How to Cook Vegetable Jalfrezi

Serves: 8

Preparation time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients needed to make Vegetable Jalfrezi:

• 400 gms canned chickpeas, drained
• 1 head cauliflower, broken into florets
• 1 small butternut squash, halved, deseeded and chopped into small chunks
• 1 medium onion, peeled, halved and coarsely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
• 1 thumb-sized fresh ginger root, peeled and sliced
• 2 ripe tomatoes, quartered
• 2 tinned (400 gm each) chopped tomatoes
• 2 red bell peppers, deseeded and coarsely chopped
• 1 fresh red chilli, finely sliced
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, leaves picked and stalks finely chopped
• ½ jar (283 gm) jalfrezi curry paste
• 200 gm plain yogurt
• 1 knob butter
• 2 lemons
• 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Vegetable oil, for cooking
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cooking instructions for Vegetable Jalfrezi:

• Heat a large heat-proof dish over moderately high heat and drizzle a generous lashing of oil.
• Drop in the butter and heat the oil-butter mixture until the former melts.
• Throw in the garlic, ginger, onions, chili and chopped cilantro stalks into it.
• Sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until they soften and caramelize slightly.
• Stir in the drained chickpeas, chopped red pepper and butternut squash chunks until well combined.
• Add a dollop of curry paste and give it a good stir to coat the veggies well with the mixture.
• Drop in the cauliflower florets as well as the chopped fresh tomatoes, and empty the cup of tinned tomatoes into it.
• Add a splash of vinegar into it and pour 400 ml water into it.
• Stir them all together until well combined and bring the mixture to a boil.
• Reduce it to a simmer and continue to cook, covered, for about 45 minutes.
• Remove the lid after half an hour of cooking to prevent the curry from becoming too runny.
• Once the veggies soften and are cooked through, adjust the seasonings and stir in a splash of lemon juice.
• Transfer it to a serving bowl and top it up with a dollop of plain yogurt.
• Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve alongside lemon wedges.

image credit: Wikimedia Commons

Last Updated on March 18, 2013 by