Paneer or Indian cottage cheese is a very versatile ingredient. Paneer by itself does not have any flavor, but this Paneer Biryani is full of mind blowing flavors . Satisfy your biryani cravings with this beautifully flavored and fragrant biryani recipe!
When ever you think of biryani, it is wither chicken or mutton biryani. I promise you, this paneer biryani equally tasty and addictive. This is not a one-pot biryani recipe, but it is still very easy to make. I have provided step by step instructions with pictures to help you make this dish.
How to make Paneer Biryani?
Apart from the paneer, the most important ingredient is this recipe is mint leaves. I love the flavor it adds to the biryani. Begin by cubing the paneer (any desired size). Add yoghurt, chili powder, turmeric powder, biryani masala or garam masala, ginger-garlic paste, salt, lime juice and mint leaves to a bowl. Mix everything thoroughly before adding the paneer cubes to the marinade. Do not forget to give it a taste. You can always add more chili powder or biryani masala or yoghurt. Let the marinade sit for at least 45 minutes.
Any kind of biryani, be it vegetable or chicken or mutton biryani, is always made with basmati rice. The basmati rice itself imparts a lovely , unique fragrance and flavor to the dish. I wash the basmati rice and let it soak in water for at least 20 minutes.
Add water to a large pot along with all the whole spices: shah jeera, cumin, bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves. Let the water come to a rolling boil. Now I add the soaked basmati rice to the pot; add ghee (clarified butter) or butter, salt to the water and rice; and leave the heat setting at medium-high. I do not cover pan. When the rice is almost done, turn off the heat. If there is any excess water, drain it.
In another pan, heat a tbsp of ghee. Add onions and sauté until it turns golden brown. Now add the chopped tomatoes or tomato puree to the onions. Let the mixture thicken up before adding the marinated paneer to it. Stir occasionally and the paneer cook for 10 to 15 minutes.
Once the paneer has cooked, begin layering the biryani. Use a heavy bottomed pot for this step. Add a tbsp of ghee to the pot and then a layer of paneer, followed by a layer of the cooked basmati rice. Repeat. Now make holes in your layered biryani with handle of your spatula and add ghee in to the holes. This step is completely optional. Place a lid and leave the heat at low. Let the paneer biryani cook for at least 10 minutes to 20 minutes. This step enhances the flavor and also ensures the rice is completely cooked. Garnish with more finely chopped mint leaves and serve immediately.
Try this recipe in you kitchen and let me know how it turned out.
Happy cooking!!
Click here for more recipes using paneer: Paneer Butter Masala – Restaurant style, paneer bhurji.
Paneer Biryani Recipe
Ingredients
For Marination:
- 400 g Paneer cubed
- 1 ½ cup yoghurt
- 1 tbsp Chili powder or as required
- 1 tbsp Biryani Masala or Garam Masala or as required
- ¼ Turmeric Powder
- 1 tbsp Freshly lime juice
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- A handful Fresh mint leaves
- Salt as required
For Cooking Basmati Rice for Biryani:
- 3 cups Basmati Rice Washed & soaked for 20 minutes
- 1 tsp Shah Jeera
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1 inch Cinnamon Stick
- 2 Bay leaves
- 10 Green cardamom
- 6 Cloves
- 1 tbsp Ghee (Clarified butter)
- Water as required
- Salt as required
For Cooking the Marinated Paneer:
- 2 medium Onions finely chopped
- 2 medium Tomatoes pureed or chopped
- Marinated Paneer
- 1 tsp Ghee
For Layering The Paneer Biryani:
- Cooked Basmati Rice
- Marinated and Cooked Paneer
- 2 tbsp Ghee
- Mint leaves for garnish
Instructions
Marinate the paneer
- Cube the paneer to desired size
- Add yoghurt, chili powder, turmeric powder, biryani masala or garam masala
- Add ginger-garlic paste, lime juice, and mint leaves.
- Mix everything thoroughly
- Now add the cubed paneer and stir
- Make sure all the paneer pieces get coated with the yoghurt mixture
- Let it sit for 45 minutes to an hour
Cook the Basmati Rice
- Wash and soak the basmati rice for 20 minutes
- Add shah jeera, cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, bay leaves to water in a pot
- Let the water in the pot come to a rolling boil
- Now add the basmati rice, salt and ghee
- Once the rice has almost cooked, remove from heat and drain any excess water
Cook the paneer
- Add ghee to a hot pan and add the chopped onions.
- Sauté the onions until golden brown
- Add the chopped tomatoes or tomato puree
- Stir everything occasionally until, the masala base thickens up
- Now add the marinated paneer to the pan
- Stir everything thoroughly and cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Make sure not to mush the paneer cubes
Begin layering the Paneer Biryani
- Add ghee to a heavy bottomed pan (low heat setting) and add a layer (about an inch) of paneer masala, followed by a layer of cooked basmati rice
- Repeat the layering
- Use the handle of a spatula to make holes in the layered paneer biryani in the pot
- Add ghee into the holes and keep the heat at a very low setting
- Place a lid over the pan and leave it for 10 minutes or until the rice has cooked completely
- Garnish with more mint leaves and serve hot
