This delectable vegetable jalfrezi is a quick Indian style stir-fry of vegetables, including bell peppers, carrots and cauliflower. The veggies are cooked lightly in a spicy and creamy tomato onion sauce so they retain their beautiful colors, textures and flavors.
Table of Contents
What is vegetable jalfrezi?
Jalfrezi (pronounced jhaal-fray-zee) is a spicy Indian dish of vegetables and sometimes chicken in a creamy tomato onion sauce. This is a brightly colored dish, beautiful to look at, and it comes together quickly. Vegetable jalfrezi is a popular menu item at Indian restaurants and it is especially popular in Britain because of its colonial roots.
The story goes that jalfrezi was created by ingenious Indian cooks in the kitchens of British colonists who were looking to create a spicier meal for themselves using leftovers from the much blander food their employers had a taste for. "Jhal" from Bengali translates to "hot" as in "spicy-from-chilies-hot," and "frezi" translates to "stir fry," a technique introduced to Bengal by Chinese immigrants. The cooks created a curry base of tomatoes and onions in a wok, then stir-fried veggies like tomatoes and bell peppers along with leftover pieces of meat in that spicy, savory sauce.
The resulting dish is incredibly delicious, with contrasting textures from the silky tomato onion sauce and the al dente veggies. Although a jalfrezi can be described as a "curry," it is important to keep in mind that this is not a very saucy dish like a vegetable curry. The thick, creamy sauce should wrap around the vegetables, coating them.
My recipe for vegan vegetable jalfrezi has lots of delicious texture and flavor from a perfectly spiced tomato onion base and an assortment of vegetables. This is a great dish to use up any stragglers--that last zucchini or bit of cauliflower sitting around in your fridge. The only veggies you must use are bell peppers and carrots, the rest are negotiable.
This is a one-pot dish and it should take no more than 45 minutes from start to finish. If you're quick and can multitask, you'll get it done in 30 minutes or less. It is healthy, soy-free, gluten-free and vegan, of course, and you can easily make it nut-free. If you are low-carb, this jalfrezi has only eight net carbs per serving.
Recipe card
Vegetable Jalfrezi
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or any neutral oil
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 2 medium onions (cut one onion into a very fine dice and the other into long, thin slices)
- 1-inch knob ginger (julienned)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced or crushed)
- 1 green chili pepper (like jalapeno, optional)
- 3 large tomatoes (cut two tomatoes in a fine dice and one in long, thin slices)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste (or ketchup, or ¼ cup tomato sauce)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ to 1 teaspoon cayenne (pr Kashmiri red chili powder. Can sub paprika for less heat)
- 2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon kasoori methi (dry fenugreek leaves, crushed in your palms)
- 2 tablespoons raw cashews (or pistachios. If nut-free use pumpkin seeds)
- 1 medium carrot (cut into 1-inch by ¼-inch batons)
- 2 bell peppers (or about 8 sweet peppers, any color. Cut into long, thin strips)
- 1 cup cabbage (thinly sliced)
- 1 cup cauliflower (separated into florets)
- 1 medium zucchini (cut into 1-inch by ¼-inch batons)
- ½ to 1 teaspoon garam masala (use less to begin with and add more if needed)
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon vinegar (or use lemon juice)
- 2 tablespoons cilantro (finely chopped)
Instructions
- Blend the cashews or pistachios (or pumpkin seeds) into a smooth paste with ½ cup water. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a wide saucepan or skillet or, preferably, a wok. Add cumin seeds and let them darken a bit and become fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the 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 the 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.
- Add to the cashew/pistachio/pumpkin-seed paste to the tomato-onion sauce in the wok and mix well. If you want a saucier jalfrezi, you can add about ½ cup water to the wok at this time and mix.
- Add the carrots, cut into batons, to the pot. Mix, cover, and let the carrots cook five minutes. Stir once or twice to make sure nothing's sticking.
- 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 enough but still have a good bite.
- 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.
Notes
- Cut the veggies into similar-sized pieces, preferably long slices or chunky squares. The veggies should retain their texture, shape and individual flavor so don't chop them too small.
- 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. Also 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.
Nutrition Information
To print recipe card without images, uncheck "instruction images" after clicking the "print recipe" button.
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.
Vegetable jalfrezi FAQs
You can use baby corn, broccoli, winter squash, leeks, green beans, mushrooms and green peas.
This is meant to be a spicy dish, but if you want to reduce the spice you can skip the green chili pepper and use paprika instead of cayenne.
You can, although frozen vegetables won't cook up with the same al dente texture and will be softer. Place the frozen veggies in a colander and let them thaw so any excess water strains out. Pat them dry before use.
Absolutely! Tofu would be delicious in this dish. Use extra firm tofu with all water pressed out, or high protein tofu cut in cubes. Add it to the wok along with the veggies.
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.
You can freeze the jalfrezi for up to a month but the vegetables will get softer and lose their al dente texture after freezing. Thaw the jalfrezi and reheat on the stove or in the microwave before serving.
Annika says
Not only is this recipe super delicious, it's also super easy and the cooking time in between the various steps gives you enough time to clean the kitchen, lol. Loved it, served it with rice and naan and will definitely cook this again. Thank you for this recipe, love from Germany.
Amanda says
This is why I came to vegan cooking. All of the flavours! A litt Time consuming for a Monday night, but we’ll worth the wait.
I wasn’t so successful with pasting the cashews, so it was a little gritty, but that’s on me.
Added some string beans and this is so very delicious
Valerie says
Really good. Better heated the next day. I have never been disappointed in any of your recipes.
Vaishali says
So awesome to hear you enjoyed it, Valerie! Thanks for lettine me know. 🙂
Jackie says
I made this today. Really really delicious ! Thank you for a great recipe!
Vaishali says
So happy to hear, Jackie! Glad you enjoyed it.