Easy paneer biryani recipe | How to make easy paneer biryani recipe

For cooking rice (all the spices are optional)

• 1 tsp oil
• 1 ½ cups basmati rice
• 1 star anise / chakra phool
• 1 bay leaf / tej patta
• 4 cloves / laung
• 2 inch cinnamon / dalchini
• 3 green cardamom / choti elaichi
• Few pepper corn / kali mirch
• Salt to taste

Other ingredients

• Cashews and raisins as desired
• 1 onion thinly sliced
• 1 large onion sliced
• Fistful coriander leaves chopped
• Fistful mint / pudina leaves chopped
• Few strands of saffron soaked in 2 tbsps. Milk
• 3 tbsp ghee or oil
• 1 tsp kewra water

Marination ingredients

• 1 cup cold paneer cubes
• 1 bay leaf / tej patta
• 2 green cardamoms / 2 choti elaichi
• 2 inch cinnamon / dalchini
• 4 cloves/ laung
• ½ tsp shahi jeera /black cumin
• 1 star anise / chakra phool
• 4 pepper corn (optional)
• ¾ cup thick very cold yogurt / dahi
• ¾ tbsp. red chili powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric/ haldi
• ¾ tbsp. ginger garlic paste
• 1 tbsp. biryani masala or garam masala
• Fistful chopped mint and coriander leaves
• 2 green chilies slit / hari mirch
• Salt to taste

1. Fry cashews and raisins in ghee and set aside. Saute cold paneer cubes in 1 tsp of ghee for 2 to 3 mins on a medium high flame.
2. Immediately drop hot fried paneer in the cold yogurt marination ingredients and set aside for at least 30 mins.
3. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil, add in the spices (for rice), 1 tsp oil, salt and soaked basmathi rice.
4. Cook till the rice is ¾ th cooked and drain away excess water if any.
5. Heat 3 tbsps. ghee in a wide and deep non-stick pan or a clay pot, add sliced onions and fry till they turn golden brown.
6. Add the Marinated paneer. Sauté for a min on medium high.
7. Simmer the stove, spread a layer of rice evenly.
8. Sprinkle the coriander and mint leaves.
9. Sprinkle the fried onions.
10. Pour the saffron milk evenly all over.
11. Add the fried cashews and raisins.
12. Spread another layer of rice evenly. Sprinkle kewra water.
13. Cover the pan with a moist cloth so that the cloth covers the edges well, I use 2 kitchen napkins. I also seal it with foil sometimes. You can even use any dough to seal the lid, but becomes messy to clean.
14. Close the lid of the pan, making sure that the lid is airtight, so that the steam doesn’t escape. If you do not have an airtight lid, can place something heavy on the lid, like a stone pestle.
15. Heat a tawa move this rice pan on to the hot tawa, I used an old dosa tawa. Cook for 25 mins on a medium flame. This helps in preventing the biryani from getting burnt beneath. Alternately can use a double boiler method.
16. Once the flame is off. Set the pot aside and open the lid just before you serve. Garnish paneer biryani with mint or coriander leaves.