Paneer Bhurji ~ Crumbled Indian cottage cheese curry

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Paneer or Indian cottage cheese is one of those items that is almost always well liked, and is usually a crowd pleaser making it a good choice for when family/ friends get together. But a lot of paneer curries usually tend to be ones with gravy like this paneer masala ,  and tend to be a little more time consuming to make. Perfect for weekends but not really a great choice for a quick weeknight meals or when you are short on time :)

My favorite choice in paneer curries that can be made really fast is definitely paneer bhurji. Paneer Bhurji is a curry made with crumbled paneer. It is a very versatile, flavorful curry that can be made in jiffy, and requires no exotic masalas or spices. No elaborate steps either, just stir, mix,  cook and you are done. This curry can be served with some phulkas/ rotis (Indian flat bread) or in a wrap / grilled sandwich. My personal favorite thing to make with this curry is definitely grilled sandwiches, it tastes so good , just place a little curry between two slices of bread, apply a little oil/ butter on the outside and grill. Yum :)  If you are looking for a quick curry and have some paneer on hand, give this one a try and tell me what you think :)

 


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Ingredients and Method to make Paneer Bhurji
1 medium sized  red onion (pyaaz/ vengayam)
1 green bell pepper (capsicum/koda molagai) deseeded and cut fine
3 cups of crumbled paneer (Indian cottage cheese) (400 gms of paneer)
For step by step directions to make your own paneer, check out this post
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
3 Thai or Indian variety of green chilies cut very fine (or to taste)
1/2 tbsp finely grated ginger (adrak/ inji)
1/4 tsp red chili powder (or to taste) (optional) (lal mirch)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (optional) (haldi / manjal podi)
salt to taste (namak/ uppu)

for garnish
1 tsp lemon juice (or to taste)
4 tbsp finely cut cilantro (coriander leaves/ dhania/ kothamalli)

Crumble paneer, prep the vegetables and keep aside.

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan on medium heat, add cumin seeds, when the seeds sizzle add onions and saute until the onions are transparent/ translucent. Add turmeric powder (if using), ginger and green chilies and stir a few times.

Add bell pepper and stir until the bell pepper is cooked, yet firm. Lower heat, add  crumbled paneer, salt to taste, red chili powder (if using) and mix well. Stir and allow the mixture to heat for a few minutes for the flavors to mingle and for the paneer to heat through.
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Remove from heat, garnish with lemon juice and cilantro and serve hot with some phulkas/ plain rotis (Indian flat bread) or use this mixture in a wrap or a grilled sandwich.

If you are looking for paneer/ Indian cottage cheese recipes, here are a few more

Paneer Masala

Easy Kadai Paneer

Tandoori Paneer Pizza

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Carrot Chutney

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Chutneys are such fun aren't they ? Not only does a good chutney add flavor and taste to a meal, I feel like a good chutney can elevate a meal from blah to something fab. And the best part, chutneys are so easy and quick to make that it can be included in any menu quite easily:)

Here is one that somewhat surprised me, I usually make this to go with dosai / adai (Savory Indian crepes) or idlis (savory steamed cakes), this time I thought of using it in a sandwich and I was just so surprised at how good it tasted in the sandwich. I just applied this chutney to the bread and stuffed it with a potato and mung bean curry like mixture that I had made to go in it and it turned out so well. I mean don't get me wrong this chutney tastes awesome in all the traditional pairings too, but I loved to find it out that it works just as well in an unconventional setting too. Give this one a try and tell me what you think about it :)



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Ingredients and Method to make Carrot chutney
1 medium onion cut fine
1 small tomato cut fine
4 medium carrots cut into small pieces (yielded approx 1 and 1/2 cups of cut pieces of carrots)
salt to taste
1 and 1/2 tbsp lemon juice (or to taste)

1 tbsp oil
3/4 tsp cumin seeds
2 Thai or Indian variety green chilies (or to taste)
2 whole dry red chilies (or to taste) 
1/2 tsp minced ginger
1/2 tsp minced garlic

Heat oil in a medium sized heavy bottom pan on medium heat. Add cumin seeds to it, when the seeds begin to sizzle add onions and stir until the onions are cooked and become transparent. Add ginger and garlic and stir a few times.

Add green chilies and red chilies and stir a few times. Add tomatoes and stir until the tomatoes are soft and mushy.

Add carrots, salt to taste and sprinkle a little water, cover with a lid and allow the carrots to cook until soft. Stir a few times in between to ensure even cooking. When the carrots are cooked, remove from heat and allow to cool.
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Puree this mixture until smooth. Add lemon juice to taste and mix well.

Serve this chutney with any kind of Rotis/ chapathis/ phulkas (Indian flat bread) or with any kind of dosai / idli or with some raw veggies or use it in a wrap or a sandwich. This time I used it in a sandwich and was blown away by how awesome it tasted in a sandwich, plan to make it more often to go with my sandwiches:)

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Punjabi Aloo Gobi (Potato Cauliflower curry)

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Can you believe it is June already ?? It seems like just yesterday that we were wishing everyone for the start of the year and doing the annual "what's your resolution for the new year" thingy and here we are, half the year is almost gone !!   When I think of all the things I want to get done this year, I wish I could get 48 hours in each day so that I could get more done...............sigh :-(     Since that's not happening, let me move onto something that always manages to cheer me up, at least a little :)

Aloo gobi is a classic, simple curry from north Indian cuisine that is as versatile as it is delicious. Aloo= Potatoes, Gobi= Cauliflower, so literally aloo gobi just means potatoes and cauliflower, but this deceptively simple term, in my opinion, does not do justice to this curry.  This is an incredibly flavorful curry, whether you serve this with a north Indian themed menu, or just with phulkas/ rotis (Indian flat bread), or use this curry in a wrap or just enjoy a bowlful of curry on it's own, this curry is unfailingly yum :) So give it a try and let me know what you think :)



Oh and one last thing before I go........ the answer to the riddles I posed in last weeks post are towel for the first one and postage stamp for the second. Kara, Suja, Sandy and Vani, please take a bow, you all got either one or both the answers right :)

Okay so I'm off now, let me see if I can make a dent to the work load I mentioned earlier, will see you all soon with another post :) 



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Ingredients and Method to make Aloo Gobi
1 medium head cauliflower, washed thoroughly and broken into medium florets (yielded approx 4 and 1/2 cups of florets)
3 large potatoes washed, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (yielded approx 3 cups of cut pieces)
1 large red onion cut fine
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
2 Thai or Indian variety green chilies cut fine (or to taste) 
1 thin sliver of ginger minced (about 1/2 tsp minced ginger)
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp garam masala (or to taste)  (can be substituted with any other curry powder)
my recipe for garam masala can be found here
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) (optional)
1/4 tsp red chili powder (or to taste)
salt to taste

For garnish
Juice of half a lemon (or to taste)
3 tbsp finely chopped cilantro (coriander leaves) 

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan. Add cumin seeds, when the cumin begins to sizzle add onion and saute until onion becomes transparent.

Then add ginger, garlic and green chilies and stir a few times. Add all the spices except salt and stir a few times. Add potatoes, salt to taste and mix well. Then sprinkle a few drops of water, close with a lid and allow the potatoes to cook just a little, just about a couple of mins or so.
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Then add cauliflower florets, mix thoroughly until each floret is coated with a bit of the spice mix, sprinkle a few drops of water if required, close with a lid and allow to cook for a few mins. Stir a few times and close and cook until the florets and potatoes are cooked, yet firm.

Garnish with lemon juice and cilantro, mix well and remove from heat.

Serve hot with any north Indian themed meal, or with phulkas/ rotis or use this curry in a wrap, it tastes pretty awesome in a wrap :)

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