Paneer Bhurjiપનીર ભુર્જી
Crumbled paneer tossed with onion, tomato and spices. Twenty minutes, high in protein, and it works equally well on toast or rolled into a roti.
Ingredients
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- 250 g paneer, grated or crumbled
- 1 onion, 2 tomatoes, 1 capsicum, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ginger-garlic, 2 green chillies
- Cumin, turmeric, chilli powder, coriander-cumin powder, ½ tsp garam masala
- 2 tbsp butter or oil, salt
- Coriander and lemon
Method
- Crackle cumin in butter, then fry the onion, ginger-garlic and chillies.
- Add the capsicum for 2 minutes, then the tomatoes until they soften.
- Stir in the ground spices and salt and cook a minute.
- Fold in the crumbled paneer and cook only 3-4 minutes; longer and it turns rubbery.
- Finish with lemon and coriander and serve with toast, pav or roti.
Tips
- Add the paneer last and cook it briefly; that keeps it soft.
- Fresh paneer makes a noticeable difference here.
Storing and reheating
It keeps two days in an airtight box in the fridge, but the paneer dries and firms up as it cools. Reheat it in a pan on low with a spoon or two of milk or water and a small knob of butter, stirring until the paneer softens again. Do not freeze it; paneer comes out crumbly and rubbery.
What you can swap
- No paneer? Crumbled tofu works. It needs a little more salt and will taste less creamy.
- Instead of garam masala, try half a teaspoon of pav bhaji masala. Different, but very good, especially if you are eating it with pav.
- No butter? Cook it in oil and finish with a knob of butter or a spoon of malai.
- For a Jain or no-onion-garlic version, leave both out, use more asafoetida and add an extra tomato.
What to serve with it
It is breakfast with buttered toast or pav, and dinner with roti when you need something fast. Rolled inside a roti it travels well in a school tiffin. Serve it with a wedge of lemon, rings of raw onion and green chutney.
Mistakes to avoid
- Do not grate firm shop paneer straight from the packet. Soak it in hot water for ten minutes, drain, then crumble; that is what keeps it soft.
- Do not salt after the paneer goes in; salt pulls water out of it. Finish the seasoning along with the spice powders.
- Do not under-cook the tomatoes. Cook them until the oil separates and the masala comes together, or you are left with a raw tomato smell.
- Do not add water. Bhurji should be dry; water turns it into a paneer sabzi instead.
Questions people ask
Why did my paneer turn rubbery?
It was cooked too long. The paneer goes in last and stays in for no more than three or four minutes; it only needs to warm through, not cook. Using hard paneer straight from the fridge does the same thing.
Can I use paneer that has been sitting in the fridge?
Soak dried-out paneer in hot water for ten minutes, drain and crumble it. Bhurji is forgiving because the masala carries it. But if it smells sour or feels slimy, do not use it.
Should the paneer be grated or crumbled by hand?
Crumbling it coarsely by hand gives a better bhurji; the uneven pieces mean you actually taste the paneer. Grated paneer goes fine and uniform, which is useful if you are stuffing it into pav.
