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Paneer jhaal farezi is particularly suited for the sultry days when appetite is slack JHAAL farezi is arguably one of the most enduring dishes in the Indian kitchen. It has been more than six decades since the British left the Indian shores and, by then, they had ruled India for nearly 200 years. The original recipe, almost certainly, was created to suit the foreign ruler’s plate by a clever Bengali cook, who literally wanted to curry favour with his master in a hurry. It is based on the traditional Bengali jhaal that indicates pungent spicing. The other half of the name was devised to fudge the reality —- anything left over, roast chicken, baked fish or boiled vegetables when given the jhaal treatment emerged on the table in an attractive avatar without making the diner any wiser that this was a quick-fix ‘fry easy’. Irony is that what the sahibs consumed became an exotic delicacy for the natives. What else explains its inclusion in restaurant menus? It sounds noble Persian and the m`E9lange of masala can be improvised ala minute. Well, we have always abhorred such concoctions but recently when a friend cooked the paneer version of the jhaal farezi,`A0we had to reconsider the prejudice. For one, there were no leftovers. The ingredients were fresh and premium quality and the same tender care was expended on this recipe as is usually reserved for the subtlest of biryani and melt-in-the-mouth kebab. However, it remains piquant and well, easy to fry. We strongly recommend this as particularly suited for the sultry days when appetite is slack.
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