Paneer Bhurji is a popular North Indian side dish made with scrambled paneer or Indian cottage cheese. This is a very simple paneer bhurji recipe that is quick to make and tastes so delicious. I am sharing my mother's recipe to prepare this bhurji with a gravy or curry (also known as tari or rassas in some Indian languages).
Paneer bhurji is very simple and easy to make takes just a few minutes to put together. This is the easiest and quickest paneer bhurji recipe I have tried so I am sharing it here. There are no fancy ingredients in this recipe, just grab a few ingredients available in your pantry and you are ready to make an easy paneer bhurji recipe.
We offer you this little vegetarian marvel that can be served as a side dish, as a main course or even as breakfast. Paneer bhurji is a family dish that can be devoured without moderation. Whether you are vegetarian or non-vegetarian, there is no doubt, this delicate dish will surprise your taste buds.
If there is one thing that fascinates me in the repertoire of Indian cuisine, it is this willingness to invent alternatives to non-vegetarian cuisine. This is certainly one of the reasons why this cuisine is the best in the world if you are vegetarian. I could be wrong, but I have rarely discovered a cuisine as perfect as that which can offer you a vegetarian alternative to a non-vegetarian dish by reproducing identical or even better flavors.
Paneer is the star ingredient in this recipe. So use fresh, homemade or store-bought soft paneer. This is the key to making a juicy and flavorful paneer bhurji. Since I have already taught you how to make your own paneer at home, this recipe will surely delight you.
For preparing paneer you will need a liter of whole milk and the juice of one lemon (for 2-3 people). Boil the milk, turn off the heat and slowly add the lemon juice to the milk and mix them well. After about 5 minutes the milk solids will separate from the liquid part.
Lay a clean cloth in a strainer and pour the curdled milk into it. This will keep all the milk solids in the cloth. Hold the cloth under running water for 1 minute to wash out all the lemon juice. Hang the cloth with the milk solids in it to drain. After a couple of hours, your Paneer is ready for cooking.
But what is Paneer Bhurji? It is simply the vegetarian option of scrambled eggs. In India, paneer is an absolutely perfect substitute for this recipe. Not being a fan of scrambled eggs, I had some reservations, needless to say, they quickly evaporated as this dish has become one of my favorites at home.
Indian cottage cheese is paneer and bhurji means scrambled. So this dish is basically paneer scrambled and cooked with onion, tomato, ginger garlic paste and spices. Paneer bhurji tastes so delicious and can also be used as a filling for sandwiches and wraps.
Paneer bhurji can be made in many ways but this recipe is quick to make. For the vegan version, you can substitute paneer with tofu. This is one of the side dishes that I often make to accompany chapathi and also pack for kids' lunch box. I make paneer bhurji with homemade paneer and it is so good that the texture of homemade paneer is so soft. This time I tried with store bought paneer and it was still good. An important tip is to make the dish moist and not too dry.
Dry paneer bhurji is just the term used to differentiate gravy from dry gravy. Otherwise, this dish should be soft and juicy which is the best.
Generally, the classic Paneer Bhurji is a dry or semi-dry dish. This variation of gravy or curry is less popular and made slightly differently. The recipe is quite simple, easy and you don't need to grind or puree the vegetables.
What sets this paneer bhurji gravy recipe apart is firstly the frying of whole spices and this is what gives the dish an aromatic flavour. I mostly use homemade spice powders to get fresh flavours.
Paneer bhurji goes well with roti, phulka or even with jeera rice, pulao. This spicy curry also goes very well with bread or pav (buns). Paneer bhurji can also be used as a filling in kathi rolls, rolls and sandwiches.
It's all of India on a plate: exquisite flavors, absolutely marvelous colors and intoxicating scents. Don't wait any longer, get cooking!
Let us learn how to make paneer bhurji recipe with step by step photos and videos.
How To Make Paneer Bhurji
A 250 gram block of fresh paneer
1 medium white or yellow onion, diced
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 or 2 chillies (small green peppers) cut into slices
1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
¼ teaspoon haldi (turmeric)
½ teaspoon red chilli powder (preferably Kashmiri chilli)
¼ teaspoon garam masala
A pinch of amchoor powder (dried mango powder)
½ teaspoon jeera (cumin seeds)
1 cup cooking oil
Salt (to taste)
½ bunch of fresh coriander
A pinch of white sugar
Method
Crush your paneer block with your fingers to reduce it to small pieces. Dice your vegetables. If you can't stand chillies, remove the seeds.
Heat two tablespoons in a pan. Add your cumin seeds, when they lighten, add your diced onions and the pinch of sugar. Mix. When your onions are translucent, the teaspoon of your garlic-ginger paste and the green pepper. Mix everything evenly and cook for a few minutes.
Add the diced green pepper and make sure they are cooked through after a few minutes. Add your diced tomatoes, a pinch of salt and mix gently until your tomato pieces are cooked through.
Pour in your spice powders and mix them into your mixture. If necessary, add half a teaspoon of water to make sure you don't burn the spices.
Finally, add your scrambled paneer and mix well. Let it cook for two or three minutes while stirring. Do not cook for longer!
Chop your coriander and garnish your dish with it.
Serve with toasts, chapatis, paranthas or rice.
Look at these beautiful colors! Enjoy your meal.
Tips:
You can buy pre-packaged paneer in ethnic shops. It is harder than the one you would cook with your hands and may require a spin in the blender to crumble. Remember not to make the pieces too small, or you will get a preparation that is too paste-like.
If you have some homemade paneer in the freezer, take it out at least a couple of hours before starting to cook, so that when you need it you will have it at room temperature. If you do not have all this time, break it with your hands and blanch it in water (it can take up to 10 minutes).
I used homemade ginger garlic paste. If you don't have it, roughly crush the ginger and garlic using a mortar and pestle and add.
Freshly chopped onions and tomatoes are used for this recipe. The onion should be finely chopped and sautéed until golden brown. The tomatoes can be roughly chopped and added, they should be sautéed until they smell mushy and raw.
I used regular cooking oil, but you can also substitute ghee or butter.
Fresh curd (yogurt) is also included in the curry which adds a touch of creaminess and a light flavour. Choose to skip the curd (yogurt) altogether or swap 3 tablespoons of curd with 2 tablespoons of buttermilk or use 3 tablespoons of cashew or almond yogurt. You can also skip adding yogurt and drizzle lemon juice over the sauce while eating.
We also sometimes add green peas to this recipe.
Replace ½ teaspoon red chili powder with ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper or paprika.
For more richness, you can add 1 to 2 tablespoons of cooking cream (light cream or reduced-fat cream) or 1 tablespoon of whipping cream.
