Chicken Jalfrezi Sub Sandwiches
Chicken jalfrezi tastes so good in a sub style sandwich! Anytime I see a dish with peppers and onions, the Massachusetts kid in me wants to put it on a sub roll. When I first started eating Indian food I lived in Bermuda and one of my favorites was chicken jalfrezi. I didn’t realize that this was more of a British-Indian dish. When I got back to the states, I couldn’t really find it at restaurants the way it was on every menu in Bermuda! I had to figure out how to make it!
Jalfrezi is generally served as a spicy and dry (in comparison) curry with lots of sauteed peppers and onions. Last time I ate it, It reminded me of a sausage pepper and onion sandwich, and I found myself wishing I had a sub roll to eat it in. Of course, I made this mashup happen as soon as possible. With a small cart, the right permits, and this recipe, I could get rich outside Fenway next month…
Starting the Chicken Jalfrezi
Start with a pan and some oil and add in onions and cumin seeds. Then the chicken! I use chicken thighs for 9 out of 10 chicken recipes and they are especially good in this curry. I love the Chicken Jalfrezi recipe from Tea for Turmeric, and often refer to that as a guide.
Next add in ginger garlic paste, some chili powder, and then tomato paste.
Adding the Veggies
Next, add in the peppers and onions. This is supposed to be super hot, so I also added some serrano peppers to kick it up a bit.
Finally, some soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, and red vinegar to finish it.
Making the chicken jalfrezi sub sandwiches
Toast up the bread first, then add some provolone to it.
Add in a heaping pile of that spicy delicious curry, then top with lots of cilantro.
The tasty sourdough bread was a perfect sub roll for this chicken jalfrezi sandwich! The crispy bread provided a great textural contrast and the bright cilantro brought everything together! I am never sure about adding cheese to a sub like this but the provolone was actually a fantastic flavor in the mix!
Spicy, tender, juicy. This sandwich was exploding with flavor. I have leftovers and I absolutely can’t wait to eat this again for lunch today.
Twists on this chicken jalfrezi sub sandwich
You could make this with chicken breasts if you want, but thighs are much better in my opinion. They stay juicy and are so tender! You could also dial back the heat if you want and use less chili powder and no cilantro.
For more fun twists on sandwiches, check out my fried chicken paneer sandwich, red curry fish sandwich, or this General Tso’s fried chicken sandwich!
Chicken Jalfrezi Sub Sandwich
Equipment
Ingredients
Jalfrezi
- 1/4 cup neutral oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 large onion 1/2 diced, 1/2 cut into slices
- 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs chopped
- 5 cloves garlic grated to a paste
- 2 inches ginger grated to a paste
- 1/2 teaspoon kashmiri chili powder (sub red chili flakes)
- salt and pepper
- 3 ounces tomato paste (half a small can)
- 1 red bell pepper cut into large strips
- 1 green bell pepper cut into large strips
- 3 serrano peppers seeds removed, sliced into half rounds
- 2 teaspoons coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon red vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons thai sweet chili sauce
Sandwiches
- 4 sub rolls
- 8 slices provolone cheese
- 1 bunch cilantro
Instructions
- Bring a large frying pan to high heat and add in the diced onion and the cumin seeds. Stir and cook about 7 minutes until the edges of the onions are starting to brown.
- Stir in the chicken and cook a few minutes to get a little browning on the edges of the chicken.
- Reduce heat to medium and add in the ginger and garlic pastes, and the chili powder. Season with salt and pepper. Stir and cook 2 minutes
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook 2 minutes. Add in the larger pieces of onion along with both bell peppers and the serrano pepper. Cook 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Add in all the spices and stir to combine. Cook 2 minutes.
- Add in the vinegar, soy, and sweet chili. Stir and cook another 5 minutes. Remove from heat
- Toast the sub rolls and top with provolone. Add on the jalfrezi, followed by a handful of cilantro. Serve!
I’ve never tried jalfrezi but this sounds like something I would really like. You should totally open up a cart in Fenway. And sell your gelato too!
I’m with Bianca. You NEED to open up a restaurant or cart that sells Indian/BBQ/whatever for dinner and Gelato for dessert.