A really easy version of a curry house favourite, this Easy Lamb Jalfrezi is bursting with flavour and only requires a few minutes of hands on time – the perfect fakeaway!
I am a huge fan of curry and you will find loads of easy peasy curries on Easy Peasy Foodie, but one curry I have been itching to work on and create a simplified, but no less tasty version of, is one of the UK’s best loved curries – a staple feature in India restaurants up and down this country – the Jalfrezi.
I have been working for a few months now as a Lambassador with the ‘LAMB. Tasty Easy Fun’ campaign, creating and reviewing recipes and helping spread the word about how great lamb is, so I decided I absolutely had to make one of my March Lambassador recipes a Lamb Jalfrezi.
Making a curry at home can seem a bit daunting, but it’s actually incredibly easy. I think what puts most people off is the long list of spices, but really, once you’ve bought them that’s the hard part over…tipping a few spices into a pan is easy peasy!
Having said that, when creating my easy peasy recipes I do try hard to make sure the ingredient list is not too long and I recognise that most people do not have a cupboard full of spices! So, I try to simplify my recipes so they include only the essential ingredients and a minimum of processes and pots and pans. My aim is always to get maximum flavour, with the minimum of fuss!
When I was researching this curry, I was intrigued to find there is no one set spice blend or recipe for a Jalfrezi, but this is good as it allowed me to focus on the essentials. I focused on what the recipes I read had in common: the spices that occurred most frequently in the Jalfrezi recipes I read were cumin, coriander, ginger, turmeric and garam masala – so these are the spices that feature in my Easy Lamb Jalfrezi.
There wasn’t even a consensus as to the recipe, but factors that remained constant in the recipes I researched were a tomato base with lots of onions, peppers, chilli and garlic. Most of the recipes were quite complex with several stages, and lots of pots and pans. I have simplified the process drastically to create a one pot recipe which only needs a few minutes hands on time and then gets popped in the oven for the rest of the time. This ensures the sauce has a real depth of flavour and the lamb is meltingly tender.
In my recipe I put the peppers in half way through cooking so they retain a bit of texture, but if you need to go out whilst the Lamb Jalfrezi is cooking and it is more convenient for you to pop the peppers in at the beginning, do so – the curry will still taste good, it’s just that the peppers will be a little softer.
I have chosen to serve this curry with my Easy Peasy Pilau Rice, it’s a great side dish, and goes so well with the Lamb Jalfrezi. If you just want to keep things simple, serve with plain boiled rice or some naan breads. Alternatively, if you are cutting down on carbs at the moment, this curry would also go very well with my Indian Spiced Cauliflower Rice.
It almost goes without saying that, like most curries, this Lamb Jalfrezi tastes just as good, if not better, the next day. So why not make extra and have yourself an even easier meal the next day? Or freeze for a homemade ready meal later on in the week?
Easy Lamb Jalfrezi
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive or rapeseed oil
- 2 onions sliced
- 3 garlic cloves grated or crushed
- 3 cm ginger grated
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes (or to taste, or use fresh chillies, if you prefer)
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds ground
- 2 teaspoons coriander seeds ground
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 3 teaspoons garam masala
- 600 g diced lamb leg
- 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 red pepper sliced
- 1 green pepper sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh coriander plus extra for garnish (optional)
- Pilau rice, cauliflower rice, plain rice or naan breads to serve
- Pickles and/or chutneys to serve optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180C / 160C fan/ gas mark 4 / 350F.
- Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of oil into a large ovenproof saucepan or cast iron casserole dish. Add the onion and cook on a gentle heat, with the lid on, for about 3 minutes, until the onions are softened but not brown.
- Add the garlic, ginger, chilli, cumin, coriander, turmeric & garam masala. Stir well and cook for 2 more minutes with the lid off. Add a splash of water if it gets too dry.
- Next add in the lamb. Stir well to coat the meat in the onions and spices and then add the tomatoes, plus salt and pepper to taste.
- Bring the curry to the boil and then put the lid on and put in your preheated oven for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes add the sliced green and red peppers, stir well and continue cooking in the oven for another 45 minutes (1 hour 30 in total).
- Serve with plain boiled rice, pilau rice or Indian spiced cauliflower rice and/or naan breads
Notes
This is a collaborative post with the ‘LAMB. Tasty Easy Fun’ campaign. ‘LAMB. Tasty Easy Fun’ is an EU funded campaign which aims to increase the use of lamb in everyday cooking. Lamb is often considered difficult to cook, expensive, or something to be saved for Sunday roasts. The aim of the campaign is to demonstrate just how tasty, easy and fun lamb is to cook with every day of the week!
Love Lamb? Check out my collection of Easy & Delicious Lamb Recipes
Need more curry inspiration? Check out my collection of Easy Peasy Curry Recipes
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Curries are definitely as good if not better the next day so thank you so much for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice! Jalfrezi is one of my husband’s favourite curries so he would definitely enjoy this too. We would be arguing about whether to put lamb or chicken in though as I like lamb curries at the moment but he prefers chicken! x
Sooo agree with that Corina…they are the perfect thing to make extra and freeze for another day. Oooh far me it would have to be lamb, but I’m sure a chicken version would be nice too…maybe make one of each – just to check 😉 Eb x
Oh wow! That looks like it’s totally packed full of flavour! It looks like it would really work well with any number of different meats which is great too, as we’re an indecisive household and I’m often diving into the bottom of the freezer when I forget to do the shopping, so I love recipes that are easily adaptable!
Aw, thanks Cliona – yep, it certainly is packed with flavour! And yes, super flexible. That’s the thing I love about curries…so easy to adapt to what you’ve got! Though this lamb version would take some beating!! 😀 Eb x
That looks so good Eb. I always love how you make these recipes so simple and in just one pan if you can, cutting down on those pots to wash. It make me think that of the ‘fairy washing up’ advert and how the child has to wait ages for the container for his craft project – your two children no doubt have to show patience waiting for the container too 😉
Angela xx
Aw, thanks Angela – I do really try to make my meals as simple as possible…without compromising on deliciousness of course!! Hahaha – yes my children would have to wait a long time for my washing up bottle – firm believer in using as few pots and pans as possible. There is nothing worse than getting up after a meal and having to tackle a mountain of washing up! Eb x
Mmmmm I love jalfrezi curry but always have it with chicken. Loving the thought of using lamb instead! Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Oh you have to try it with lamb – it is so good! Eb x
I love a homemade curry! There’s nothing like the smell of spices in the kitchen to make me a happy bunny! Your jalfrezi looks and sounds perfect. I would make it with chicken or vegetarian, and oh my goodness, just the thought of it makes me salivate! Thanks for joining in with #FreeFromFridays xx
Aw, thanks Mel! Me too – I love cooking with spices (can you tell?!!) Eb x
Mmmm this looks so good Eb, I do love a one pot dish and an easy peasy way to make a jalfrezi sounds ideal to me! Will give it a whirl soon, I bet it would work well in a slow cooker too since you cooked yours slowly in the oven.
Thanks Lucy 🙂 I’m sure it would work brilliantly in the slow cooker! Eb x
Great Curry Eb. Looks super-tasty!
I sent hubby on an Indian Cookery course as a Christmas present. I thought it was a bit of a risk, but he loved it and now we are being treated to Curry almost every weekend….. Yay! xx
Oh that sounds like such an amazing present…for him and for you! Maybe I should do the same with my hubby? (Though no, because I would be super jealous!) Thanks fot your kind comments 🙂 Eb x
I’ve made many curries in my time and this was a really tasty recipe – much appreciated by my family and friends
Yay – that’s good to hear. Thanks so much for this lovely comment! Eb 🙂
This will be my go to recipe for leftover Lamb from now on!! I had a 1.8kg leg of lamb which served 5 for sunday dinner followed by this wonderful curry the next day which served another 4 and lunch for one lucky hubby 🙂 The whole family loved this recipe – Thank you for publishing x
Yay! Thank you so much for this lovely comment 😀 So pleased you enjoyed this curry. Eb 🙂
I cooked roast lamb for the first time this weekend and the curry is now cooking in the oven. I was a bit confused as the mixture was very dry even with the can of tomatoes in it, there was no way I could bring it up to boil. Did I miss a liquid ingredient from the recipe? I added a can and half of water to the pan so we’ll see how it comes out! I’m a bit of a curry cooking novice but this one was nice and easy to put together. Thank you.
Good question! The recipe is actually written for fresh diced lamb leg. When you put the tomatoes in, it doesn’t look a lot of liquid, but as it cooks, the lamb and vegetable release a lot of liquid and so once it’s cooked, it’s actually got quite a lot of sauce. However, as you are using cooked meat, yes – adding a little extra water makes a lot of sense as the cooked lamb won’t release much liquid. I think instinctively I would’ve added a little less than you did – just enough to make a think sauce, as the vegetables will release some liquid when cooking. But it’s no great problem if you end up with too much sauce, you can just boil it on the hob for a few minutes to reduce and thicken the sauce. Hope it turned out well for you! Eb 🙂
Lovely recipe. Perfect for the home cook.
Thanks Cepta! 🙂
Being an Indian living in Australia, i do miss my curries and have eaten this dish in restaurants many a time, but never was game to make it myself. One day i felt like eating this curry again, however decided to make it myself. Googled the recipe and found lots of variations however came across this blog and though, seems easy enough so i got started. When done, I offered some to my son who is 9 who NEVER eats curry but he decided to give it a go. Not only did he finish it all, he asked for seconds and the next day asked if we had any left overs. Since then, I have made the same dish with Chicken, Beef, Goat, prawns and even lamb and has become the most popular dish in my household. My wife too enjoys it. I follow the recipe to the T only thing i do different is throw in a tea spoon of cumin seeds and half a teaspoon of mustard seeds on top of all the ground spices and occasionally I add 2 tbsp low-fat natural yoghurt.
Thank you once again for a fantastic recipe.
Aw, thank you so much for this lovely review. I am delighted you enjoyed it so much and especially that your son enjoyed it so much too! And I loved reading about how you have used the recipe for all kinds of different meats 😀