Makhani Paneer Dum Biryani

Biryani is a one pot dish that is so flavorful and fragrant. It has rice, spices, veggies/paneer, herbs arranged in layers and cooked on low flame. I like to use some basic curries or sauces to create different dishes with little twist to it. One such curry I have on my blog is Shahi paneer. I use the gravy of this curry in many different dishes – biryani is one of them. I have used the basic principles for layered dum biryani here along with the shahi paneer gravy. Biryani is a one pot meal that tastes even better the following day its cooked, as the rice and paneer soaks well and absorbs all the flavors from the spices. Tastes fantastic with onion raita.

Ingredients

for cooking rice
basmati rice 2 cups
salt 2 tsp
bay leaf 1
star anise 1
cloves 3-4
cinnamon stick 1 inch
green cardamom 2
lemon slice 1
ghee 1 tsp
coriander leaves 1 tbsp, chopped
mint leaves 1 tbsp, chopped
water 6 cups

for paneer sauce
tomato 4-5, diced
onion 1 medium sized, diced
dried red chilli 3
cashew 1/4 cup
water 2 tbsp
butter/oil 2 tbsp
ginger garlic paste 2 tsp
cinnamon 1 inch
bay leaf 2
clove 4
tomato puree 1/3 cup
kasoori methi 1 1/2 tsp
blended curds 1/4 cup
heavy cream 1/2 cup
sugar 2 tsp or lil more if tomatoes are sour
garam masala 1 tsp
red chili powder 1 1/4 tsp (or more if you like spicy biryani)
salt to taste
paneer cubes 1 cup

for assembling
ghee 1 tbsp
chopped mint leaves 1 cup
chopped coriander leaves 1 cup
fried onions 1 cup (see note)

Method

for cooking rice
Wash the rice, drain and set aside.
Boil 6 cups of water in a large pot.
Add salt, cinnamon, clove, bay leaf, star anise, green cardamom, slice of lemon, ghee, mint leaves, coriander leaves and basmati rice.
Mix it and let the rice cook until is 3/4th done (took about 6-7 mins).
Drain the water and set the cooked rice aside.

for paneer sauce
Heat a pan, add diced tomatoes, diced onions, red chili, cashew and 2 tbsp of water.
Stir well, cook covered on low flame for few mins till tomatoes are soft.
Let it cool completely, grind it into a fine paste and set aside onion-tomato paste.
Heat oil in another pan.
Add ginger-garlic paste, stir for a few seconds.
Add cinnamon, clove, bay leaf, tomato puree, kasoori methi.
Stir and cook on medium flame for 2-3 mins.
Add in the ground onion-tomato paste, curds (or heavy cream) and mix well.
Heat for another 3-4 mins.
Finally add garam masala, red chili powder, sugar, salt and stir till everything is mixed well.
Mix in the paneer cubes and cook for 1-2 minutes and turn off the stove.

for assembling and cooking biryani
In a pan, add ghee on the base, add a layer of panner sauce, sprinkle some mint leaves and coriander leaves, fried onions and spread a layer of cooked rice. Repeat the layering for the rest of the rice and paneer sauce.
Spread the top layer with rice, add freshly chopped coriander leaves and mint leaves, fried onions and ghee.
Stick the dough or cover tight with aluminum foil on the rim of the pan to seal tightly.
Cover with a lid and cook on low flame for 15-20 mins.

Note:
– for fried onions: can use store bought or fry thinly sliced onion in lil oil till golden brown on medium flame in a wide pan.

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