Chicken Tikka Jhalfrazie

I love cooking with whatever is available in the pantry. The challenge lies in making something out of nothing..well not really nothing but whatever is handy! I had a packet of ready to fry chicken reshmi tikka and I ended up making a jhalfrazie out of it. As Wiki pedia states - Jhalfrazie is a type of curry that involves frying marinated pieces of meat, fish ,veggies in oil and spices to produce a dry thick sauce. It also essentially includes bell pepper,onion and tomato - seemed perfect for what I had in mind. Can be made in a jiffy, perfect for week night dinners, low fat with goodness of veggies and great on taste.Well what else do you need. Few hot rotis and you are in food heaven!

 

Ingredients:

Ready to eat - Chicken tikka  - 1 packet

Onion - 1 large - diced

Tomato - 1 large - diced

Bell pepper/capsicum - 1 medium - diced

Ginger - garlic paste - 1 tsp

Roasted cumin powder - 1 tbsp.

Roasted coriander powder - 1 tsp

Red chili powder - 1tsp

Tomato puree - 1 tbsp.

Fresh cream - 1 tbsp. - I used low fat  Amul cream

Sugar - a pinch

Salt - to taste

Refined oil - 1 tsp + 1 tsp

Dry red chillies - a few

Fresh Coriander - a handful chopped for garnish.

Method:

In a pan heat 1 tsp oil, tip the ready to fry tikkas and fry till lightly brown in colour. Or follow the instruction on the packet. You could even microwave a few varities. Drain and keep aside.

In the same pan , add another tsp of oil. Tip in the ginger - garlic paste and the dried red chillies. Fry till slightly brown in colour and it doesn't smell raw. Add the diced onions, tomatoes and bell pepper and quickly sauté on high heat.

Next add the red chilli powder , roasted cumin and coriander powder , sugar, salt and the tomato puree. Mix well and fry for 2-5 mins. Add a little warm water to prevent the masalas from burning. Now add the cooked chicken tikkas. Give everything a good mix, turn down the heat and add the fresh cream.  Garnish with fresh coriander.

Remove from heat and serve hot with a bread of your choice.

Notes:

•  The chicken can be prepared at home too. Just take some boneless chicken and marinate with a little yogurt , ginger - garlic paste, salt, white pepper powder and some lime juice. Follow the rest of the process.
• Since Jhalfrazie is essentially a medley of ingredients - you could make a vegetarian version by adding carrots,green beans,baby corn etc.
• This dish also uses a lot of green chillies that I have not used. So feel free to adjust the spice levels according to taste.