Paneer Jalfrezi

Paneer Jalfrezi is an easy, quick, and spicy stir fry dish made with lots of vegetables along with paneer and a thick sauce to coat the vegetables and paneer. If you are looking for a recipe with lots of vegetables to cheat your kids into a delicious yet healthy meal, this is it, trust me !!

My 7-year-old is usually good with eating vegetables but she hates bell peppers. I was surprised when I didn't hear any complaints from her while eating this and she finished all her bell peppers in this curry. Yayyy !!

Feel free to use the button at the top of the page to go to the recipe directly or the table of contents below to go to any section of the page you want. The recipe card has all the information that is needed to make the recipe perfectly. However, I try to provide as much useful information in the post for the readers who are looking for it.

What is Jalfrezi

Jalfrezi is a curry dish originating from the State of Bengal in India and is popular throughout the world in many Indian restaurants. In a survey in 2011, jalfrezi was rated the most popular dish in UK Indian and broader South Asian restaurants.

'Jhal' in bengali means spicy, spice originating from chillies. Jalfrezi means spicy stir fry dish.

If you look at the ingredients, it might be slightly overwhelming for some people, seeing so many vegetables. But trust me, the only work in this dish is chopping vegetables. Once you are done with the prep work, it is super easy and quick to make. Once you taste the outcome, I promise you will feel all that prep work is justified 😋.

How to Make

Preparation for Jalfrezi Paneer

• If you are using store-bought paneer, as a first step, slice the paneer into thin long strips and soak them in hot water for a minimum of 20 minutes. You can also add a little salt to this water if you want paneer to soak up more flavor. Paneer will be soft and ready to use by the time you finish other preparations and cooking. Skip this step if you are using homemade soft paneer.
• Peel a 2-inch ginger piece with a spoon ( why? because it is very easy that way) and cut it into very thin juliennes.
• Chop up half to ¾th of a very big onion into really small pieces. and the rest of the onion into cubes.
• Chop up 1 big ripe or one and a half medium-size ripe tomatoes into small pieces.
• Slit the green chili and break the red chillies into pieces.
• Now cut the bell peppers into thin long strips and another tomato into thin long strips after deseeding.

How to Make Paneer Jalfrezi recipe

• Heat oil in a stir fry pan and add the ginger juliennes. Fry them until they start turning to a golden brown color and then remove them onto a plate and set them aside for garnish at the end. This fried ginger garnish is not just for look, it adds a beautiful flavor to the finished Jalfrezi Paneer recipe. Unless you hate ginger, do not skip it,
• Now to the same oil, add cumin seeds, red chillies and turmeric powder. cook them until cumin seeds sizzle.
• Then add small diced onions, slit green chilli and a little salt with them to help onions cook faster. Saute them until onions start turning to golden brown color.

• Next add ginger garlic paste, Kashmiri chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and black pepper powder. Mix well and cook for a minute making sure spices do not burn.
• Now add chopped up small tomato pieces and a little salt with them. Mix well and cook until the tomatoes are completely soft and oil is separating from the onion and tomato mixture.
• Add tomato ketchup and mix well.
• Now add the long strips of bell peppers, long strips of tomatoes and cubed onion pieces and mix well. Add enough salt for the vegetables. Cook covered, while stirring in between, until the vegetables are cooked well but still have a crunch to them. Do not over cook them. Check the seasonings and add any required seasonings.

• Now add the strips of paneer and mix gently making sure you don't break the paneer or vegetable pieces. Cook covered for 2 or 3 minutes until paneer absorbs all the flavors and is properly heated through.
• Now garnish with the fried ginger juliennes and cilantro and serve with any flat bread like roti, chapathi, paratha or naan.

More easy recipes under 30 mins

• Instant pot Aloo Matar
• Aloo Palak ( Potato and Spinach stir fry )
• South Indian style Cabbage and Green peas stir fry
• Pita bread pizza
• Bagara Rice ( Super delicious mint and cilantro flavored pulao rice )

Tips for a good Paneer Jalfrezi curry

• Do not over cook the vegetables. We are looking for well cooked but still slightly crunchy vegetables.
• Do not cook for a long time after adding paneer. Just until Paneer is well stirred in and heated enough to absorb all the flavors.
• Make sure to cook the onion tomato mixture until the oil separates from the mixture. It is very important for a good curry. If you cut onions and tomatoes into very small pieces, add salt along with them, use ripe tomatoes, then it should not take a very long time.

Adjusting Spice Levels

This recipe of paneer Jalfrezi has a medium high spice level. So adjust the spice levels as per your taste.

• To reduce, reduce the amount of Kashmiri chilli powder, skip green chilli, and black pepper. Also reduce red chillies if you want.
• To increase the spice level, increase the amount of green chillies, Coriander powder and Kashmiri chilli powder.

Serving Ideas

Here are some of the serving ideas for the Paneer Jalfrezi recipe

• Serve it with any kind of flat bread like roti, paratha, chapathi or naan.
• Use it as a stuffing for frankie rolls or any kind of rolls.
• Use it as a stuffing for lettuce rolls for a low carb meal idea.
• If you are watching calories, eat it just like that along with your favorite salads and yogurt on the side. Keeps you full with the high protein content in paneer.

Comment below in the comment section to let us know your favorite way of serving paneer Jalfrezi!!

Storing and Reheating

It stays fresh in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days in an air-tight container. Reheat in a covered dish in the microwave or reheat on the stovetop by adding 2 tablespoons of water to the pan before adding the curry. This helps in avoiding drying out of paneer.

Recipe

Paneer Jalfrezi

Yamini

Paneer Jalfrezi is an easy and quick spicy stir fry dish made with lots of vegetables and Paneer with a thick yummy sauce to coat the vegetables and paneer. A delicious way to eat lots of vegetables !!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Servings 6

Ingredients

  

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2- inch ginger piece cut into very thin juliennes
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 red chillies broken into 1-inch pieces
• 1 green chilli slit
• 1 heaped cup of small diced onion pieces 1 medium-size onion
• 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
• 1 cup diced tomato pieces ripe
• 1 heaped tablespoon tomato ketchup
• Half medium-size green bell pepper cut into thin long strips
• Half medium-size red bell pepper cut into thin long strips
• Half medium-size orange bell pepper cut into thin long strips
• 1 firm tomato deseeded and cut into thin long strips
• Half small onion cut into cubes as shown in the pictures
• 1 lb Paneer block
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro for garnish

Ground Spices

• Salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
• ½ teaspoon coriander powder
• ¼ teaspoon cumin powder
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder

Instructions

 

Preparation for Jalfrezi Paneer

• If you are using store-bought paneer, as a first step, slice the paneer into thin long strips and soak them in hot water for a minimum of 20 minutes. You can also add a little salt to this water if you want paneer to soak up more flavor. Paneer will be soft and ready to use by the time you finish other preparations and cooking.
• Peel a 2-inch ginger piece with a spoon and cut it into very thin juliennes.
• Chop up half to ¾th of a very big onion into really small pieces. and the rest of the onion into cubes.
• Chop up 1 big ripe or one and a half medium-size ripe tomatoes into small pieces.
• Slit the green chili and break the red chillies into pieces.
• Now cut the bell peppers into thin long strips and another tomato into thin long strips after deseeding.

How to Make Paneer Jalfrezi recipe

• Heat oil in a stir fry pan and add the ginger juliennes. Fry them until they start turning to a golden brown color and then remove them onto a plate and set them aside for garnish at the end.
• Now to the same oil, add cumin seeds, red chillies, and turmeric powder. cook them until cumin seeds sizzle.
• Then add small diced onions, slit green chili, and a little salt with them to help onions cook faster. Saute them until onions start turning to golden brown color.
• Next add ginger garlic paste, Kashmiri chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, and black pepper powder. Mix well and cook for a minute making sure spices do not burn.
• Now add chopped-up small tomato pieces and a little salt with them. Mix well and cook until the tomatoes are completely soft and oil is separating from the onion and tomato mixture.
• Add tomato ketchup and mix well.
• Now add the long strips of bell peppers, long strips of tomatoes, and cubed onion pieces and mix well. Add enough salt to the vegetables. Cook covered while stirring in between until the vegetables are cooked well but still have a crunch to them. Do not overcook them. Check the seasonings and add any required seasonings.
• Now add the strips of paneer and mix gently making sure you don't break the paneer or vegetable pieces. Cook covered for 2 or 3 minutes until the paneer absorbs all the flavors and is properly heated through.
• Now garnish with the fried ginger juliennes and cilantro and serve with any flatbread like roti, chapati, paratha, or naan.

Notes

• Do not overcook the vegetables. We are looking for well cooked but still slightly crunchy vegetables.
• Do not cook for a long time after adding paneer. Just until Paneer is well stirred in and heated enough to absorb all the flavours.
• This recipe of paneer jalfrezi has a medium-high spice level. So adjust the spice levels as per your taste.
  • To reduce, reduce the amount of Kashmiri chilli powder, skip green chilli, and black pepper. Also, reduce red chillies if you want.
  • To increase the spice level, increase the number of green chillies, Coriander powder and Kashmiri chilli powder. 

Keyword Indian Cottage cheese recipes, Jalfrezi Paneer, Paneer Curry recipes, Paneer Jalfrezi, Paneer Jalfrezi recipe

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