Veg Jalfrezi or Mix Veg

              Veg Jalfrezi or Mix Veg 

I got to know about this word while dining in an Indian restaurant in Chicago long time ago. The vibrant colors of this dish was absolutely eye catching! Since then, I started preparing this at home for parties.

Jalfrezi is a popular dish in Britain – both in Indian restaurants and at home. They are quick stir-fries using precooked meat, often served with crunchy vegetables. But Jalfrezi is not a typical dish from India. So, where did it come from?

For the answer, we need to go back 150 years or so to the time of the British Raj in India. It was deemed a sign of respectability to be thrifty and economical in the kitchen. The British were renowned for their large roast dinners, which usually resulted in lots of leftovers. And the Jalfrezi curry was one way of using up the excess meats from the roast of the day before. It was possibly invented in Kolkata (known as Calcutta at the time), the capital of West Bengal. Indian cooks working for the British used onions and spices to jazz up the cold meats, which they quickly stir fried.

The name Jalfrezi probably comes from the Bengali word for spicy (jal) and frezi may refer to stir-frying. Today, rather than leftovers, precooked marinated meats are often used. Usually in bite-sized pieces added to stir fried onions, green chillies, peppers, tomatoes and spices. Popular meats include chicken and lamb, but paneer (Indian cheese), prawns or vegetable versions are also common.

Vegetarian version can't be far behind to cater to the appetite of majority of Indian vegetarians. Here is my recipe which was created by recalling the taste of Veg Jalfrezi I got to eat in the Indian restaurant for the first time.

Ingredients:

1. Paneer. 100 grams cut into triangles

2. Button mushrooms. 6 cut into halves

3. Green beans  stringed and cut into 1" pieces

4. Cauliflower  florets slit 

5. Carrots sliced like beans 2 tbsp.

6. Capsicum cubes 2 tbsp.

7. Green peas 3 tbsp.

8. Makhana 12

9. Khoya 2 tbsp.

10. Cashew 10

11. Tomato 2 large finely chopped

12. Onion 2 finely chopped 

13. Ginger garlic green chillies paste 1 tbsp.

14. Curd beaten 1/2 cup

15. Slit green chilis 4

16. Ginger julienne for garnishing 

17. Grated paneer for garnishing 

18. Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp.

19. Red chilli powder-1 tsp 

20. Coriander powder 1 heaped tsp.

21. Bay leaves 2

22. Garam masala ( 3 green cardamoms,  1 black cardamom,  4-5 black pepper,  mace 1 string, 1/2" piece cinnamon, 3 cloves) I freshly ground these with roasted makhanas.

23. Kasoori methi 1 tsp.

24. Kashmiri chilli powder 3 tsp.

25. Bush Orange food color 1 pinch(optional)

26. Oil for frying veggies and masala

27. Cilantro or Coriander leaves

28. Water for gravy 1/2 cup or more

29. Salt

30. Sugar 1 tsp.

Method:

*Dry roast makhana till crisp, keep aside.

*Heat oil in a deep pan or kadai and fry Cashew till light pink, keep aside.

*Start frying vegetables, first fry carrots.

*After 1 minute, add Cauliflower. 

* 1 minute later, add green beans.

* Again after 1 minute, add mushrooms and capsicum. 

* Also add green peas and remove from heat when these are still crispy, don't overcook. 

* Fry paneer a little and put them in hot water for softness.

* Now, in the same oil, add bay leaves and ginger-garlic green chillies paste.

* When nice aroma comes out, add finely chopped onions and sugar and half tsp. Salt. ( Sugar will give a nice caramalised taste to gravy).

* When onion turns light brown,  add tomatoes.

* Cover and cook for a while after adding turmeric powder, coriander powder and red chilli powder. 

* When tomatoes become soft and mushy, take out 75% of masala to be cooled before blending in mixer.

* In remaining masala, add fried veggies except paneer and mix while adding 3 tbsp. Of water.  

* Now add khoya, kashmiri chilli powder half of roasted makhana ( redt of it will be grinding with whole spices) and cashew and stir.

* 3 minutes later, add curd and keep stirring. 

* Now add cooled and blended onion tomato puree and cover and cook till oil comes on the surface. 

( Add orange color if using while adding curd.)

* Add freshly made garam masala, kasoori methi, fried and soaked paneer pieces, water and cook for about a couple of minutes.

* Garnish with grated paneer, ginger julienne and fried cashews and chopped cilantro.

Serve hot with chapatis, puri-parathas and enjoy!

* Note

This preparation yields large quantities,  so use accordingly.  This much veggies was good enough for 6-7 persons.