It’s a Perfect one pot Indian meal for lunch or dinner. If you love paneer this is one of best paneer recipe.
A complete meal by itself this veg biryani cooked with paneer is flavourful crowd pleaser dish. Be it a party or a regular family dinner, biryani is loved by most people. This Paneer biryani recipe is super easy to make. It requires a little time and patience but taste is really totally worth of both! A tasty biryani recipe begins with caramalised onions known as Birista. Layers of delicious vegetable base, onions and aromatic long grain basmati rice is cooked to a delicious perfection. Aroma of whole spices infused in basmati rice is totally divine.
How to Make Paneer Biryani Dum Style
I usually make the Paneer biryani in Hyderabadi dum style. In dum cooking basmati rice is partially cooked and then layered with marinated paneer and herbs. Everything is then slow cooked and it flavours are infused resulting in a very aromatic biryani. This method of using marinating paneer with different spices is used in Hyderabadi Paneer biryani Recipe which is served in Indian restaurants. Each grain of rice remains separated and fluffy mainly because of the cooking technique. There are a few simple tips that can help you to make a perfect biryani.
Ingredients for Paneer Biryani
Dairy: yogurt /curd, Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) , milk Fresh: Ginger , Onion, tomato, coriander/cilantro, Mint Dry: basmati rice long grain, Crispy fried brown onions, walnuts, cashew and almonds (optional) Fats: Ghee/clarified butter, Oil Spices and Seasonings: Salt, red chili powder, turmeric powder, biryani Masala or garam masala, cumin seeds, bay leaves, Star anise, Peppercorns, cinnamon stick, cardamom, green cardamom, cloves, saffron strands. (For making Authentic biryani recipe these all spices are used plus some more. However do not fear I am adding substitution in recipe notes section)
Paneer Biryani Cooking Steps
Rinse basmati rice water till the starch clears from the water. and water runs clear. Then soak the rice for 15 minutes in the water. Keep them aside. Soak 10 threads of saffron in 2 tablespoon of warm milk and keep that aside.
In a pan boil water and add drained soaked basmati rice with whole spices bay-leaf, cinnamon, black cardamom, cloves, and salt. Cook the rice till it is 70% cooked. Drain the water and keep the rice aside. [photo 1,2] Keep the rice aside. Heat ghee in a pan and toss cashew, walnuts, almonds. Roast them in ghee for a minute and take them out in a bowl. [photo 3,4] In the same pan add cumin seeds, peppercorns, grated ginger, and stir it for a minute. Add onion and saute the onions. Add green chilies and saute the onion for a minute or two. Then add tomatoes, and mix well. [photo 5,6]
Then sprinkle salt to taste, red chili powder, turmeric powder, biryani masala, coriander powder. [photo 1,2] Cover and cook the tomatoes until they are soft and pulpy. [photo 3] Add yogurt in the ingredients and mix well. Pour water and cook the gravy. [photo 4] Add the paneer pieces and coat it well with the other ingredients.[photo 5] Cook for a minute and take out some of the paneer and vegetable masala from the pan and keep aside. [photo 6]
Now make Layers for Paneer biryani. First add a layer of partially cooked rice over paneer masala.[photo 1] Make another layer with remaining cooked paneer and vegetable mixture.[photo 2] Then add fried onions. Add another of partially cooked rice, pour saffron-milk, coriander leaves, mint leaves and remaining fried onions on it. Cover and cook for a 10-15 minutes on slowest heat. Top with fried nuts fluff the biryani with a fork or spoon and enjoy!
Recipe Notes and Tips for Making Perfect Paneer Biryani
While cooking rice boil the rice with whole spices to get better taste and aroma. Never boil the rice without spices. Marination time is another factor that affects the flavour of biryani. Always marinate the paneer well and for a longer duration for a better flavour. Do not overcook the rice in pre-cooking stage 60-70% cooked rice is good for biryani. When in doubt always undercook because you will still get a chance to perfectly cook it during the dum process. Fried onion or birista is another step which should never be skipped for biryani. If you can’t find any spice, look for it on either amazon or local Indian grocery store. If you still can’t find any particular spice, skip it but make sure to use as many as you can easily find. Biryani masala or garam masala either or both is a MUST for best tasting Authentic biryani.
Best Rice for Biryani
If there is one question that I am asked very often is, Which is best basmati rice for Biryani? I would say any long grain basmati rice is good for biryani. You can try 2-3 good brands and see in which rice remain fluffy, separated and fragrant. Other than the good quality basmati rice, How you cook rice for biryani is also important. I have also done a video of How to cook rice for Biryani.
What to Serve with Biryani?
Serve the paneer biryani hot or warm with raita or plain yogurt. You can serve it with boondi raita, cucumber raita, or beetroot raita.
More Biryani Recipes or One Pot Rice Dishes to Try
Egg Biryani Recipe
Masala Rice
Spicy Gatta Pulao
Vegetable Dum Biryani in Microwave
Amritsari Chickpeas Pulao
Easy Paneer Biryani Recipe Video
📖 Recipe
