March 20, 2007

Paneer Bhurji/ Scrambled Eggs with Paneer


This is one of my favorite recipes with paneer. Paneer is a kind of homemade cottage cheese made from cow's milk. It is made by boiling milk and then adding vinegar or lemon juice to the simmering milk which seperates the cheese in the milk from the whey. Then the cheese is drained and weighed down to remove as much of the water as possible. This cheese was made at home all the time, but I usually just buy it from the Indian store. It doesn't taste as good as the homemade one but making it at home needs constant attention. So for those who want to try it at home, here is an excellent recipe.

So about this recipe. No, it does not have a rich and creamy sauce such as Paneer Makhani or Shahi Paneer that paneer is more commonly reputed for. It's just a simple stirfry of scrambled paneer and eggs in such a way that you wouldn't be able to distinguish where one ends and the other starts.

Now since paneer is an acknowledged warehouse of cholesterol, it is no longer is welcome in my house(except on special occasions). So we modified and switched to Tofu (paneer made out of Soybean Milk)and instead of whole eggs, you could even use one egg and then egg whites. If you are not a fan of tofu, you won't appreciate the substituted taste and will miss the richness of the paneer. But it is a good way to get your family to eat tofu.

So try it with paneer first and then do your substitutions. Do try it with roti for a simple side dish for dinner and add any peppers/capsicum you like to add more veggies into it.

You will need:
Paneer or Tofu- 100 gm
Onions – 1
Green Onions (Scallions)- 3 stalks
Eggs- 2
Green chilies-5-6
Ginger Paste-1/2 tsp
Garlic Paste-1/2 tsp
Tomatoes-2 medium ones
Red Chili Powder-3/4 tsp (less as per taste)
Turmeric- 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder- 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder-1/2 tsp
Garam Masala- 1/4 tsp
Cilantro Leaves- ½ cup washed and chopped.
Salt to taste or ½ tsp
Oil- 3 tbsp
Preparation:
1. Crumble the paneer into small pieces by hand and keep aside. Finely chop all the ingredients. Mix the eggs and keep aside.
2. Heat the oil in a non stick sauté pan and stir and fry the onions, green chilies and the chopped white part of the scallions on medium heat for about 5 minutes till it turns lightly golden. If you are using the cumin seeds instead of the powder, that should be sizzled in the oil before adding the onions. Add the ginger garlic paste, turmeric, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and sauté till the raw smell disappears. Add 1 tbsp of water if it is sticking to the pan. This should take about 2 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes and let it cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat till the tomatoes start breaking down. Cover the pan to speed up the cooking but then reduce the heat. Open and adjust seasoning. Add 1 cup water if it is too dry. Cover and cook until the oil separates in the pan.
4. Add the salt and crumbled paneer pieces, and sauté for a minute or two till everything blends well. Adjust the seasoning at this point.
5. Now add the egg mixture with one hand, stirring all the while with the other hand to avoid setting in a piece. The egg will evenly coat the paneer or tofu pieces. Keep stirring for just one minute more and then turn off the flame. Add the chopped green part of the scallions, sprinkle garam masala powder and add fresh chopped cilantro. Serve hot with Rotis.

19 comments:

Bharathy said...

Great recipe...I frequently make the same dish with the paneer alone,as my nusband and children are vegetarians...this combination is very good.Thanx for the rcipe.

Maneka Nirmal said...

hey..its one of my favorite dishes on the sanday's menu..we all love it..ur's looks yummy..nice recipe shaheen..

J said...

I made paneer at home today and if it doesnt turn into a nice block, it will be bhurji!! :) I make paneer bhurji or scrambled eggs, never mixed the two. But I love your recipe. :)
Shaheen, I'd like to hear your views on Kitchen Safety. Pl visit my blog and leave your comments. Thanks!

FH said...

I make Egg Bhurgi,never with Paneer.Looks great ,a great idea to mix both,double punch!:))

Mandira said...

Never added paneer with eggs, this looks delicious. Will certainly try this mix :) Congratulations to you and RP on the Kerala portal, it looks amazing. It'll be my one-stop for kerala recipes.

Prema Sundar said...

I too make this with paneer alone .. Ur recipe is rich..

Coffee said...

Lip smackingly delicious!!!!!! An all time favourite!!!!!

But no tofu for me :( I am allergic to it!!!! So its paneer all the way!!!!! Never mind, I will hit the gym after feasting on it. ;)

Anonymous said...

I guess its a coincidence, I made the same last nite; but with Tofu instead of paneer. I will have to try the same with paneer now... Creativity with the recipes is never ending.. isn't it? Thnxx Shaheen.

Shah cooks said...

Bharathy, I didn't realise that. so u are not a vegetarian?

Maneka,Glad to hear u too make it.

Jyothsna, Will check out ur kitchen safety issue. Do try mixing the two. u will like it.

Asha, let me know if u like it after u try it.

MAndira, Thanks for ur encouragement. we are glad to help.

Prema, paneer alone is also good but i like the changed texture when both are together.

Coffee, tofu allergy? thats the first i have heard of. I know lots of people who eat soy products due to milk allergy.:)

Babli, et tu? is ur recipe any different? let me know.

Anonymous said...

sounds very good to me. Will try this one out very soon with tofu and let you know. Also,Saw the paneer recipe that you've referred to....will try making paneer her way....and let you and her know how it turned out. Thanks Shaheen.

Rg.

Shivapriya said...

My version will be minus EGG:D lovely picture

Anonymous said...

egg burgi--mmm one of those last minute but tastes good ones. i hav nvrtried it with panner,but at times just thro in a few veggies...
the art of making paneer is something i hav nvr perfected
so thanks for the link
lov
ki

Bong Mom said...

Hi Shaheen
I recently made Tofu Burji minus eggs it was so good and totally healthy. Since you mentioned low cholesterol, I though I might just let you know so that you can try. Recipe is in my blog

Gattina Cheung said...

Actually there's one favorite dish I always ordered at a famous Chinese resturant in Hongkong... (pan) fried tofu and eggs, topped with bites of these and that, plus many spices. Your is just as fantastic as that dish!

Mahek said...

hi
the bhurji looks great and i am sure tastes great too!!!
paneer is my sons favorite so i will definetly make it.

Anonymous said...

Tried this with tofu. It was good. Thanks shaheen for this recipe.

Rg.

Anonymous said...

Hi there!
Thank you for the recipe.. I was trying it out today but got confused at step 3...how much green peas should we add?

Shah cooks said...

anon,
no green peas in this recipe. where did u get that idea? the green in the pic is the spring onions.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the reply !!! :)
The green peas part is mentioned in step 3, after the tomatoes break down..
Anyway I tried it (without the peas) yesterday & it was yummy ! Thanks once again !