Dhaba-Style Paneer Bhurji

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon mustard oil substitute with avocado any cooking oil
• 1.5 tablespoon besan gram flour
• 3 tablespoon butter
• 4 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 inch ginger chopped
• 1 cup onion chopped
• 1 cup tomatoes pureed in blender (about 3 medium tomatoes)
• 1.25 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
• ½ cup water or as needed
• 300 g paneer crumbled
• 1 small (~⅓ cup) potato boiled & fine crumbled (optional)
• 1 teaspoon kasuri methi crushed between palms
• 3 tablespoon cilantro chopped
• 1 green chili chopped (adjust to taste)
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• 2 teaspoon red chili powder adjust to taste
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• ½ teaspoon garam masala or to taste

Steps

1. Home Made Paneer:- If you plan to use homemade paneer, see this post on how to make paneer at home. In the recipe, just skip the step of weighing down the paneer into a block. Once the curds are drained for good 30-40 minutes, they are ready to use for making bhurji. Store Bought Paneer:- If you are using store bought paneer, soak it in boiling water for 15 minutes. Drain, wipe dry with a towel and then crumble the paneer.
2. Chop the onions, ginger and garlic.
3. Add roughly chopped tomatoes to a blender jar and make a puree.
4. In a wide pan(10 inch or 12 inch) or a large kadai, heat up the mustard oil til its a bit smoky. Add the besan. Let besan roast in oil for 1-2 minutes, keep stirring else it will burn.
5. Add coriander, red chilli and turmeric powder and brown them as well on slow heat for 2-3 minutes till you smell a nice aroma. These spices can burn easily so be a little careful. Tranfser the besan slurry to a small bowl once roasted.
6. In the same pan without wiping, melt the butter. Add the ginger,garlic and cumin and saute for 25-30 seconds.
7. Add the onions next and saute them for a good 6-8 minutes until the start turning light golden brown. Dont brown to a dark shade.
8. Add the tomatoes and sprinkle some salt. Cook the tomatoes for 5-6 minutes. Dont dry out too much.
9. Add the browned besan and spices and saute everything together for another 2-3 minutes till you see a nice thick masala is formed.
10. Next, add ⅓ to ½ cup water. Mix the water well. You will see that the masala will look like a slurry. Dont worry. Its perfect. Note:- Due to besan you will see that the masala will thicken fast. If you want you can add more water but make sure that it becomes part of the masala before adding paneer.
11. Once you see that the masala is bubbling again, add the paneer and very gently mix it with the masala. If there are some big chunks of paneer, lightly mash it using back of the spoon. You can add the potato as well right now. Mix everything well with the masala and let cook for a minute or two. Tip:- Dont stir a lot. Also dont cook on high heat. Else the paneer will get hard and rubbery.
12. After adding paneer, cook the bhurji for no more than 5-6 minutes.
13. Switch off the stove and add kasuri methi, garam masala and chopped cilantro and green chilies(if using). Serve warm with some crisped bread. Enjoy!