Chicken Jalfrazie

Jalfrazie is a sautéd dish, which can be prepared with meat, poultry, sea food etc.
The word “Jalfrazie” came from 2 words: “Jal” meaning “spicy or pungent” and “Frazie” meaning “Fried”. As in the case of almost all of our cuisine, which started out as insipid concoctions, in the days of the British Raj, the original “Jal Frezie” was bland and tasteless. The Colonial servants would fry up the leftover Christmas Turkey and Chicken Roasts with some pepper, chillies, etc., for Breakfast the next day. Over the years many more ingredients and spices were added to this dish to make it as spicy and delicious as it is today and it has become synonymous with the cuisine of West Bengal.
CHICKEN JALFRAZIE

Serves 6 Preparation Time 1 hour
Ingredients

1 kg Boneless Chicken cut into cubes
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
3 dry red chillies broken into bits
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon ginger paste
3 tomatoes chopped
2 onions sliced finely
1 teaspoon spice powder or garam masala powder
1 teaspoon peppercorns
3 tablespoons oil
Salt to taste

Heat oil in a suitable pan and add the cumin seeds. When they begin to splutter add the dry red chillies, onions and pepper corns and fry till golden brown. Add the chicken and sauté for a few minutes till it changes colour. Now add all the other ingredients and stir well. Simmer on low heat till the chicken is tender and the gravy is quite thick. Serve with rice, chapattis or bread.