Paneer Biryani Recipe

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Delicious Paneer biryani is a mildly spiced layered biryani cooked in Hyderabadi dum style. An aromatic biryani recipe for vegetarians made with fragrant basmati rice, soft and creamy paneer and aromatic herbs and spices.

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]

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

Delicious paneer biryani recipe in Hyderabadi dum biryani style. Vegetarian biryani recipe which is also known as paneer pulao.

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Equipment

Any Deep Pan or Dutch oven

Ingredients

200 grams paneer
200 grams basmati rice long grain
3 Tbsp yogurt curd
1 teaspoon ginger grated
2 tablespoon milk
2 Tbsp Ghee
1 tablespoon Oil

Spice Powders

1 teaspoon biryani Masala
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon red chili powder
Salt to taste

Whole Spices for Biryani

1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1-2 Star anise
2 bay leaves
7-8 Peppercorns
1 inch cinnamon stick
2 cardamom
1 green cardamom
4 cloves
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
10 saffron strands
garam masala powder

Fresh Ingredients for Biryani

3 Onion sliced
1 tomato chopped
2 Tbsp pudina mint
4 tablespoon coriander leaves chopped

Instructions

Preparation for Making Biryani

warm the milk and add saffron strands in the milk for soaking.
Add paneer cut into small cubes and keep them aside.
Wash and rinse basmati rice till water runs clear. Soak rice for 15 minutes.

Cooking Rice for Biryani

In a big pot of boiling water add bay leaf, big cardamom, green cardamom and salt.
Add washed and soaked basmati rice and cook till the rice are 60-70% done.
Drain out the water using a colander and keep these partially cooked rice aside.
Heat oil in a pan and add one sliced onion to it. Cook the onions till it becomes crisp and dark brown. Keep them aside. If you are using store bought crispy fried onions skip this step.
For making biryani, in the same pan heat 2 tablespoon ghee and fry buts if you are using them. Take them out after 1 minute and keep them aside.
In the same pan add whole spices, cumin, 1-2 star anise, 1-inch cinnamon stick, 2 Cardamom, 3-4 cloves, peppercorn and cook for 1 minuteon slow heat till spices are fragrant.
Add sliced onion and cook for another 2 minutes.
Now, add grated ginger fry it and add tomatoes and then add salt, red chili powder, garam masala powder or biryani masala or both in ½ quantities, and mix well. Cook till tomatoes are mushy.
Add ⅓ cup of water and mix well. cook for 3-4 minutes on medium heat.
Add paneer in this cooked masala and switch off the heat. Take out half of the paneer with cooked masala gravy.
Let the remaining half of paneer masala in same pan

Assembling and Layering of Paneer Biryani for Dum Cooking

In the same pan, spread half of the cooked rice over masala layer.
Now for next layer add remaining other half of the paneer masala gravy which you took out earlier
Sprinkle green coriander and mint leaves over this and lightly fried onion.
Follow it up with the second layer of partially cooked rice.
Finally, add warm milk in which saffron is soaked and tightly cover it. Also add mint leaves, fried onions and cover with a heavy lid.
Cook it on lowest heat for 15 minutes and serve paneer biryani hot with raita

Video

Notes

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.

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