Dry Paneer Bhurji |Without Tomatoes|For Weight Loss|

Paneer as you know is the crowd pleaser ingredient for vegetarians. There are so many ways and recipes in which you can use paneer -right from starters to sides, to even desserts. Some of the paneer dishes doesn't even need any introduction such paneer dishes are either cooked at home or eaten at a dhabha as Mutter Paneer, Paneer ButterMassala and Palak Paneer.

Then are some paneer dishes that you always eat at a restaurant such as Kadai Paneer, Achaari Paneer, Paneer Tikka Massala and Paneer Kofta. Today I shall talk about Paneer Bhurji. What is Paneer Bhurji? Paneer Bhurji is a popular north Indian dish made with cottage cheese, with spices (massala) and with or without veggies. It is eaten with roti, paratha, naan, puri, kulcha, bhatura, bread, pav or as a side dish. It is also used as a stuffing for sandwiches, kathi roll, frankies, pitta bread, paratha and bread rolls.

Is paneer healthy? Can we eat paneer every day? Is paneer good for weight loss? After a quick google search and speaking to a friend who is a dietician and a nutritionist  I have come up to the conclusion that paneer is a power house of protein, healthy fats and is very low on carbohydrates. It is recommended for weight loss only if you make it in a healthy way that is not by deep frying and also using lots of vegetables in the process.

When I initially started cooking paneer bhurji, I saw so many recipes and videos of Sanjeev Kapoor, Ranveer Brar, Harpal Singh etc but slowly I understood that you need to decide as an individual what you want in your paneer bhurji. Paneer Bhurji is one such paneer dish that is super healthy and can be altered in so many ways. You can use onions garlic or not. You can use capsicum (I love to use) or not. Some people like it with gravy, I just prefer it dry. You can add veggies like corn, peas, spinach etc to make it even healthier.

You can put together fresh paneer from scratch for this recipe, I like to use store brought ones. In the market you will find two types of paneer-one will be soft white paneer and other will be slight yellowish paneer (bit hard, that looks like a block of cheddar cheese) -use that hard one for paneer bhurji recipe. Reason, because hard paneer is easy to grate and when it cooks it doesn't become a mushy mess. Also if you are using frozen paneer, give a good boil in the pan full of water, when it cools down-grate and use.

I use very basic daily spices and powders to make this. Also I don't like to use tomatoes as well. so Let's see how to make paneer burji.

Ingredients:

1 cup grated paneer

1 medium sized onion chopped

2 cloves of garlic grated

1/2 capsicum chopped

1 green chilli chopped

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons oil                      

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon kasturi methi

1/4 teaspoon hing

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 tablespoon coriander powder

1/4 teaspoon garam massala

Red chilli powder as per taste

Salt as per taste

Coriander leaves for garnish

1/4 cup water

Method:

Heat oil in a pan, when it is hot add in hing and cumin seeds. Let it splutter.

On a slow heat add in garlic and onion. Cook till there is now raw smell and onions become soft.

Add in capsicum and cook it till it turns soft.

Add in grated paneer. Mix in all the spices-salt, red chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder. Also throw in green chilli. Mix well.

Add in water and lemon juice. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes and mix in kasturi methi and garam massala. Mix and let it cook for another 2 minutes.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Notes:

If you want to have gravy, after onions, garlic and capsicum is cooked add in 2 chopped tomatoes. When tomatoes are done follow the remaining steps and paneer bhurji with gravy will be ready.

Some recipes call for pav bhaji or kitchen king massala, I just feel that these massala over powers the actual taste so I avoid using it. Feel free to add if you wish.

You can make stuffed parathas with this bhurji and also use it as stuffing for sandwiches and rolls.

Mutter Paneer Bhurji, Quick Side Dish

The cursor is blinking and I have no thoughts in my mind that I can type. So before I began to talk about the winter moods or the same basic old stuff, I would like to share the pictures of Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red at the Tower of London, marking 100 years of World War. Each ‪‎poppy represents a British military fatality during the war. Crowds were crazy out there and we went on Sunday (Remembrance Day) but it was so much worth it. To find out more read here.

Moving straight to the recipe of Mutter Paneer Bhurji. When you are in hurry then this subji comes handy. I have made palak mutter paneer bhurji before-it was the combination of two classic paneer dishes- mutter paneer and palak paneer.

Burji means scrambled –yes just like scrambled eggs. Resembling corn paneer bhurji recipe, this too is very simple and quick. Boil up the milk; curdle with lemon juice; strain the water and you are good to go. On weekends when we want to enjoy the royalty of paneer without wasting lot of time and energy I head on and prepare paneer bhurji. Add in any vegetables of your choice, some basic Indian spices and dash of homemade garam massala- that’s it- a quick and creamy side curry is ready.

Ingredients:

2 cups milk

2 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 cup frozen peas/mutter

1/2 teaspoon turmeric/haldi

1/2 tablespoon coriander powder/dhaniya

1/4 teaspoon red chilli powder/lal mirch

1 tablespoon oil/tel

1/4 teaspoon carom seeds/ajwain

Pinch asafoetida/hing

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds/jeera

1 finely chopped onion/pyaz

2 chopped green chillies/hari mirch

1 tablespoon garlic-ginger paste/adrak lehsun

1 teaspoon dry mango powder/amchur

1/4 teaspoon garam masala

2 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Boil milk in a heavy bottom pan. When it bubbles appear add in lemon juice. The whey and fat will be separated. Take a sieve or a piece of cloth and strain the water of the fat. Add cold water so that lemony taste of paneer is faded. Keep pressing the cloth till no water is left.
2. Heat oil in a pan. When hot add in asafoetida, carom seeds and cumin seeds. Add ginger garlic paste, green chillies and onions. Cook till onions are cooked and raw smell remains.
3. Add in frozen peas and half cup of water. Cover and cook till peas are soft.
4. Mix in all the spices and paneer. Mix and cook cover for 8-10 minutes.
5. Finally garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Notes:

I used full fat milk you can use anyone you like.

Replace lemon juice with vinegar or yogurt to curdle the milk.

You can add any veggies in this curry, like tomatoes, carrots, corn, bell peppers or even spinach.

I used frozen peas, go ahead and use fresh peas as well.

Serving suggestions:

Serve with any Indian bread or rice.

You can make the complete Punjabi thali- , aloo chole, dal makhani, jeera rice and kulchas.

For rajasthani thali pair it with aloo pyaz ki subji, marwadi lehsun ki chutney and marwadi Bharwa Bhindi.

For gujarati thali, serve it with aloo tamatar nu shaak, khamman dhokla and keri nu ras.

Corn Paneer Bhurji

Paneer Bhurji is one of the easiest dishes; it can be prepared with very less efforts and time. Every time I make paneer bhurji I missed the crunch in it; so this time I added boiled corn and I was so totally satisfied with the taste. There is one more thing that I like about this recipe that is very versatile paneer recipe –one can add or delete any ingredients to this dish.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 green chilli, finely chopped
• 1 tomato, finely chopped
• ¾ tsp red chilli powder
• 1 ½ tsp coriander powder
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp water
• ½ cup boiled corn (makai)
• 2 cups paneer (cottage cheese), crumbled or grated
• ½ tsp salt (or to taste)
• ¼ cup chopped capsicum
• 1 tsp chopped coriander leaves

Method:

1. Dilute red chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder in 1 tablespoon water and keep it ready.
2. In a pan, heat oil. Add finely chopped onion and fry until golden brown.
3. Then add chopped green chilli and mix.
4. Add chopped tomato and fry well until thickens and gets soft.
5. Add diluted spice mix and saute on a low heat for 2 – 3 minutes until it is well blended with tomato.
6. Add crumbled or grated paneer, corn, capsicum and salt to taste. Mix all the ingredients well. Cover it with lid and let it cook for 5-8 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with bread or rice.