A quick, delicious, and popular North Indian Dish, Paneer bhurji recipe!
It is made with scrambled paneer (Indian cottage cheese), onion, tomatoes, bell peppers, and spices.
This is an easy and quick recipe that gets done in less than 30 minutes and pairs well with Indian flatbreads like roti, paratha, and Naan!
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Paneer is an integral part of Indian cuisine. We cook it in so many ways.
Some of our favorite paneer recipes are
Out of all, one of the easiest ways you can cook panner is in form of paneer bhurji. It is so simple to make and tastes heavenly.
Paneer Bhurji is a worth making dish for a lazy brunch or dinner.
What is Paneer Bhurji?
Hindi word Bhurji means scrambled so this dish is scrambled paneer or cottage cheese. It is a perfect combination of a savory, tangy, spiced mixture made of onions, tomatoes, bell pepper, ginger-garlic-green chili paste, and basic Indian spices is then used to mix with the scrambled paneer.
I also add a little bit of curd (yogurt) to make the bhurji soft.
This flavorful dish, as with most bhurji recipes, is quick to make and ideal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
You can say, this is the vegetarian version of the Indian Style scrambled eggs which are called Egg Bhurji or Anda Bhurji in Hindi.
You can make a vegan version of paneer bhurji too by replacing ghee with oil and paneer with firm tofu.
Why I love this Paneer recipe?
- No fancy ingredients are used in this recipe so even beginners can make it very easily.
- It is simple, easy, and perfect for any time of the day and any day of the week
- It is a great vegetarian protein to add to your diet
- Kids friendly
- Gets done in less than 30 minutes.
There are 2 ways of making this recipe
- Paneer bhurji with gravy
- Dry paneer bhurji
Today I am going to share a dry version of this recipe.
Let's go through what ingredients are required and how to make this quick paneer bhurji and feast on your family and guest anytime.
Ingredients You Need
(Note - Quantity is mentioned in the recipe card, at the end of the post)
- Paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese): paneer is the main ingredient in this recipe. Paneer is fresh cheese. I always try to make my paneer bhurji using fresh homemade paneer. It tastes so much better. But of course, if you don't have time and not mood in mood to make paneer from scratch, you can use store-bought paneer too. But if possible, try to make it with fresh paneer. Once you have the paneer ready, this dish gets done in 15 minutes.
- Ginger-Garlic-chili Paste: A paste of ginger, garlic, and chili is also used in this recipe. You can use grated or chopped ginger-garlic-chili too. Although freshly made paste is always better, ready-made ginger, garlic, and chili paste also can be used. If you are making this for small kids, skip the green chili.
- Spices: The spices added are the usual Indian ground spices like cumin seeds, red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala, salt, and Kasuri methi. Most of these ground Indian spices are easily available in Indian stores and even on Amazon.
- Onions, bell pepper, and Tomatoes: Both onions and tomatoes are unanimously added to many Indian dishes. Bell peppers are added to give crunch. You may bell peppers. For the onions, you can use red onions, yellow onions, or white onions. For tomatoes, I prefer to use Roma and for bell pepper, you can use green, red, yellow, or orange.
- Ghee: I always make paneer bhurji in ghee as it gives a wonderful taste to it and makes it more rich and tasty. But you can definitely make it in oil. You can also make it with a mixture o ghee and oil.
- Curd (also known as Dahi or plain yogurt): I love to use curd in bhurji. It gives more softness and a smooth texture to this recipe. Make sure the curd is not sour.
- Cilantro: Use lots of fresh cilantro. Don't skip this.
How to make this recipe? Step by step process
Step 1 Make paneer (skip this if you are using ready-made paneer)
Heat milk in a heavy bottom pan. Let the milk come to a boil, stir often so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
Once the milk has come to a boil, turn off the stove and start adding vinegar (or lemon juice), little at a time.
At one point, the milk will curdle and you will see the whey separate.
Drain the curdled milk into a muslin cloth.
Bring the ends of the muslin cloth together and squeeze as much water as you can.
Twist the muslin cloth and keep it on a strainer undisturbed for 15 minutes.
after 15 minutes, open the cloth and keep the paneer aside.
(Note – Don’t through the whey, it is very nutritious. Use it in kneading dough, making dal, soup or curries)
Step 2 Make paneer bhurji
Heat ghee in a pan. Once the ghee is hot, add cumin seeds. Let it crackle. (image 1 and 2)
Now add ginger-chili-garlic paste and onion. Give it a stir. (image 3 and 4)
Cook for 2 minutes until the onion is translucent. Don't brown the onions.
Now, add tomato, and green bell pepper. Stir and cook for another minute. (image 5)
Now add salt and cook for few seconds. (image 6)
Now add all the spices (chili powder, turmeric powder, cumin-coriander powder, garam masala) and mix well. Cook for 1-2 minutes (image 7)
Crumble the paneer and add it to the pan. Mix everything well. (image 8 and 9)
Now add curd and Kasuri methi. Mix and cook for 2 minutes on medium heat. Do not over-cook else it will become rubbery and chewy. (image 10 and 11)
Switch off the flame, add cilantro and give a quick stir. (image 12)
Paneer Bhurji is ready. Serve with Paratha, roti or naan, and salad. Enjoy!
Some important notes
To make gravy paneer bhurji
To make gravy, add water and ½ cup tomato puree to onion tomato masala and cook for few minutes, then add other ingredients and crumbled paneer.
Other ways of serving Paneer bhurji
- Pack it for kids lunch box either as a bhurji paratha or roll it into a paratha with ketchup to make it a bhurji roll.
- Add some water to make a little gravy and serve it with rice.
- It tastes delicious with Pav or Bread slices.
- Add the delicious bhurji between the chutney and butter slathered bread and toast it on tawa to make a bhurji sandwich.
- Fill in between the tortilla and make bhurji quesadilla.
- Fill it in the dosa and you have delicious dosa bhurji. 🙂
Other variations
- Jain - To make a Jain version of this bhurji, do not add onion, ginger, and garlic to the recipe. Add ½ cup of finely chopped cabbage instead of onions.
- Add Methi - Chop fresh methi leaves or Kasuri methi and add them in the bhurji along with the paneer.
- Top it with Cheese - Top the warm Paneer Bhurji with processed cheese.
- Add vegetables. Vegetables like green Peas works great and makes a great addition to this recipe. You can also add finely diced carrots.
Other Paneer recipes
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Paneer Bhurji
Ingredients
- 1.5 liter Whole milk (full fat milk)
- 2 tablespoon Vinegar or lemon juice
- 1 cup – tomato chopped
- ½ cup – bell pepper chopped
- 1 cup – onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon – ginger paste
- 1 teaspoon – garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon chili paste
- 1 teaspoon – cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon – salt
- 1 teaspoon – red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon – coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon – cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon – garam masala
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon – kasuri methi
- 3 tablespoon – curd/dahi plain yogurt
- ¼ cup – cilantro chopped
- 1 ½ tablespoon – ghee
Method
- Heat milk in a heavy bottom pan. Let the milk come to a boil, stir often so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Once the milk has come to a boil, turn off the stove and start adding vinegar (or lemon juice), little at a time.
- At one point, the milk will curdle and you will see the whey separate.
- Drain the curdled milk into a muslin cloth.
- Bring the ends of the muslin cloth together and squeeze as much water as you can.
- Twist the muslin cloth and keep it on a strainer undisturbed for 15 minutes.
- Heat ghee in a pan. Once the ghee is hot, add cumin seeds. Let it crackle.
- Now add ginger-chili-garlic paste and onion. Give it a stir.
- Cook for 2 minutes until the onion is translucent. Don't brown the onions.
- Now, add tomato, green bell pepper, and salt. Stir and cook for another minute.
- Now add all the spices (chili powder, turmeric powder, cumin-coriander powder, garam masala) and mix well. Cook for 1-2 minutes
- Crumble the paneer and add it to the pan. Mix everything well.
- Now add curd and Kasuri methi. Mix and cook for 2 minutes on medium heat. Do not over-cook else it will become rubbery and chewy.
- Switch off the flame, add cilantro and give a quick stir.
- Paneer Bhurji is ready. Serve with Paratha, roti or naan, and salad. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Notes
- All the ingredient substitution are mentioned Here
- Do not over-cook the paneer, it will become rubbery and chewy.
- Use fresh homemade paneer for best results.
- If using store-bought paneer, grate the paneer with a grater instead of crumbling it with hands.
- Skip chili paste if making it for kids.
- This recipe can be stored for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
To make gravy paneer bhurji
To make gravy, add water and ½ cup tomato puree to onion tomato masala and cook for few minutes, then add other ingredients and crumbled paneer.Other ways of serving Paneer bhurji
- Pack it for kids lunch box either as a bhurji paratha or roll it into a paratha with ketchup to make it a bhurji roll.
- Add some water to make a little gravy and serve it with rice.
- It tastes delicious with Pav or Bread slices.
- Add the delicious bhurji between the chutney and butter slathered bread and toast it on tawa to make a bhurji sandwich.
- Fill in between the tortilla and make bhurji quesadilla.
- Fill it in the dosa and you have delicious dosa bhurji. 🙂
Other variations
- Jain - To make a Jain version of this bhurji, do not add onion, ginger, and garlic to the recipe. Add ½ cup of finely chopped cabbage instead of onions.
- Add Methi - Chop fresh methi leaves or Kasuri methi and add them in the bhurji along with the paneer.
- Top it with Cheese - Top the warm Paneer Bhurji with processed cheese.
- Add vegetables. Vegetables like green Peas works great and makes a great addition to this recipe. You can also add finely diced carrots.
Private Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know We would love to hear your thoughts! Please leave your comments, ratings, and any ideas or changes you think could help us make our recipes even better. Thank you for your feedback!Warm Regards,
Dhwani.
I made this today, very yummy and easy recipe.
Thank you
Dharmishtha