Pull out your wok and stir up this delicious and healthy Vegetable Jalfrezi for dinner tonight! This is a great recipe to use up those leftover veggies in your fridge. The jalfrezi comes together quickly with a handful of ingredients, and it is soy-free, gluten-free and nut-free. Serve it with roti or naan or with a rice pilaf like jeera rice for a delicious weeknight dinner or an indulgent, exotic weekend meal.
What is a jalfrezi?
A Jalfrezi (pronounced jhaal-fray-zee) is a slightly saucy, spicy Indian dish made with vegetables and often with chicken. It was born as the result of the ingenuity of Bengali cooks employed by British colonizers. “Jhal” from Bengali translates to “hot” as in “spicy-from-chilies-hot.” There are different versions about the origin of “frezi,” with the most common being that it is a corruption of “fry.” The story goes that Bengali cooks came up with this dish while trying to use up leftover bits of meat from last night’s dinner. They created a curry base of tomatoes and onions in a wok, then cooked veggies like tomatoes and bell peppers along with the meat in that spicy, savory sauce using a technique introduced to Bengal by Chinese migrants: stir-fry. The resulting dish, with the contrasting textures of the silky tomato onion sauce and the al dente veggies, was so delicious that it remains, to this day, a mainstay of Indian restaurant menus. A vegan Jalfrezi is an easy dish to make at home too and once you try it you will fall in love.
Why you’ll love this vegetable jalfrezi recipe
It is delicious. There is so much flavor here from the creamy tomato onion base and from the different veggies that go into this dish. It is gorgeous. A mixed vegetable jalfrezi is a feast for the eyes with all of those rainbow-colored veggies that go into it. It is important you do not overcook the veggies to maintain those lovely colors and the true texture of a jalfrezi. It’s a great way to use up leftover veggies: This is a great dish to use up any stragglers–that last carrot or bell pepper or bit of cauliflower sitting around in your fridge. The only veggies I’d absolutely add in here are bell peppers and carrots. The rest is negotiable. I added a zucchini and some purple cabbage I had left over. You can also add baby corn, green beans, green peas and mushrooms. It is healthy. This should probably have been the first bullet because I can’t emphasize this enough: everything in this pot is great for you. It is easy. This is a one-pot dish and it should take no more than 45 minutes from start to finish, even if you are a slow veg chopper. If you’re quick and can multitask, you’ll get it done in 30 minutes or less. It is everyone friendly. This is a soy-free, gluten-free and vegan recipe and you can easily make it nut-free. If you are low-carb, the jalfrezi, with just eight net carbs per serving, is a great option.
Expert tips
Cut the veggies into similar-sized pieces, preferably long slices or chunky squares. You want the veggies to retain their texture, shape and individual flavor so don’t chop them too small. This is a “hot” dish, remember, so you want it to be spicy. But if you absolutely cannot tolerate spice you can skip the green chilli pepper and use paprika instead of cayenne. Adding cashew or pistachio or pumpkin seed cream will mellow the sauce a bit and will add restaurant-style flavor to this dish, so be sure to add it. You need to cook the first round of tomatoes and onions thoroughly so they are almost paste-like. But when you add the second round of onions and tomatoes at the end of cooking don’t overcook those. You want their flavor and texture to add complexity to the dish. Use veggies that are quick-cooking–eggplant, for instance, or okra, would not be a good choice here. Leafies also won’t work as they will water down the flavor. Don’t overcook the veggies for the mix veg jalfrezi. They need to have a bite. On the same note, don’t fry the veggies over extremely high heat, as you would a Chinese style stir-fry, because you don’t want the sauce to burn. Maintain a medium level of heat and, if necessary, add a bit of water to the sauce. A jalfrezi is not meant to be a very saucy dish and the juices expressed by the veggies add plenty of moisture. But if you absolutely want some sauce stir up to ½ cup of water into the sauce before you add the veggies to the pot.
How to make vegetable jalfrezi
Heat the oil in a wide pan or skillet or, preferably, a wok or kadhai. Add cumin seeds and let them darken a bit and become fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add one finely chopped onion with a bit of salt and saute over medium heat until the onions brown. You don’t want to caramelize them thoroughly but you should have good color on the onions so they just melt into the sauce. Add the julienned ginger and crushed garlic and the minced green chili pepper, if using, and saute for a few seconds. Add two finely chopped tomatoes followed by the tomato paste. Mix.
Stir in the powdered spices: turmeric, cayenne and ground coriander. Add the crushed kasoori methi. Mix everything thoroughly and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the tomatoes are thoroughly broken down and have formed almost a paste along with the onions. If needed add a splash of water to keep the tomatoes and onions from burning or sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Make a “cream” by blending the cashews or pistachios (or pumpkin seeds) into a smooth paste with ½ cup water. Add to the tomato-onion paste in the wok and mix well. Add the carrots, cut into batons, to the pot. Mix, cover, and let the carrots cook five minutes.
Add the remaining veggies to the pot–bell peppers, cabbage, carrots and zucchini. Mix well and let the veggies cook over medium or medium high heat, stirring them frequently, for about three to five minutes or until they are tender but haven’t become completely soft.
Add a sliced onion and a sliced tomato to the pot and stir in. Add garam masala and salt. You can also add some ground black pepper, if you want a bit more spice. Stir in the vinegar, mix well and turn off the heat. Garnish with cilantro before serving.
What to serve with Vegetable Jalfrezi
Roti and vegan naan or aloo kulcha are delicious with veg jalfrezi. You can also serve it with a flavored rice like carrot rice, lemon rice or pomegranate pilaf. The jalfrezi also makes a great side dish served with a simple dal and basmati rice.
Storage tips
The jalfrezi will keep nicely in the fridge for up to four days. Reheat before serving. I wouldn’t recommend freezing it because the texture of the veggies will change, but if you absolutely want to you can freeze for up to a month.
Related recipes
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