Topic: Chicken Jalfrezi recipe

[Curry King]

I know what it reminded me of the last time I made it, radioactive waste?

[raygraham]

I know what it reminded me of the last time I made it, radioactive waste?

Well, iv'e never had a bowl of that! But I expect someone will be giving it a "glowing" write up!

Ray

[DeeDee]

... as the Bishop said to the actress.

Anyway, that "remind you of anything soapy and familiar" on the Holy Grail pages sounded a bit too Gary Glitter for me when I read it.  I've no idea what the author meant, never haven eaten Onion Soap. 

I'm more of an Imperial Leather man, meself ... not that I'm grating that into my curry.

Hmmmmmmmmm says Ray, there's an idea!

[George]

I bought a lamb jalfrezi from a BIR take away last night and thought some of my observations were worth reporting, just to add weight to much of what's been said before. The chef really looked like he knew what he was doing but, I must say, the flavour of the final dish was quite hot but otherwise devoid of much flavour. Very disappointing.

1. This dish and others he was cooking at around the same time, started off with oil and what looked like fresh garlic and ginger, rather than paste. He let that fry for at least a minute on high flame. The gas was on high all the time, for everything they were doing.

2. He then added quite a lot of what looked like fresh chopped onion. It didn't look pre-cooked to me, and let that cook for another minute or two.

3. Three or four shots of base sauce followed, at intervals, together with various other ingredients, most of which I couldn't start to guess at, he worked so fast.

4. Pre-cooked lamb cubes were obtained from a plastic box. 1 or 2 sliced green chillis were added. Green pepper was cut as I watched, from a fresh whole green pepper. The pepper and more sliced onions were then deep fried for about 45 secs in a metal basket lowered into a deep fat fryer, before being added to the curry. Fresh sliced tomatoes were also added, towards the end of the cooking time.

I hope this helps. Perhaps if they had a better mix of spices, like we use here at cr0, it would have tasted better!

Regards
George



 


 

[Yellow Fingers]

Good observations George, it's just a pity you couldn't have made a stab at guessing what the other ingredients were that he used. I wish I had one of these open plan kitchen places near me, I'd be in there all the time.

It's interesting that the onion and pepper were deep fried there and then instead of being pre-prepared, but I suppose that must be down to how busy they are at any given time.

Did you notice if the oil had any colour to it, i.e. did it look like it could have been scooped off the base?

[George]

YF

This particular open plan kitchen is very easy to see but I would still find it hard to guess what most of the ingredients are. I didn't think to look at the colour of the oil but it's a good question. On the other hand, as the final taste of the dish was so dull, their whole approach/recipe must be a bit in doubt.

Regards
George

[Chilli Prawn]

I make my own Jalfrezi (the name means fried left overs, like our bubble and squeak  by the way).  So you can add anything you like.  However it used to be the way to use up stock items that were coming to the end of their storage life in in a lot of BIRs!!!!

I use my prepared Chicken Tikka sometimes or just plain prepared chicken

I fry my fresh sliced (1/4 inch) onions, fresh chillis cut in thin strips, and coarser strips of Capsicum peppers (same as onions) in very hot oil for 1 - 2 minutes (depends on amount used).  But you want the peppers to be cooked to just before they become al-dente, so that there is some crispness in the finished dish.

Add some chopped fresh (preferred) dry Methi leaves or Methi powder (leaves = smell, powder = taste). 

Add some standard base, and some CTM base. 

Add some coconut cream block, and dessicated coconut (the latter can be fried at the start just before the onions if you want a deep nutty taste).

Add salt and black pepper to taste. 

Add some milk (preferred) or water, not yoghurt or stock.

Add some quarters of ripe tomatoes, briefly fry, and serve. 

It is the quickest and simplest dish we do, because it is the last of the batches we cook and we use up the remaining bits and pieces and sauces.  It freezes well.  Don't try and be precise, this is not the idea for this dish.  This is a regular favorite with our customers, and I only did the first one as a bit of a wind up on a friend!

Happy Cooking
C P

[CurryCanuck]

Interesting post... I  have always understood that Jalfrezi was  a type of Indian or Pakistani curry in which marinated pieces of meat or vegetables are fried in oil and spices to produce a thick, dry sauce. Bell peppers and onions are usually included. Fresh green chillies are added to taste, the typical British version being a moderately hot curry. I am at a loss as to why both the methi and coconut are added ? Seems both rather generic and off-the wall....but I'll bet it tastes bloody marvellous !!  Perhaps modified Jalfrezi is the new " raison d 'etre " . OK lads ...lets give it  try...based on C P's experience I am more than willing to give yet another new taste experience a try . Another recipe to embark upon this week-end .  ...I am running out of week-ends !! ;D

[Chilli Prawn]

Ah Ha, this is the old 'customer demand' thing CC.  I never used Methi or Coconut originally, but my customers asked me to because a lot of the BIRs do.  I sort of stuck with it to keep them happy (my wife loves it as well and she is my partner in crime with this business).  Personally I am not keen on dried methi leaves (except for very specific dishes), and neither are most Indians.  It should be fresh and fresh only, but they are not easy to get where I live (I have to go to the mainland - England).  However, Methi is like the bread & cooked food aromas etc. they push out in supermarkets to make people buy, and our punters think that is the norm even if they haven't the foggiest idea about what Methi is!!!!

Happy Cooking
C P