Paneer Bhurji

Once I had this huge amount of crumbled paneer and out of sheer laziness I didn’t want to make something sweet giving an excuse to myself that it’s unhealthy. Koftas did come to my mind but it just needed too much of work, so I decided to make bhurji out of it though I didn’t have the recipe. Whatever little I knew of cooking that time I just went by my instincts and prepared it and it tasted yum. To this date I don’t use any other recipe while preparing this dish.:) I would love to share this simple yet tasty recipe with you all.

To make Paneer bhurji you need:

1 lt milk made into Paneer
1 medium sized onion chopped
1 medium sized tomato chopped
1 small capsicum chopped
¼ cup green peas (fresh or frozen)
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp whole jeera or cumin seeds
½ tsp turmeric pwdr
½ tsp kasoori methi or dried fenugreek
1 tsp coriander pwdr
1 tsp garam masala pwdr
1 tsp chilli pwdr or to taste
¾ tsp amchur or dry mango pwdr
salt to taste
2-3 tsp oil
chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

Method:

1. Heat 2 tsp oil in a non sick pan. Add the cumin seeds, cook till it turns golden.
2. Add the chopped onions and the kasuri methi, sauté till it turns pink in colour.
3. Add the ginger garlic paste, fry for ½ a minute.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes, turmeric pwdr, and the chilli pwdr. Stir fry till the oil separates from the paste.
5. Now add the crumbled paneer and mix well. Cook for 3-4 minutes stirring occasionally.
6. Lastly add the coriander, garam masala and amchur pwdr and let it cook for 2 minutes.
7. Add the salt, mix well and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with parathas.

I use the left over paneer bhurji as filling in a grilled or toasted sandwich for breakfast or as a filling in a Frankie for my little one’s lunch box. From my experiences I have learnt that it is not necessary to follow the measures and ingredients of a recipe religiously. It is totally upto you to omit and substitute ingredients according to your taste and balance the flavours.

Paneer is called cottage cheese and is widely used in Indian cuisine. Its a healthy protein rich food. To prepare paneer lemon juice or vinegar or citric acid crystals is added to boiling hot milk to separate the curds from the whey. The curds are then drained in a cloth and excess water is pressed out. Tofu can be substituted for paneer as tofu has a similar texture and consistency.