Paneer Jalfrezi is a delicious, one-pot Indian stir fry (sabzi) with cottage cheese (paneer) and vegetables. It is a quick, vegetarian dish that takes less than 30 minutes. Be sure to watch the video!
About Jalfrezi
In recent years, vegetable jalfrezi has gained quite a rank in the popularity charts of vegetarian Indian dishes.
The word ‘Jalfrezi’ or ‘Jhalfrezi’ or ‘zalfrezi’ is a combination of two words Jhal + Pharezi. Jhal is a Bengali word for spicy, and Pharezi in Urdu means suitable for diet . Hence, a spicy stir fry of vegetables is suitable for eating.
The dish was mainly developed during the colonial era to suit the British palate.
Over the years, the vegetable jalfrezi has become highly popular because it’s easy to adapt and customize. Plus, the taste hints at spices yet not so much chili or heat. Perfect for a novice Indian food lover.
Hence, today vegetable jalfrezi can be spotted on the menu of many Indian restaurants worldwide. It is one of those modern Indian dishes that are loved for their uncomplicated process and BIG flavours.
What is Paneer Jalfrezi?
Paneer Jalfrezi is a version of vegetable jalfrezi with the addition of Indian cottage cheese (paneer) along with bell peppers. It is a fantastic gluten-free, vegetarian side dish.
Recipe Variations:
- You can skip paneer and make vegetable jalfrezi with vegetables such as cauliflower, potato, bell peppers, onion, and capsicum .
- You can make the dish saucier by adding 1 Cup of water or vegetable stock.
- Or make vegan jalfrezi by adding tofu chunks along with vegetables of your choice.
My Reasons To LOVE Jalfrezi
I will give you not one but many reasons to love this dish.
- naturally gluten-free & vegetarian
- one-pot dish
- ready in 30 minutes
- highly customizable
- meal-prep friendly
How To Make Jalfrezi
- Heat oil in a wok or stir-fry pan over medium flame.
- Add cumin seeds and nigella seeds. Cook for 10 seconds. Add sliced onion, and fry till onion softens. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for a minute.
- Next, add the tomato sauce, salt, and spices. Stir to combine. Add ¼ cup of water, mix, and cook the masala over low heat for 1 – 2 minutes.
- Add the coloured bell peppers and capsicum, and fry again on high flame for 2 minutes to cook the vegetables.
- At last, add paneer strips, sliced tomato, and dried fenugreek leaves, and gently mix them until all the masalas coat all the vegetables and paneer. Continue cooking for 2-3 minutes but do not stir very frequently otherwise, the paneer will crumble.
- Sprinkle sliced ginger and coriander leaves before serving.
Serving Suggestion
Paneer Jalfrezi is an Indian-style vegetarian stir fry dish. It tastes delicious with chapati, roti, or any other flatbread.
For a restaurant-style meal, serve jalfrezi with naan bread , mint raita , kachumber salad , and dal makhani .
It tastes delicious as a sandwich and tortilla wrap filling as well.
Watch Paneer Jalfrezi Video
Paneer Jalfrezi, when cooked without paneer, is called vegetable jalfrezi. You can add a variety of mixed vegetables to the jalfrezi. Both versions are cooked in tomato-based gravy and sautéed with onions, ginger, and flavourful Indian spices.
To make vegan jalfrezi, skip adding paneer (cottage cheese) or use tofu instead of paneer. Vegetable Jalfrezi without paneer is naturally vegan.
The leftover jalfrezi can be stir-fried with steamed rice to make pulao/fried rice or used as stuffing for wraps and sandwiches.
More Paneer Recipes
- Kadai Paneer
- Paneer Curry
- Grilled Paneer
- Paneer Kali Mirch
- Matar Paneer Curry
- Paneer Kofta Curry
- Paneer Butter Masala
If you try this recipe and love it, please leave a comment and a rating. This helps us grow and reach other food lovers like you.
Ingredients
- ▢ 250 Gram Paneer (cottage cheese), cut into strips
- ▢ 1 Cup sliced onion
- ▢ 1 Cup sliced red bell pepper
- ▢ 1 Cup sliced green capsicum
- ▢ 1 Cup sliced tomato (discard pulp and seeds)
- ▢ 1 Teaspoon nigella seeds (kalonji)
- ▢ 1 Teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- ▢ 1 Tablespoon ginger & garlic paste ( see recipe )
- ▢ ½ Cup tomato sauce or ketchup
- ▢ Salt to taste
- ▢ 1 Teaspoon turmeric powder
- ▢ 1 Teaspoon red chilli powder or to taste
- ▢ 2 Teaspoon coriander powder
- ▢ 4 Tablespoon mustard oil or cooking oil
- ▢ 1 Tablespoon Kasuri Methi or Dried Fenugreek Leaves
Ingredients For Garnish:
- ▢ 1 Tablespoon thinly sliced ginger
Instructions
- Heat oil in a wok or stir fry pan over medium flame.
- Add cumin seeds and nigella seeds. Cook for 10 seconds. Add sliced onion, fry till onion softens. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for a minute.
- Next, add the tomato sauce, salt, and spices. Stir to combine. Add ¼ cup of water, mix, and cook the masala over low heat for 1 – 2 minutes.
- Add the colored bell peppers, capsicum, and fry again on high flame for 2 minutes to cook the vegetables.
- At last add paneer strips, sliced tomato, dried fenugreek leaves, and gently mix them until all the masalas coat all the vegetables and paneer. Continue cooking for 2-3 minutes but do not stir very frequently otherwise paneer will crumble.
- Sprinkle sliced ginger and coriander leaves before serving.
- Serve Paneer Jalfrezi warm with chapati or naan .
Recipe Notes:
- Jalfrezi is a quick stir-fry and has a crunch to it. Hence, do not cook the vegetables for too long.
- Instead of tomato sauce, you can add tomato pasta sauce or canned tomatoes along with a teaspoon of sugar.
- Adjust the amount of red chili powder as per your taste preference. If you want to make it spicier, add sliced green chili.
- From colorful bell peppers, carrot, cauliflower to potato, you can add any vegetable of choice in jalfrezi.
- For cooking, you can use olive oil, coconut oil, mustard oil, or any other cooking oil available.
Nutrition
We follow a strict NO SPAM Policy
Paneer Jalfrezi Recipe
Equipment
- Heavy Bottom Kadhai
Ingredients
- 250 Gram Paneer (cottage cheese), cut into strips
- 1 Cup sliced onion
- 1 Cup sliced red bell pepper
- 1 Cup sliced green capsicum
- 1 Cup sliced tomato (discard pulp and seeds)
- 1 Teaspoon nigella seeds (kalonji)
- 1 Teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- 1 Tablespoon ginger & garlic paste ( see recipe )
- ½ Cup tomato sauce or ketchup
- Salt to taste
- 1 Teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 Teaspoon red chilli powder or to taste
- 2 Teaspoon coriander powder
- 4 Tablespoon mustard oil or cooking oil
- 1 Tablespoon Kasuri Methi or Dried Fenugreek Leaves
Ingredients For Garnish:
- 1 Tablespoon thinly sliced ginger
Instructions
- Heat oil in a wok or stir fry pan over medium flame.
- Add cumin seeds and nigella seeds. Cook for 10 seconds. Add sliced onion, fry till onion softens. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for a minute.
- Next, add the tomato sauce, salt, and spices. Stir to combine. Add ¼ cup of water, mix, and cook the masala over low heat for 1 - 2 minutes.
- Add the colored bell peppers, capsicum, and fry again on high flame for 2 minutes to cook the vegetables.
- At last add paneer strips, sliced tomato, dried fenugreek leaves, and gently mix them until all the masalas coat all the vegetables and paneer. Continue cooking for 2-3 minutes but do not stir very frequently otherwise paneer will crumble.
- Sprinkle sliced ginger and coriander leaves before serving.
- Serve Paneer Jalfrezi warm with chapati or naan .
Video
Notes
- Jalfrezi is a quick stir-fry and has a crunch to it. Hence, do not cook the vegetables for too long.
- Instead of tomato sauce, you can add tomato pasta sauce or canned tomatoes along with a teaspoon of sugar.
- Adjust the amount of red chili powder as per your taste preference. If you want to make it spicier, add sliced green chili.
- From colorful bell peppers, carrot, cauliflower to potato, you can add any vegetable of choice in jalfrezi.
- For cooking, you can use olive oil, coconut oil, mustard oil, or any other cooking oil available.
Nutrition
Chinese Bhel is a fusion Indian-Chinese style crispy noodle chaat. It is a delicious munching snack for movie nights or parties. Be sure to watch the video!
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
- Meal Prep Tips for Chinese Bhel
- Watch Chinese Bhel Recipe Video
- Chinese Bhel Recipe
The flavours of this Indian Chinese Chaat are quite balanced and have the right amount of sweetness along with the spiciness. It is truly a kaleidoscope of colours with a truckload of crispy fried noodles, vegetables, and bold sweet chilli sauce.
Snacks like this fried noodle chaat add so much variety to the appetizer menu. It is always on my list of best Indo-Chinese party recipes .
The popular Indo-Chinese cuisine barely has any salads. So whenever you think of interesting side dishes to serve with the other appetizers this fried noodle salad or the Chinese Chicken Salad is a fantastic choice.
Meal Prep Tips for Chinese Bhel
The quickest and easiest way to make this Chinese Bhel in a flick of a second is to fry a large batch of noodles and store them.
- Make Crispy Noodles in advance: You can keep the crispy noodles in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week . They remain equally crunchy and fresh. Usually, when I am planning to make crispy noodles chaat for parties, fried noodles are prepared 1 – 2 days in advance.
- Prepare Sweet Chilli Sauce: For flavouring the Chinese Bhel I use homemade sweet chilli sauce . It is a flavour bomb. You can make the sweet chilli sauce 1 week before and store it in the refrigerator for months.
Last minute, toss the noodles in seasoning along with chopped vegetables. And a delicious party snack is ready in less than 20 minutes.
Ways To Use Fried Noodles
Use them as toppings for Chinese soups (manchow soup, sweet corn soup , etc)
- Make Chinese Chicken Salad
- Prepare delicious Chinese chop suey using fried noodles
- add a handful of fried noodles on top of one-pot soupy meals
…….or just munch them just like that!
Watch Chinese Bhel Recipe Video
More Indo-Chinese Snack Recipes
- Chilli Idli Fry
- Veg Spring Roll
- Gobi Manchurian
- Honey Chilli Potato
- Crispy Lotus Stem Stir Fry
Ingredients
Ingredients For Fried Noodles:
- ▢ 150 gram dry Hakka noodles
- ▢ Salt to taste
- ▢ 4 Cup refined oil (or any flavourless oil)
- ▢ 6 Cup Water to boil noodles
Ingredients For Chinese Bhel:
- ▢ 1 Cup onion, fine chopped
- ▢ 1 Cup capsicum diced
- ▢ 1 Cup shredded cabbage (optional)
- ▢ 1 Cup carrot thinly sliced
- ▢ ¼ Cup chopped coriander
- ▢ ¼ Cup spring onion, finely chopped
- ▢ 2 teaspoon sweet chilli sauce ( see recipe )
- ▢ 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- ▢ 1 teaspoon tomato ketchup
- ▢ Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
How To Make Fried Noodles:
- Boil the noodles in hot water as per packet instructions. Add salt in water while boiling noodles. Drain water from the boiled noodles and wash it under cold water to prevent more cooking.
- Heat oil for deep-frying pan over high heat.
- Once the oil is preheated deep fry the boiled noodles in small batches till they turn crispy. Each batch takes 10 -15 minutes to get golden and crisp. Keep turning the noodles using tongs at regular intervals.
- Transfer fried noodles to a plate lined with paper towel and set aside. Similarly, fry all the noodles in small batches.
- Let the noodles sit on an oil absorbing paper for 10 – 15 minutes.
How To Make Chinese Bhel:
- Gently crush the noodles to get the bite size pieces. Into a large bowl stir in all the chopped vegetables, sauces, and the fried noodles.
- Combine all the ingredients together. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
- Serve Chinese Bhel immediately.
Recipe Notes:
- If you don’t want to use fried noodles immediately, allow them to cool down and store in an airtight box at room temperature for 2 – 3 days.
- After combining sauces, vegetables and fried noodles, serve Chaat immediately else noodles lose their crunchiness and turn soggy.
Nutrition
We follow a strict NO SPAM Policy
