Chicken Jalfrezi. (Vansh A. Gupta/Siliconeer)

A very flavored preparation of chicken for the bold palate, that’s delicious, sweet, spicy, tangy, and hot, all at the same time. Chef Sanjay Patel shows you how to make it at home.

Ingredients:

  • 6 long green chilies
  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 tbsp. sunflower oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
  • 3 ripe tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 tbsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp. garam masala
  • 1 tsp. ground turmeric
  • 1 tbsp. caster sugar
  • 1 tsp. flaked sea salt
  • 200ml cold water
  • 2 tbsp. low-fat natural yoghurt
  • 1 medium onion, cut into 12 wedges
  • 1 green pepper, deseeded and cut into chunks
  • 2 tomatoes, quartered
  • 2 tsp. corn flour
  • 1 tbsp. water

Method:

Finely chop 4 of the chilies – deseed a couple or all of them first if you don’t like very spicy food. Split the other 2 chilies from stalk to tip on 1 side without opening or removing the seeds. Cut each chicken breast into 7 or 8 bite-sized chunks.

Heat a tbsp. of oil in a large, fairly deep, non-stick frying pan over a high heat. Add the garlic, chopped chilies, chopped tomatoes, cumin, garam masala, turmeric, sugar and salt, then stir-fry for 3-4 minutes until the vegetables soften. Don’t let the garlic or spices burn or they will add a bitter flavor to the sauce.

Next, add the chicken pieces and whole chilies and cook for 3 minutes, turning the chicken regularly. Pour over the 200 ml of water, stir in the yogurt and reduce the heat only slightly – you want the sauce to simmer. Cook for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally until the chicken is tender and cooked through and the sauce has reduced by about a third. The yogurt may separate to begin with but will disappear into the sauce.

While the chicken is cooking, heat the remaining tbsp. of oil in a clean pan and stir-fry the onion and pepper over a high heat for 3-4 minutes until lightly browned. Add the quartered tomatoes and fry for 2-3 minutes more, stirring until the vegetables are just tender. Mix the corn flour with the tbsp. of water to form a smooth paste.

When the chicken is cooked, stir in the corn flour mixture and simmer for a few seconds until the sauce thickens, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat, add the hot stir-fried vegetables and toss together lightly. Serve immediately.