failed attempt: paneer bhurji - what to do?

I have not bought paneer from the store in a long time.  I make paneer at home and prefer so too.  But there are times when in a rush, despite the number of times I have made paneer in last few years, I blow it.

This time I had put the fresh paneer under a heavy container in order to use it for Paneer Bhurji.  We both love it and especially when I buy colorful bell peppers, I love making a colorful Paneer Bhurji.

I laid all the ingredients for Paneer Bhurji in front of me as I started to heat the pan.  Mise en place, it is called - to keep the chopped vegetables and spices all measured out, to review the recipe for all the requirements, to prepare the equipment and tools and lay it all out ahead of time.  So that you save time, your energy, and electricity when you are ready to cook.

I began to cook, following my usual Paneer Bhurji recipe.  Added the spices and sautéed the vegetables.  Nice and vibrant colors.

But all hell broke loose when I added my homemade paneer.  Okay, extreme exaggeration.  But the super soft paneer started to release its whey and became completely mushy.  Instead of scrambled paneer (paneer bhurji), I started to see paneer paste.

Oh no.  I cannot afford to throw paneer away.  How about I make it like a gravy since it is starting to look like so?  How about if I add a little milk (how exotic North Indian dishes use heavy cream to add the creamy texture in the gravies) and water to liquefy it?  And cook it a little long until everything gets mixed and cook well?

Since the small pieces of colorful bell peppers were already cooked in it, I did not add any other vegetable to it.  I simply adjusted the seasoning and cooked it until the creamy texture of paneer gravy looked and tasted good.

Paneer Curry with entirely a paneer gravy is something no one would cook.  Way too high in fat content.  But I had to find a way to fix my disastrous paneer bhurji paste.

And as long as I transformed it into something edible, my job was done.  This paneer curry was enjoyed with the meal albeit with small servings.  And while my husband or the guest that was over for dinner could not guess what the gravy was made of - I was thinking hard to give them a unique name for this dish I invented.

I settled with Paneer Curry.
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