Paneer Bhurji Recipe (Punjabi Style)

4.95 from 90 votes

Paneer Bhurji Recipe (Punjabi Style)

In Hindi, the word ‘Bhurji’ means scrambled so this dish is basically scrambled paneer or Indian cottage cheese. A perfectly savory, tangy, spiced sautéed mixture of onions, tomatoes, ginger-garlic paste, green chillies and various spices is then used to mix with the scrambled paneer. This Paneer Bhurji Recipe is Punjabi Style and way it is made in my home.

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Total Time20

Course: Breakfast, Snacks

Cuisine: North Indian, Punjabi

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian

Difficulty Level: Easy

Servings:

Calories: 353kcal

Author: Dassana Amit

Ingredients

3 tablespoons oil or ghee, butter or white butter
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
½ cup onions - (finely chopped) or 1 medium sized
3 to 4 small garlic cloves + 1 inch ginger - peeled, made to a paste in mortar-pestle or 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
1 or 2 green chillies - finely chopped or slit, or about ½ to 1 teaspoon, chopped
1 cup tomatoes (tightly packed, finely chopped) or 2 medium sized to large tomatoes
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
½ teaspoon red chilli powder or ¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon Coriander Powder (ground coriander)
¼ to ½ teaspoon Garam Masala
200 to 250 grams Paneer (Indian cottage cheese)
salt as required
3 tablespoons coriander leaves - chopped, (cilantro)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preparation

Crumble the paneer and set aside. You do not need to make a fine crumble. A coarse crumble with some chunks of paneer is fine.
Finely chop the onions, tomatoes and green chillies. Keep aside.
Crush the ginger and garlic to a paste in a mortar pestle and keep aside.
Also remove the spice powders and keep aside.

Making Paneer Bhurji

Heat oil or ghee or butter in a pan. Let the oil become hot on a medium-low or medium flame.
Add cumin seeds. Let them crackle and change color. Once they get browned, add onions.
Mix well and sauté the onions. When the onions become translucent, add ginger-garlic paste and chopped green chilies.
Sauté for some seconds till the raw aroma of the ginger-garlic goes away.
Then add tomatoes and sauté on medium-low heat till they become soft. You can add a pinch of salt so that the tomatoes get cooked faster.
Now add all the dry spice powders - turmeric, red chili powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder.
Mix the spice powders very well and sauté for 5 to 6 seconds on low to medium-low heat.
Then, add the crumbled paneer. Mix throughly and cook for 1 minute on low heat.
Don't cook the paneer for a long time as they harden and loose their softness.
Lastly add the chopped coriander leaves and mix.
Serve Paneer Bhurji hot with bread toast. You can also serve it with roti, plain paratha or as a stuffing in burrito or wraps.

Video

Notes

Paneer: For best results used homemade paneer. If using packaged paneer or frozen paneer, then follow the instructions mentioned on the pack before using.
Tomatoes: The tangy taste in paneer bhurji comes from the tomatoes. So do use tomatoes which are ripe and with a sweet-tangy taste. Avoid adding tomatoes which are too sour.
Spicing: You can reduce or increase the amount of green chillies, red chilli powder or cayenne pepper as per your preferences. Do not add more garam masala than what is mentioned in the recipe. If the garam masala is very strong, then just add ¼ teaspoon of it.
Herbs: Always fresh coriander leaves (cilantro) are added in the dish. But you can use fresh mint leaves too. Just add 1 to 2 tablespoons of chopped mint leaves.
Fat: For the fat you can use oil or butter or ghee. Note that the type of fat used does change the taste of the dish.
Vegan Option: Use firm tofu in place of paneer. Do not use silken tofu or soft tofu.

Nutrition