Jalfrezi

Lore & Background

Jalfrezi recipes appeared in Anglo-Indian cookbooks during the British Raj as a way of using up cold meat leftovers by frying them with chilli and onion to make a curry. This ignored the fact that eating leftovers was taboo to many Hindus. The historian of food Navreet Rana writes that it 'is impossible to tell that [it is] designed for the use of leftovers.' An apocryphal story claims that jalfrezi was the invention of Marcus Sandys, but Marcus Sandys was not a governor of Bengal and there is no historical evidence for this tale. The English-language usage is derived from colloquial Bengali jhāl porhezī: jhāl means spicy hot; porhezī means suitable for an abstinent diet.

Reader's Guide

Jalfrezi's significance lies in its role as a British-Indian fusion dish that became the most popular dish in UK Indian restaurants, overtaking chicken tikka masala in a 2011 survey. Its stir-frying technique, introduced by Chinese labourers in Assam tea plantations during the 1830s, made it quicker to prepare than traditional curries. The dish is rare in restaurants in India, highlighting its status as a British adaptation. In Britain, versions by chefs like Jamie Oliver and the Hairy Bikers use fresh meat, while the British National Health Service proposes a low-fat chicken jalfrezi. In India, The Hindu offers a 'quick fix' version without gravy, cooked till dried. The dish's legacy includes being made in one-ton quantities for the UK's National Curry Day in 1998.

Did You Know?

• Chicken tikka masala, not jalfrezi, is widely recognized as the most popular dish in UK Indian restaurants.
• The stir fry technique used for jalfrezi was introduced to British India by Chinese labourers working in Assam tea plantations in the 1830s.
• The name derives from Bengali jhāl (spicy hot) and porhezī (suitable for an abstinent diet).