Paneer Jalfrezi Recipe

Paneer Jalfrezi is a vegetarian take on the “Jalfrezi“, a classic curried Indian dish popular in the UK. This quick dish is made with paneer, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes & spices. A tempering of cumin (jeera) with sautéed aromatics and a generous sprinkling of spices completes this delicious stir-fry recipe. Paneer Jalfrezi is a perfect side for your Naans, rotis, simple Jeera Rice, or even a bowl of steaming aromatic rice like basmati or jasmine.

While Jalfrezi is considered the second most popular curry in the UK, the dish has a Bengal and colonial India origin story. Food historians believe that jalfrezi (the original curry) was born out of the necessity to use leftover roasted meat in the absence of refrigeration.

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Jhal in Bengali means hot & spicy while Frezi is literally stir fry. This curry dish is a unique mix of Indian and Chinese cooking styles but was invented for the British homes. The dish is prepared with locally available vegetables & spices but stir fried using a high heat technique, introduced to the local Bengalis by the Chinese immigrants.

So Jalfrezi is a stir fry made with meat, fish or paneer, vegetables along with tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, chili and spices. A prominent feature of a good jalfrezi is the crunchiness of its vegetables. While the modern, meat-based jalfrezi is made with fresh stir fried meat, you have vegetarian versions too. A popular one being this paneer jalfrezi and Vegetable Jalfrezi.

About Paneer Jalfrezi

Paneer Jalfrezi is a quick and easy to make Indian dish that comes together in less than 30 minutes. Aromatics like onion and ginger are sautéed with cumin seeds in hot oil. The addition of pureed tomatoes follows a quick stir fry with spices, bell peppers, and any other vegetable you choose to add.

Lastly paneer and kasuri methi are tossed in the flavorsome spicy and hot stir fry. How easy right?

Paneer jalfrezi is a good mix of protein and nutritious veggies. When you combine this with a wholegrain main dish, it makes a balanced lunch or dinner meal. This tasty dish complements any mains from flatbread to cooked grains. Serve it with cooked rice, pulao, biryani, roti, naan, paratha or chapati.

Jalfrezi is a semi-dry dish and you won’t have tons of gravy/sauce. So this also makes a great filling for your wrap and sandwiches. On occasions, I have also made kathi rolls and sandwiches with this filling. You will need some salad veggies like cucumber, zucchini, onions and carrots when you assemble them.

Fresh vs canned tomatoes

Most restaurant jalfrezi recipes use a small amount of tomato paste or ketchup or canned tomato puree for a tangy flavor. If you are trying to avoid processed foods, go with fresh ripe tomatoes like the way I used here. Cook down the fresh tomatoes well and add a small amount of vinegar to get a similar tangy tomatoey flavor.

The next best option is to use store bought tomato puree/ passata or tomato paste that comes in glass jars/ bottles. Most of these have no citric acid or preservative added to it.

Ingredients & Substitutes

• Paneer is the star ingredient of this dish. You may substitute with boiled chickpeas, tofu, halloumi, boiled eggs or shrimp. Except for the first substitute, all others are best pan-fried briefly before adding to the jalfrezi. More details in the variations section.
• Onions are used in 2 forms – chopped/sliced and diced. Chopped or sliced onions help balance the tang from tomatoes and add body to the tomato base. Diced are kept crunchy and partially cooked to retain the sweet flavors.
• Bell peppers are a special ingredient that you will always find in a Jalfrezi. Green, red, yellow and orange bell peppers go well. If you don’t prefer capsicum, substitute with carrots, baby corn, green beans or baby French beans.
• Chillies provide the heat and spicy flavor to your dish. I use dried red and fresh green chilies but you may use any one.
• Spices like garam masala, coriander powder, red chili powder and cumin help flavor the dish and balance the tangy from tomatoes.

More Paneer recipes
Matar Paneer
Paneer Makhani
Restaurant Paneer Butter Masala
Paneer Bhurji

Photo Guide

How to make Paneer Jalfrezi (Stepwise Photos)

This recipe makes 4 serving if you use 300 grams of paneer.

Preparation

1. Wash and chop 3 medium tomatoes (260 grams to make about 1½ cups chopped). Add them to a blender and make a smooth puree. Or If you want you may substitute fresh tomatoes with ½ cup store bought tomato puree (like passata, without citric acid added) or use 3 tablespoons tomato paste (50 grams) mixed with ½ cup water. (I use double concentrate mutti paste)

2. Prep up the other ingredients.

• You need 250 to 300 grams paneer (8 to 10 oz), I cut mine to ¾ * 2 inch long but you may cut to any shape and size you want.
• You need 1 medium onion. ¾ cup sliced or fine chopped + ½ cup diced & layers separated – total (170 grams)
• Slice ½ medium sized green bell pepper to make half cup (60 grams). Make sure they are only ¼ thick else they take longer to cook. see picture below.
• Slice ½ medium sized red bell pepper to make half cup (60 grams).
• Slit and deseeded 1 green chili. If you want you can also use 2 dried red chilies (deseed for kids)
• You also need 2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste or 1 teaspoon each, ginger & garlic minced or grated
• ½ to ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds
• ½ to 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (adjust to taste, I use 1 tsp)
• Optional – ¼ teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon garam masala (or use ¾ tsp garam masala + ½ tsp coriander powder if your gm is strong or pungent)
• Optional for a tart flavor – ¾ to 1 tablespoon vinegar (white or apple cider or tomato paste or ketchup mixed in 2 tbsps water)
• ¾ teaspoon sea salt + 1 teaspoon sugar/ jaggery (to balance the flavors, optional)
• 1 teaspoon Kasuri methi (optional, but recommended) + 2 tbsps coriander leaves to garnish

Temper & Stir Fry

3. Pour 2 to 3 tablespoon (30 to 45 ml) oil or ghee to a hot pan. Add cumin seeds, green and dried chilies if using. (make sure you deseed the chilies else the seeds will splutter in the oil.

4. When they begin to sizzle, add chopped onions. Stir fry on a medium heat for 5 mins, until light golden.

5. Add the ginger garlic paste & saute for a minute.

6. Reduce the heat and stir in the red chili powder, garam masala, coriander powder (if using), salt and turmeric.

7. Pour the tomato puree and cook on a medium high heat until thick, for 5 to 7 mins. If you are using store bought puree or paste it takes only 2 to 3 mins.

8. Add the diced onions & bell peppers. Stir fry on a medium high heat until slightly tender, yet crunchy. It takes me about 4 to 5 mins. If your pan dries out, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. I added 2 tbsps. (If you want you may cover and cook)

9. It is important to taste test at this stage and adjust salt. Also add vinegar/ tomato paste (only if needed) and jaggery or sugar.

10. Add the paneer. Crush kasuri methi in your palms and sprinkle here.

11. Gently coat the paneer with the sauce. Cover and cook for 2 to 3 mins until heated through.

Add 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves. Serve paneer jalfrezi with naan, roti or plain basmati rice.

Expert Tips

• Do not cut down the amount of tomatoes in the recipe. You may use more but don’t reduce else your dish will be dry when you let it sit for a while.
• This dish can easily become too hot. If you are making this for kids, omit the green chilies. A quick way to fix an excessively hot jalfrezi is to stir in some cashew cream or heavy cream.
• For the best paneer jalfrezi, keep the veggies (bell peppers) crunchy. Do not overcook them. Cook them for a few minutes on high flame until they lose the raw flavor.
• To give the dish extra tart flavor, add vinegar or tomato paste is highly recommended. Restaurants add tomato ketchup.
• Don’t overcook the paneer else it will dry out and become hard.

Variations

• Boiled egg jalfrezi – hard boil 6 to 8 eggs, make slits and fry in 1 tbsp ghee or oil, until blistered. Add to the jalfrezi when the bell peppers are done.
• Shrimp jalfrezi – marinate the shrimp with little salt and red chili. Sear on a pan, until partially cooked for 1 minute on each side. Add to the sauce and cook just until done.
• Chickpea jalfrezi – Add more water and cook the boiled chickpeas with the tomato base. Later add the bell peppers and stir fry.

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Paneer Jalfrezi first published in July 2015. Updated in July 2025.