Quick and flavourful paneer bhurji recipe! Fresh crumbled paneer (Indian cottage cheese) is cooked in a lightly spiced onion-tomato masala to make delicious scrambled paneer. Pile it on toast for breakfast or scoop it with hot roti or paratha for an easy brunch. It also works as a great vegetarian lunchbox option for kids!
Another recipe that makes use of homemade crumbled paneer is the luscious malai kofta in white gravy.
About Paneer Bhurji
When soft, grated or crumbled paneer meets sautéed onions, tomatoes, peas and a blend of spices, you get paneer bhurji or scrambled Indian cottage cheese. It's a tasty and comforting vegetarian dish that comes together in minutes if you have the paneer ready.
I often make paneer bhurji for breakfast, but it is quite versatile and works very well as a really interesting brunch recipe or even a side dish for dinner.
More tasty vegetarian side dishes: baingan bharta (mashed eppplant), mirchi ka salan (curry featuring large green chillies), and dry moong dal.
The key to a great tasting paneer bhurji is the paneer itself. Fresh, homemade paneer works wonders, and I often find myself making paneer from scratch especially for this recipe. And in case you're wondering, making paneer is easier than you think! All it requires is two ingredients (paneer and lemon juice) and a cheesecloth.
Ingredients
How to make paneer cheese
As mentioned before, making paneer is really easy and not the cumbersome task you imagine it to be. Here is how you go about it:
1. Heat the milk in a saucepan on medium heat until it is steaming hot, then turn down the heat. Add the juice of one lemon to it. Stir it gently for a few seconds, and you will see the milk curdling gradually. The solids will separate, leaving behind a thin, watery whey. These milk solids are what you want for the paneer cheese. Once the solids have separated completely, you can turn off the heat.
Tip #1: If the milk does not curdle as much as you would like it to, simply add more lemon juice and stir.
Tip #2: Use full-fat whole milk only and NOT skimmed or reduced fat milk. You won't get good results with those.
2. Pour the contents of the saucepan into a cheesecloth held over a deep dish and allow the whey to pass through the cheesecloth into the dish. Pull together the four ends of the cheesecloth and tie a secure knot. The cheese will come together in a ball when you do that. You can discard the whey.
3. Run the cheesecloth ball under cold tap water to get rid of the lemon taste and squeeze out the excess liquid from the cheesecloth when it is slightly cool to the touch. Leave it alone for about 10-12 minutes. If you want, you can hang it from the tap of your kitchen sink so that excess liquid can drain out on its own.
4. Untie the cheesecloth and remove the ball of cheese from it. Using a fork, crumble the cheese until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. It will crumble very easily, with just a few strokes of the fork.
And that's it! Your cheese is ready to be used. The whole process takes only 15-20 minutes, and with very little effort, you've made yourself some soft homemade paneer that's perfect for using in this paneer bhurji recipe. It makes a world of difference to the dish and is SO MUCH SUPERIOR to the pre-packaged block of paneer from the supermarket that you might be using to cook your other paneer dishes.
Note: If you own an instant pot, you can bring it into use for making paneer. Check out the instant pot paneer recipe.
Alternative to homemade paneer
If you decide not to make fresh paneer for this recipe, you can, of course, use the pre-packaged block of paneer, but you need to prep it for use. This is how:
- Cut about 7.9 ounces or 225 grams paneer from the block of packaged paneer. This is equivalent to the amount of paneer you will get from 1.5 litres of whole milk.
- Take some hot water in a bowl and immerse the paneer in it for 15 minutes. Drain the water. Soaking the paneer like this will soften it so that it is easy to crumble.
- Shred the paneer with a fork or grate it with a box grater.
Instructions
1. Prep all the ingredients: Finely chop the onion, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and cilantro.
2. Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat and add the cumin seeds and onions. Sauté for a minute or until the onions are translucent. You don't have to brown the onions for this recipe, so that'a major time saver.
3. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté for just about a minute.
4. Add the tomatoes and peas and cook until the tomatoes and peas soften (about 3-4 minutes).
5. Add the Thai chilies, sea salt and powdered spices (turmeric, chilli and garam masala) and cook for 3-4 minutes, adding a splash of water if the masala appears to be sticking to the pan.
6. Finally add the crumbled paneer and sauté for 2 minutes only or until the paneer is well coated with the masala. Sprinkle some chopped cilantro (coriander leaves) and enjoy with hot toast, pav (dinner rolls) or Indian bread.
Top Tips
1. After adding the paneer, do not over-cook it, or it will become too chewy and rubbery. The trick is to sauté it gently until it is just mixed with the onion-tomato masala.
2. Add the Thai chillies according to your tolerance for heat. They are quite hot, so one Thai chilli (red or green) is enough to add a pleasing heat. Add or subtract as per your taste.
Serving Suggestions
1. Make a paneer bhurji sandwich: Butter two slices of bread and fry the slices lightly in a frypan until slightly browned and crisp. Top one slice with the bhurji, drizzle some coriander chutney over it, and close with the second slice of bread. Just like that, you've made yourself a super tasty snack!
Buttered toast straight out of the toaster, topped with paneer bhurji is an even more fuss-free way to enjoy it in the morning. Pair it with a hot cuppa tea:)
2. Paneer bhurji roll: If you have some plain parathas lying in your fridge (frozen ones will also do), warm them until they are soft and pliable, spread some bhurji on one paratha, top with ketchup and roll up tightly. This is such an easy on-the-go meal as well. All you need to do is wrap a couple of rolls in some aluminum foil and toss them in your backpack to eat later.
3. Paneer bhurji sliders: Put the bhurji between two halves of a buttered and toasted Indian pav (similar to dinner rolls), add some finely chopped onions and enjoy your slider.
Note: All of the above can work as lunch box ideas for kids (and adults), breakfast or brunch options, or even snacks when you're entertaining. The possibilities are endless!
More Easy Paneer Recipes
Want still more? Visit the complete collection of paneer recipes on the blog.
📖 Recipe
Paneer Bhurji
Equipment
- Saucepan for boiling milk
- Large bowl for draining the whey
- Cheesecloth for covering the bowl
- Deep pan for cooking the paneer
Ingredients
Paneer Ingredients
- 1.5 quarts milk whole, full-fat
- 1 lemon squeezed
Paneer Bhurji Ingredients
- ¼ cup oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 3 cloves garlic chopped fine
- 1.5" knob ginger chopped fine
- 2.5 oz red onion 1 small onion, chopped fine
- 3.5 oz tomato 1 medium, chopped
- ¼ cup frozen green peas
- 1 Thai chilli green or red, chopped
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp chilli powder Kashmiri chilli for more colour and mild heat
- ¼ tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp cilantro chopped
Instructions
How to make paneer
- Heat the milk in a saucepan on medium heat until it is steaming hot, then turn down the heat.
- Add the juice of one lemon to the milk. Stir it gently for a few seconds, and you will see the milk curdling gradually. The solids will separate, leaving behind a thin, watery whey. These milk solids are what you want for the paneer cheese. Once the solids have separated completely, you can turn off the heat and remove the saucepan from the hob.
- Pour the contents of the saucepan into a cheesecloth held over a deep dish and allow the whey to pass through the cheesecloth into the dish. Pull together the four ends of the cheesecloth and tie a secure knot. The cheese will come together in a ball when you do that. You can discard the whey.
- Run the cheesecloth ball under cold tap water to get rid of the lemon taste and squeeze out the excess liquid from the cheesecloth when it is slightly cool to the touch.
- Leave the cheesecloth with the paneer in it alone for about 10-12 minutes. If you want, you can hang it from the tap of your kitchen sink so that excess liquid can drain out on its own.
- Untie the cheesecloth and remove the ball of cheese from it. Using a fork, crumble the cheese until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. It will crumble very easily, with just a few strokes of the fork.
- See notes below for store-bought paneer if you want to skip making your own paneer.
How to make paneer bhurji
- Chop the onion, tomato, ginger, garlic, and coriander leaves finely.
- Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat and add the cumin seeds. When they sizzle, add the onions too. Sauté for a minute until the onions are translucent.
- Add the ginger and garlic and again sauté for a minute.
- Add the tomatoes and peas and cook until the tomatoes and peas soften (about 3-4 minutes).
- Add the Thai chilies, sea salt and powdered spices (turmeric, chilli and garam masala) and cook for 3-4 minutes, adding a splash of water if the masala appears to be sticking to the pan.
- Finally add the crumbled paneer and stir for 2 minutes only or until the paneer is well coated with the masala. Sprinkle some chopped cilantro (coriander leaves) and enjoy with hot toast, pav (dinner rolls) or Indian bread (roti/paratha).
Notes
- While making paneer, use full-fat, whole milk only. Skimmed milk does not give the same results.
- If the milk does not curdle easily, add more lemon juice. You can add 1 tablespoon white vinegar also in place of lemon juice, but don't add both.
- If you are using a block of store-bought paneer, take about 7.9 ounces or 225 grams of paneer. This is equivalent to the amount of paneer you will get from 1.5 litres of milk.
- Soak the block in hot water for about 10-12 minutes. This will soften the paneer so that it can be crumbled for making the bhurji. Drain the liquid once the paneer is soft.
- Using a fork, shred the paneer or grate it with the help of a box grater.
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