Paneer Bhurji – Scrambled Cottage Cheese – A perfect weeknight dinner which you can stir up in less than 30 minutes. Grate it, spice it up, Saute it and enjoy it!
Paneer is one of those “Must avoid without trying it out” food for me, back home. I have a list of vegetables and fruits which I avoid it for no reason. I just avoid them. Paneer tops the list. I never ordered any dishes in a restaurant if I saw paneer as a part of its name in the menu card. If you ask me the reason for it, I don’t have any. Paneer is an expensive one back home and my mom never cooked at home. It is the exotic dish that my cousins loved to order at restaurants, every single time. I was vegetarian for the most part of my life. (I started eating chicken only after I met SJ. Phew! Love does wonders!) And most of the vegetarian delicacies will have paneer in some form. I end with minimal options to order other than baby corn and Gobi-based dishes.
Once I moved in here, I had fewer options to pick Indian vegetables as most of my favorite ones are not available and those available ones are not fresh. I was instructed by my trainer to consume Protein-based meals and the only option I had was chicken and vegetarian proteins. While I can happily eat chicken, I hate that cleaning procedure and always ended up in avoiding it. After reading about cottage cheese aka paneer and its protein content, I decided to give it a try. I prepared Paneer tikka as my first experiment and I loved the soft silky texture of it. All of a sudden I started hating myself for avoiding this goodness for long. Since then, there is no turning back. I have experimented curries, tikkas and even biryanis with paneer. But then, my favorite is Paneer Bhurji. It’s not that it tastes delicious but also less time-consuming. All you need is 30 minutes and you are done with your weekday dinner. Chop the vegetables, grate the paneer, fry them and that’s it. Now, make your weekday dinner as easy and simple as that.
Ingredients:
- 1 pack Paneer
- 1 cup Chopped Capsicums (I use green, yellow and red in equal amounts)
- 1 larger Red Onion, chopped
- ½ cup Green Peas
- 2-3 Green Chilies
- 1 tablespoon Cooking oil
- ½ teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- ½ – 1 teaspoon Red Chili powder
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder
- Salt as required
- Handful Chopped Coriander Leaves
Method:
- Grate the paneer and set aside
- Heat oil in a kadai.
- Once the oil is hot, add cumin seeds and allow it to temper. Add onions and green chilies; Saute until onions become transparent.
- Now, slide in the chopped capsicums and peas. I used frozen peas, hence it took a very minimal time to cook. If you are using fresh peas, pressure cooks them and then add it.
- Stir in the red chili powder, turmeric powder and combine them well. Cook until the capsicum is half cooked.
- Add the grated paneer to it and cook until the paneer become soft. This might take about 5 minutes. Ensure not to overcook.
- Season it with salt; Sprinkle garam masala and give them a stir.
- Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve it with chapatti/roti or just enjoy it as such like me.
If you try the recipe, do let me know how they tasted in comments. If you like space, do like and follow my profile at here –
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Yours Truly
Karthi
