Paner bhurji is a popular and delicious North Indian breakfast recipe made from grated paneer (Indian cottage cheese). This paneer bhurji recipe is Punjabi style and is the way I make it In this quick and simple vegetarian recipe, crumbled homemade paneer is added to a southern base of onions, tomatoes and spices for a satisfying and delicious breakfast.
What is Paneer Bhurji?
In Hindi, the word 'virji' means scrambled so this dish is basically scrambled paneer or cottage cheese. A perfectly fragrant, tangy, spicy concoction made of onions, tomatoes, ginger-garlic paste, green chillies (hot chillies) and various spices is then used to mix with scrambled paneer.
This delicious dish, like most bhurji recipes, is quick to prepare and ideal for breakfast You can say that this is the vegetarian version of Indian style scrambled eggs called Anda Bhurji or Anda Bhurji in Hindi.
Apart from paneer bhurji, egg bhurji is also very popular and served in most North Indian dhabas (roadside eateries). In Punjabi homes, they make moli bhurji with grated or chopped white radish root
For a vegan version of bhurji, use farmed tofu instead of paneer Do not use silken tofu or soft tofu.
Ingredients You Need
Paneer (Farm Cottage Cheese): Obviously paneer is the main ingredient in this recipe Paneer is fresh cheese where milk is curdled with food acid (lemon juice or vinegar). Whenever I make any dish that uses paneer, I prefer to use homemade rather than store-bought paneer because it is tastier and fresher.
Homemade Paneer: Making paneer from scratch can be intimidating at first, but once you try it, you will see that it is very easy and tastes great. Follow these step-by-step instructions on how to make paneer and you'll have a block of homemade paneer in thirty minutes.
Ginger-Garlic Paste: A paste of ginger and garlic is also used in this recipe. To make this paste you simply crush fresh ginger and garlic together using a mortar and pestle. Although a freshly prepared paste is always best, a ready-made ginger-garlic paste can also be used
Spices: Added spices are common Indian ground spices such as red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and garam masala. Most of these ground Indian spices are readily available in Asian stores outside India and online. For garam masala, I always use home made garam masala in all my recipes To make a fragrant and flavorful garam masala, check out this recipe for homemade garam masala.
Onion and Tomato: Both onion and tomato are unanimously added to Indian dishes. For onions you can use red onion, yellow onion or white onion For tomatoes, use ripe, red and not too tart or sour
How to make Paneer Bhurji Recipe
Prep Paneer and Make Onion Tomato Masala
Crumble 200 to 250 grams of paneer (cottage cheese) with your fingers. I have used homemade paneer
Paneer is soft and crumbles easily Do not use a superfine or fine grater Just break blocks of paneer or paneer cubes into pieces with some paneer.
Heat 3 tbsp oil in a frying pan or kadai You can also use ghee or butter instead of oil Add ½ tsp cumin seeds and let them splutter
Then add ½ cup finely chopped onions.
Sauté the onions till they turn translucent and soften. Sauté onions on a medium-low heat.
Then add 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste and chopped green chillies.
Mix very well and saute for a few seconds until the raw ginger-garlic aroma goes away.
Add 1 cup finely chopped tomatoes (tightly packed).
Mix the tomatoes and begin to sauté them on a medium-low heat.
Sauté the tomatoes until they are completely soft You can also add a teaspoon of salt so that the tomatoes cook faster.
After the tomatoes soften, you will see the oil coming out of the mixture from the sides
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Now add all the ground masala powder one by one:
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
- ½ teaspoon red pepper powder (or ¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper).
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder (ground coriander)
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
Mix very well and sauté for 5 to 6 seconds on low to medium-low heat.
Make Paneer Bhurji
12. Add the crumbled paneer and salt as per taste.
Mix well and cook the paneer for 1 minute on low heat Do not cook paneer for long as they harden their softness
Turn off the heat and finally add 3 tablespoons of chopped pineapple Mix very well
Serve paneer bhurji hot with any roti or paratha (Indian flat bread) or dinner roll (pav) or roti. You can also serve it with toasted bread
Serve with thinly sliced onions and lemon curd Squeeze some lemon juice over the paneer bhurji
Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more veetarian inspirations
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