paneer bhurji recipe

How many times it has happened with you that either you do not have nicely shaped / cubes of paneer or you do not elaborate set up (or time) of making ravishing paneer dish?

Paneer bhurji (पनीर भुर्जी) is a delightful and spicy paneer dish which is quick and easy to make with ingredients that you will normally have in your kitchen. Paneer bhurji is made from crumbled paneer simmered in spicy tomato gravy. It tastes great with roti, paratha or even you can have it with a regular toast bread. It also makes a good stuffing for dosa and vegetable frankie / kathi rolls. Normally I make Paneer Bhurji  from my home made paneer, which is left after cutting portions for other paneer dishes.

You can find its few variants, some are dry paneer bhurji, some with gravy, some with or with out onion. The following step by step recipe is for dry version using onion, however by all means it can be made with out onion. It is one side dish that you will find easily on an indian dhaba.

Preparation time : 5 minutes

Cooking time : 15 minutes

Serving : 4

Ingredients:

1. Paneer/Indian cottage cheese – 250 grams 
2. Onion  – 1 (big sized)
3. Tomatoes – 2 (medium sized)
4. Green chillies – 2
5. Grated Ginger – 1 tablespoon
6. Cumin seeds – 1 teaspoon
7. Turmeric  powder – 1/2 teaspoon
8. Red chilli powder – 1/3 teaspoon
9. Coriander powder – 1 teaspoon
10. Garam Masala – 1/3 teaspoon
11. Salt – 1 teaspoon or as per your taste
12. Oil / ghee – 1.5 tablespoon 
13. Chopped coriander leaves  – 1 tablespoon 

Recipe : 

1. First of all, crumble the paneer and keep it aside. Chop onion, tomatoes and green chillies. 

   

2. Now heat oil/ghee in a pan. Once it’s warm, add cumin seeds and let them get browned. Now add onions and sauté till they become translucent.
3.  Add grated ginger and green chillies to it and sauté again. Now add all the spices and roast for 1 minute.

   

4. Add tomatoes and cook till they become soft. Add the crumbled paneer, mix it well and let it cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Switch off the heat. 

   

   

5. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve paneer bhurji with bread of your choice. 

Key notes:

1. Don’t over cook the bhurji once you added crumbled paneer as it will make the paneer hard.

2. You can add green peas to the bhurji as well. Just add at the time when tomatoes are cooked and cover with lid so that peas are soft and cooked properly. 

   
   
   
   
3. You can use white onion, then the onion won’t darken after frying, else red onions tend to become dark.