Paneer Biryani

To a medium mixing bowl add yogurt, ginger paste, garlic paste, salt, biryani masala, turmeric, red chili powder, lemon juice, and mint leaves. Mix well.
Add onion, peppers, and paneer to the marinade and stir gently to evenly coat with the marinade. Cover and keep aside for 30 minutes allowing the paneer to marinate.
Soak saffron in warm milk and reserve.
Lightly fry cashews in 2 teaspoons of ghee until golden or air fry at 300 F for 4 minutes. Reserve.
Rinse and drain the Basmati rice a couple of times. Add 4 cups of water and soak for 20 minutes.
While the rice is soaking, add ghee to a heavy-bottomed pan and add onions. On medium heat, fry the onions stirring frequently until they start to turn golden brown - about 15 to 20 minutes. Take out half of the fried onions from the pan leaving the remaining onions and excess ghee in the pan.
In a medium pot add 8 cups of water. Add cumin seeds, bay leaves, star anise, cardamom, cloves, and salt to the rice and bring the to a boil on high heat.
Drain the soaked rice and add it to the boiling water. Bring the rice to a full boil on high heat.
Lower the heat to medium and cook uncovered for 5 to 6 minutes or until the rice is about 80% cooked. Drain the rice promptly and reserve.
To the pan with the remaining ghee and caramelized onions, add pureed tomatoes. Cook stirring frequently on medium heat for 5 minutes.
Add the marinated paneer and veggies and saute gently for 5 minutes or until everything is just heated through. Do not overcook the paneer.
Gently layer partially cooked rice over the paneer and veggies. Top with saffron-infused milk. Garnish with the reserved caramelized onions, and add fried cashews.
Secure aluminum foil around the lid to seal the pot tightly so the heat does not escape and the flavors are locked in. You can also place a heavy object on top of the lid to keep it sealed. Cook covered on low heat for 20 minutes.
After the biryani is cooked, allow it to rest for 10 minutes before serving. This helps the flavors meld and the rice to firm up.
Garnish with Cilantro. Gently fluff the rice with a fork, do not mix.
Serve with Raita and lemon wedges.

Ingredients

To Marinate

Remaining Ingredients

Garnish

Instructions

Video

Notes

Nutrition