Ruminating on paneer bhurji

I don't know why I think Paneer Bhurji is a typically Mumbaiyya dish. I guess its the concept of a dish of scrambled anything (eggs, mince meat) with some veggies, which just comes across as thoroughly Mumbai-borne-and-bred, partly owing to the Parsi (anything par eddu) and Muslim (keema-pav) influences and partly to the hurry-on-the-move Mumbai food culture. So it could've been an improvisation on the part of some cook in Mumbai for the benefit of educating a vegetarian foodie to the joys of Mumbai 'scramble' culture. But

the fact is that it IS paneer - I mean it cannot be anything if not Punjabi. So I just looked it up and guess what? Paneer bhurji is one-hundred-percent khalis Punjabi. In fact, Amritsar is famous for the dish.

I think I'm obsessed with this dish right now. I mean for the past few months, if we ever invite anyone over for a meal, I always, always end up cooking paneer bhurji (other dishes may differ, so don't get scared). One of the reasons is that it is such an easy recipe and it tastes so good. Another one is sheer laziness on my part I guess - I can cook paneer in other ways as well, but those would mostly involve making a good gravy from scratch. Yes, like a good North Indian, I feel that paneer is a must for the vegetarian guests. Oh yes, and I like to serve paneer bhurji with jeera rice - I think those two make the perfect pairing. Yes, yes, I know people will claim that it goes best with rotis, parathas or best still, with naan, but I will stick to my guns here. And there will always be a debate between the people who claim that the dish tastes better with grated paneer and the people who prefer to crumble it. Some add ginger, garlic and green chillies; others use a precooked masala. Some also use vegetables like spinach making it "palak paneer bhurji".  I use freshly diced onions, tomatoes, and peas in mine - no ginger, garlic or green chillies.