Paneer/Cottage cheese burji with hints of Celery…

Burji is nothing but a scramble. It’s a hindi word. Paneer is a fresh cheese common in South Asian Cuisine.. In the eastern parts of India its called Chhena.

Paneer is an unaged cheese. Preparing this cheese at home is easy, curdle heated milk with some lemon juice or vinegar & then you need to drain the water out using a muslin or cheesecloth, that’s how you end up with fresh homemade Paneer, which is alter chilled. Since it’s really hot in India there is always an episode when the milk curdles up ,hence the only way to use up this milk is to prepare Paneer at home. But a litre of milk may give you just about 150 gms or less paneer. x

Another lunchbox favourite of K is paneer burji, rather anything paneer is always his favourite.. Waking up late which I end up doing most days.. 😛 requires me to cook something in a jiffy to go into his lunchbox. I was low on eggs, so I would not be able to make enough Egg burji, which he could carry along. My fridge is also a little low on supplies.. So I saw this slab of Paneer/cottage cheese lying there which I had completely forgotten to use up.

It has been long since I packed Paneer burji for his lunch, also this dish has not been posted on my blog. Moreover the fresh packet of celery in the fridge was talking to me.. It was longing to be dressed up in some Indian spices.. 🙂 That’s how this variation to the otherwise simple dish was born.. 🙂

Ingredients: (Serves 2) Preparation Time: 15 mins
Paneer – 200 gms, crumbled/ broken into smaller pieces, use your hand to crumble
Onion – 1 medium-sized, finely chopped
Green Chilli – 1, finely chopped
Tomato – 1 medium-sized, finely chopped
Celery stick/stem – 1, finely chopped
Turmeric powder – a pinch
Coriander powder – 1 tsp
Red chilli powder – 1/2 tsp or more based on your taste
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Coriander leaves – 2-3 sprigs, finely chopped
Fresh Lemon juice – 1 tsp
Cooking oil – 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method:
Heat oil in a fry pan. Set heat to medium. Add the chopped green chilli’s when the oil is hot. Sauté them well & let the flavour get infused in the oil. Next add the cumin seeds & let them splutter. Next add the chopped onions & sauté them till they turn translucent. Add a pinch of salt to help the onions fry quick.

Once the onions turn translucent, add the chopped celery & mix well. Next add all the spice powders mentioned. Mix well. Fry them for a couple of minutes. Next add the tomatoes & fry them till they turn into pulp. Add salt to taste. Lower heat if required & fry till all the raw flavours of the spice powders added fades away.

Next add the crumbled paneer, mix well. If you like the paneer soft, then turn off the heat in a couple of minutes else fry the paneer till most of the water content from the paneer evaporates. Check & adjust the seasoning. Turn the heat off.

Garnishing:
Add the lime juice & garnish with the chopped coriander leaves/cilantro. Mix well before serving.

Serving Suggestions:
Serve hot with any Indian bread of your choice. You can also use this as a filling for Paneer rolls/burgers/sandwiches/samosa’s. 🙂 Enjoy this the way you like..

If you like this recipe, then you may also like – Paneer/Cottage Cheese Tava Masala…, Paneer Enchiladas/Cottage cheese Enchiladas infused with Indian flavours, Adraki Aloo Gobi/Gingery Potato & Cauliflower, Chole/Chickpeas in a tangy spicy Indian sauce etc.

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