Paneer Bhurji

What is Paneer Bhurji?
Paneer = an unaged, soft, non-melty, Indian cheese
Bhurji = scramble
Where can I get paneer?
You can make your own at home or buy it packaged from an Indian store. Homemade paneer is a bit softer and looser than store-bought, which makes it easier to work with for bhurji. If you buy paneer, submerge it in water for an hour before using it to soften it up.
If you want to make your own paneer, you can follow the instructions from my Paneer from Scratch post.
FAQs
Do I have to include peas?
Absolutely not! Some people like them, others don’t. If peas are omitted, this recipe will produce closer to 1.5 servings, not two.
Can I use frozen peas?
For sure! Frozen peas work very well and in fact I use frozen peas since they’re just always around in my freezer. When using frozen peas, you have two options:
1. Submerge them in hot water for 10-15 minutes to soften them and follow the recipe below as is.
2. Add in the peas at the same time as the tomatoes if they haven’t already been softened.

What garam masala should I use?
A good garam masala is vital to this dish. You can make your own using my recipe here or buy one. I’ve used and recommend the MDH one, which works great for a lot of North Indian dishes.
What if I don’t like spicy food?
If you don’t like spicy food, just scale down the red chili powder and green chili amounts! Conversely, if you love spicy food, scale the amounts up!
Paneer Bhurji
Ingredients
- 1 cup paneer crumbled (or cut very small)
- 1/2 cup green peas
- 1/2 small red onion chopped
- 1/2 small tomato chopped
- 1/2 inch piece of ginger minced or grated
- 1 green chili * chopped
- 3 tsp oil
- 1/2 tsp jeera cumin
- 1/2 tsp haldi turmeric
- 1/4 tsp red chili powder * optional
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- dhaniya cilantro, chopped for garnish
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat a pan or wok up over medium-high heat and add oil.
- Once oil it hot, add cumin.
- Once the cumin starts splattering, add the green chilis and ginger. Stir a few times.
- Add onions. Sauté until translucent.
- Add the tomatoes, peas, salt, haldi, and red chili powder.
- Stir, lower the heat to low, and cover the pan to steam everything. Steam until the peas are cooked (5-7 minutes). The peas will be done cooking once they’re easily mashable. You can try to mash one against the pot or take a pea out to test it.
- Add paneer. Stir to combine. Turn off heat.
- Add garam masala and stir to mix.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro.
Notes
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Note: This post includes some affiliate links. These are in no way sponsored by the brands themselves and are only for products I personally actually use and recommend. Using these links doesn’t increase your cost, but it does give me a small commission.
Looking forward to trying this, picture looks very tasty. 🙂