Never again do you have to hear, “Oh veg biryanis are not even biryanis bro!”. Tell that snob to try this recipe and shut them up! Or actually, don’t show them this recipe so you can enjoy it for yourself!
Concentrate on your toppings! They elevate the dish to the next level. Make sure you prep perfect fried onions, beautifully glazed carrots, and golden roasted cashew nuts. It makes the dish just that much more delightful!
Paneer Biryani
Course: Lunch, DinnerCuisine: Indian, PakistaniDifficulty: Passion Required4
servings30
minutes45
minutesIngredients
- Marinade
500g paneer (cubed)
2 tbsp Kashmiri chili powder
1 pinch Turmeric
3 tbsp Ginger – garlic paste
3 tbsp Kasuri methi
1 tbsp Mustard oil
1 tbsp Vegetable oil
1 cup Yogurt
1 tbsp Garam masala
2 tbsp Coriander powder
2 tbsp Kosher Salt
2 tbsp Red Chili Achaar
- Glazed Carrots
Water (to cover carrots)
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
20g Butter
4 medium Carrots
- Biryani Base
1 Handful Dagad Phool (around 10-12 pieces)
8 Cardamom pods
1 Star Anise
2 Cloves
3 Bay leaves
2 tbsp oil
2 medium potatoes
2 diced tomatoes
1 diced medium red onion
Salt
- Rice
3 Bay leaves
Jeera (cumin)
3 cups basmati rice
2 tbsp Salt
1 tbsp Saffron (soaked in 3 tbsp milk)
30g Butter
- Garnish
Fried Onions (Deep fry thinly sliced onions until crispy and golden, 1 onion should be enough)
Glazed carrots
Cilantro
20 Cashews
1/4 cup dried barberries
2 tbsp Rose water
Dried rose petals
Lots of oil for deep frying
Directions
- Prep
- Soak the rice after washing for at least 30 minutes.
- Marinate paneer with all marinade ingredients.
- Thinly slice an onion and fry in oil until golden and crispy.
- Soak the saffron in warm milk
- Cut the potatoes into 1 inch chunks. Boil in salted water until fork tender. Deep fry them until crispy.
- Soak barberries for 5 minutes. Roast cashews along with barberries in a bit of butter until golden brown.
- Glazed Carrots
- Cut the carrots into 2 inch pieces
- Put all the carrot in a saucepan and add just enough water so the water mostly covers the carrots.
- Add the salt, sugar, and butter. Simmer on high until all the water evaporates while regularly stirring.
- CONCENTRATE! You don’t want any caramelisation on the carrots. Once the water evaporates, stir the carrots so they get coated in the remaining butter in the pan. They should be nice and shiny now! Remove from heat and set aside.
- Biryani
- Heat up 2 tbsp oil in a pan.
- Add the dagad phool, cardamom, cloves, star anise, and bay leaves. Stir for 20 seconds.
- Add all the paneer along with all the marinade. Stir and cook the marinade mixture for 5-6 minutes on a medium high.
- Now add the onions and tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes. Season with salt and mix well. We wanna cook these down until all the water has evaporated. Otherwise you’ll end up with a super wet Biryani!
- Layer the fried potatoes on top of the paneer masala.
- Boil a full saucepan of water. Add bay leaves, cumin, salt.
- Add the soaked rice (without the water).
- This part is tricky! You want to cook the rice just 70% of the way. This will probably take just 1-2 minutes. So keep tasting the rice. As soon as the rice has lost its raw bite, its ready to take out. If you are unsure, just err on the side of cooked.
- With a slotted spoon, remove the rice and layer over the paneer and potatoes.
- Sprinkle all the saffron milk over the rice. Cut up cubes of butter and place them over the rice.
- Cover and steam the biryani for about 10 minutes on low heat.
- Garnish with fried onions, roasted cashews, barberries, carrots, rose water, and coriander!
Notes
- Toppings, toppings, toppings! Concentrate on the perfect crispy onions, glazed carrots, and roasted cashews!
- Concentrate while cooking the rice! You don’t want it under, you definitely don’t want it over!
