoes.jpg

I let this cook out for about 30 minutes and as I said, what a great curry. Served with a selection of breads as the recipe suggested (have to admit I only made the chapaties and naan, the popadoms where bought in premade..)

http://www.askcy.com/food/redjalfrezi/008%20full.jpg

a more arty close up shot

http://www.askcy.com/food/redjalfrezi/007%20close%20up.jpg

very nice...

Thanks for the pictures and your comments Steven. I have given link to this page on the Chicken Jalfrezi recipe; http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=10466, although I am not sure how to make it clickable. Kavey or Pete will sort out whenever they look in next. Kavey is on her way back from India as we speak and then it will take her a few more days to look in.

Mamta

the link you have is crashing out... think its got an extra comma at the end.

http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=10466

but the link from the recipe is already clickable.. :-)

ps how do the pictures compare to how your's turn out?.. are they similar or does it look completely different ?

Pete must have sorted out the link. I must stop putting comas at the end of a link!

My jalfrezi looks a little more shiny/fried and of course it has green peppers. Red peppers will give a nicer colour, but may be a bit sweeter. I am sure it tasted wondeful!

Mamta

it was a beautiful flavour and well worth doing..

I suppose the shine will be down to the amount of oil.. I use bare minimum (adding a little extra if needed..)

I don't usually use much oil either, unless I am cooking for a party. I do stir-fry a dish towards the end though, specially if it is one with less gravy. Gives things a bit of a shine.

I have edited the recipe a little to reflect this.

Mamta

Had it again this week, but used green peppers this time...(again added an extra tin of chopped tomatoes once everything was mixed together.. and only used about 1/4 - 1/2 tsp of chili powder and one red chili, which we all found to be plenty hot enough)...

http://www.askcy.com/food/greenjalfrezi.jpg

Hi Steven

It is very close, mine is a bit less 'liquid tomatoe' but slightly redder and shiney, because of the tomato puree. Yours looks very nice though. How did it taste? It is supposed to be moderately hot.

Amount of chillies depends on the heat in the chillies you are using. I have added 'adjust to taste'. Thanks for your comments, suggestions and pictures.

Mamta

As I'm sure your used to hearing, it tasted fantastic...

(just a thought on the redness, I use sundried tomato purée which is more brown than the traditional bright red tomato purée)

nice recipe with snaps