Chicken Jalfrezi

Name: Chicken Jalfrezi
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons coriander seeds; 2 teaspoons cumin seeds; 1/2 cinnamon stick; 2 bay leaves; 2 dried red chiles; Seeds from 4 green cardamom pods; 6 whole cloves; 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds; 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric; 5 tablespoons (75 ml) vegetable oil; 2 pounds (900 g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, halved; Salt and pepper; 3 onions, finely chopped; 4 cloves garlic, finely minced; 1/2-inch (12-mm) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced or grated; 2 green chiles, finely chopped; 4 to 5 tablespoons (60 to 75 ml) red wine vinegar; 6 canned plum tomatoes, lightly pressed with a fork; 2 tablespoons ketchup; 1 large green bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch (2.5-cm) squares; 1 large red bell pepper, diced into 1-inch (2.5-cm) squares; 1 teaspoon ghee (clarified butter); 2 tablespoons plain yogurt; Coarsely chopped fresh coriander for garnish; 2 cups (400 g) basmati rice; 4 cups (1 liter) water; 2 bay leaves; 2 whole cloves; 2 green cardamom pods; Pinch of saffron threads

January 24, 2012

This recipe is an homage. While aboard the Ocean, en route to Prince Edward Island, we had three choices for dinner: haddock Dugléré, chicken jalfrezi, or fish chowder and sandwich. Meredith went for the chicken, everyone else had haddock. Fred looked at Meredith’s, knew it was better, and talked the entire trip about ordering it on our return. As we made our way back to Quebec, all he wanted was a warm and true jalfrezi. So we’re back on the train, in our favorite booth, two bottles of wine down when the attendant comes to our table. Fred orders. “Sorry, sir, all we have left are ham sandwiches and Pringles.” Devastation in the form of a one-hour rant about the decline of the railroad ensues. The jalfrezi had such an impact that we wanted to get it into this chapter. So we asked ex–Joe Beefer and curry pro Kaunteya Nundy to come up with a classic jalfrezi. Not surprisingly, he came up with a recipe that put the VIA Rail version to shame. This is for Fred. And this is what Kaunteya had to say about the dish: “I asked my family what jalfrezi means, and I was told by my Bengali grandmother [Calcutta region] that jal means ‘hot’ and frezi means ‘fry.’ This is a very Anglo-Indian dish that was invented by the British. My mom, Shobhna Nundy, and I created this recipe. We made it three times to make sure that it was just right and would not blow away the ‘white folks’ from a spicy [heat] level.”

Recipe notes