Paneer Bhurji Recipe
This easy paneer bhurji recipe will transport you to the vibrant world of home-cooked Indian food bursting with flavors that makes your taste buds break into a dance party. This recipe transforms crumbled paneer into a fragrant dish that is ready in minutes and is perfect for breakfast with toast or as a satisfying dinner served with warm flatbread.
Servings: 6
Calories: 59kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 batch chaina made from 1 quart (4 cups full fat milk), about ½ lb/250 gms
- 1 tablespoon avocado or olive oil
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2-3 cloves garlic finely chopped, about 1 /2 tbsp
- 1 teaspoon chopped serrano pepper optional, see notes about using green chili
- 1 medium onion chopped, about 1 heaping cup
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 cup chopped tomato heaping cup
- 1 cup frozen peas
- Salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon chaat masala optional
- 5-6 sprigs cilantro leaves stripped and chopped
Instructions
- If you are using frozen paneer, plan ahead. You can either thaw it overnight or 6-8 hours in the refrigerator or thaw it using hot water. Then proceed to grate or crumble it. Chop the onions, garlic, ginger, and green chili (if using).
- Set a 12 inch skillet or a heavy bottomed wide pan on medium heat. Add oil. Once the oil is hot and looks shiny, add the cumin seeds.
- Wait for the cumin seeds to crackle then add chopped garlic and green chili (if using). Note: If you are using ginger garlic paste, do not add it here, but in Step 6.
- Once the garlic has some color to it(don't let it brown), add the chopped onion along with a pinch of salt. The salt helps extract the moisture out of the onions and they quick faster.
- Stir around the onions for 2-3 minutes till they begin to change color and start turning translucent. At this point, add turmeric powder and coriander powder and mix.
- After about 30 seconds, add chopped ginger. Mix and cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute or until the raw smell of the ginger goes away. Add the chopped tomatoes.
- Let the tomatoes cook for 4-5 minutes till the the oil separates from the masala and all the moisture is gone. So after the masala is cooked to a point where you can see tiny droplets of oil at the edges, add the peas and stir around.
- After 5-7 minutes, take the lid off, add garam masala, chaat masala, and chopped cilantro. Mix everything together, turn the heat off, give a taste check and adjust salt if needed. Enjoy warm with rotis or garlic naan.
Notes
- If at any point, the masala begins sticking to the pan, sprinkle a few drops of water on it and continue cooking. This method of cooking the masala to get the roasted flavor of spices and onion-tomato mixture is called “Bhoono”. It's my favorite way to develop deeper flavors in all Indian curries like this matar paneer recipe or mixed lentil dal.
- When cooking the onions for the masala, add a pinch of salt. The salt helps extract the moisture out of the onions and they quick faster.
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- Vegan - instead of paneer or chaina use extra firm tofu to make this bhurji vegan
- Add vegetables - use diced bell peppers or chopped zucchini and cook with the masala along with the peas. Or substitute peas with other veggies of your choice.
- Ginger garlic paste - instead of using minced ginger and garlic you can use ginger garlic paste. Here is the recipe of homemade ginger garlic paste.
- Spice level - instead of using serrano pepper as the green chili in this recipe, you can use jalapeno for milder spice or thai chili for an even spicier version. You can also totally skip green chili and add fresh ground black pepper to taste.
- Make it creamy - add a splash of milk or cream after you add the chaina/paneer to make paneer bhurji creamy.
- Leftover paneer bhurji stays fresh for up to 3 days when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave or in a skillet on the stove.
Nutrition
Calories: 59kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 0.1mg | Sodium: 5mg | Potassium: 173mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 522IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg
