I'm Indian, and this recipe is pretty darn authentic as far as the ingredients are concerned, with the exception of the bay leaves (we use curry leaves) and the nutmeg. It's nearly identical to how I make chicken curry. The only difference is that I chop up my own tomato, and use less. Also, I've read that some people put green or red bell peppers in their jalfrezis. "Jalfrezi" incidentally means "dry fry" - the intention is to have a very thick gravy that coats the chicken nicely, as opposed to having a very liquidy sauce. But I guess you can make it whichever way you think tastes better! Oh, and by the way, Indian curries usually don't have "curry powder" in them. It's a common misconception. Happy eating!
I'm Indian, and this recipe is pretty darn authentic as far as the ingredients are concerned, with the exception of the bay leaves (we use curry leaves) and the nutmeg. It's nearly identical to how I make chicken curry. The only difference is that I chop up my own tomato, and use less. Also, I've read that some people put green or red bell peppers in their jalfrezis. "Jalfrezi" incidentally means "dry fry" - the intention is to have a very thick gravy that coats the chicken nicely, as opposed to having a very liquidy sauce. But I guess you can make it whichever way you think tastes better! Oh, and by the way, Indian curries usually don't have "curry powder" in them. It's a common misconception. Happy eating!
This was great! The only thing I did differently was not haul out the food processor for the paste. I just chopped onion fine crushed my garlic with my garlic press and grated my ginger. I like heat so I added something similar to cayenne but one could use red pepper flakes if wanting to kick it up a bit. I added about 1/3 cup chicken broth when adding the chicken to the pan. I threw in about 1/2 cup chick peas with the tomatoes. I think adding the broth helped it not be too dry. I served this over basmati rice with peas thrown into the rice. Very nice easy meal. This is really a great staple recipe for those of us that have just about every type of spice there is. I didn't have to run out for any of the ingredients!
I've made this several times now and my husband loves it. I've followed the advice of others and simmer 45 minutes covered and 45 uncovered. This recipe as written does not make a lot of sauce, so I have also doubled the tomato and spices with good results. Easy and delicious.
Very good (and simple) tomato-type curry recipe. My husband, who normally doesn't like dishes this spicy, loved it. I will definitely make it again.
Changes I made:
I used thinly sliced onions, minced garlic, and finely grated ginger instead of pulverizing them all together. I fried the onions (along with 4 WHOLE cardamom pods, 4 WHOLE cloves, the cinnamon stick and the bay leaves) until deep golden brown, and then added the garlic and the ginger.
Note: In my opinion, the success of recipes like this depends on the quality of the chicken. If the chicken is old and tough, your dining pleasure will be diminished :) I've noticed that these packages of boneless, skinless thighs are often seem to contain chicken of inferior quality. This recipe would be just as good in my opinion if a good, whole, fresh chicken were cut up into pieces...with the bone left in.
Excellent. Has a beautiful spicy Indian flavor. May not be that authentic (?) but was very tasty. Regarding ingredients I skipped the food processing instead just cut the onions really really small. I also used one can of diced peeled tomatoes (because I couldn't find crushed in the right size) and squashed/crushed them myself. Finally I used 4-5 chicken breasts pressed/cut thinly. Regarding cooking/serving I cooked (step three) for 45 minutes covered then noticed how liquidy the sauce was and then for 45 minutes uncovered. The sauce boiled down to a nice thick very flavorful paste. There wasn't enough sauce to serve this over rice or put extra sauce on rice but the sauce amply covered the chicken and was great. Some reviewers commented that this dish should be mixed with / served with something else like potatoes. So I served it alongside the Aloo Phujia (potatoes onions and tomatoes) recipe from this site and that pair worked very well together.
WEll this was our Valentine dinner tonight. I've made so many other things this past week I decided to cook a low maintenance meal. This took very little time to make and it produced a great meal. I was tempted to add curry powder to this but didn't because no other reviewer had attempted to do so. I didn't add the cardamom or cloves because I didn't have either one. I did add a bit more salt to my liking. Abby (my 14 month old baby girl) gobbled hers up and my hubby said he liked it as well. My Nathan had a cheeseburger and was happy with that. Thanks Karen.
OMG this recipe was sooo tasty. Even though I had to improvise cause I didn't have turmeric (I just used about a teaspoon of curry powder) nor ground cardamom (used 2 whole cardamom pods) and used 1 tsp of cinnamon in place of the stick it was still the bomb. My husband and I love Indian food and this tasted just like the way our Indian friends make it. Very exotic and very delicious!
I braised this in the oven for the afternoon. A unigue and flavourful twist for cheap old chicken thighs. In the future I'll use a combination of boneless skinless thighs and boneless skinless breasts. I found that I had to drain a lot of fat using just regular thighs. Also make sure your spices are fresh and aromatic...it makes a big difference in the final product. Overall a satisfying meal.
I submitted this recipe. I am not Indian born (Italian!!) but I have been married to my Indian husband for 23 years. I learned from the master's hand--his mother!! Northern Indians use Bay leaves...south Indians use curry leaves which by the way are wonderful!
want to like it but missing something....not salty enough. cooked it for 1.5 hrs and still not really right.
