Make tasty Paneer Dum Biryani with this quick and easy recipe with step wise pictures. Flavorful Dum Biryani recipe with both stovetop and oven method to easily make it at home!
If you have been following my blog for some time now, it must be pretty clear that we are a biriyani loving family. From Palak Biryani to Peas Biryani, Baby Potato Biryani to Chana Biryani, Coconut Mint Biriyani to Pressure Cooker Biryani, Thalapakkati Biriyani to Ambur Briyani, I have almost 20 biryani recipes shared on my blog. It had been my biggest regret so far that I couldn’t post Paneer based biriyani recipe. The husband is not a huge fan of plain Paneer/Cottage Cheese unless it is served as gravy or in the form of paneer paratha. So, I kept pushing out that idea until recently. I utilized a perfect opportunity when he was travelling and made Paneer Dum Biryani.
To say that the quick version of Paneer Dum Biryani turned out amazingly delicious would be an understatement. I almost followed the recipe for my Baby Potato Dum Biryani but made a few changes to make it work for Paneer. It got done really quickly, not much effort or time needed. I really had my doubts while I was getting it ready but after it came out of oven, I was very happy. The flavors of mint leaves, golden fried onions and saffron lent a beautiful color and aroma to the Paneer Biriyani.
As is the norm with hyderabadi dum style of biryani, I served it up with thinly sliced onions and lemon wedge. One of my concerns was that the paneer could be bland once cooked but when I tasted it, I realized that it had soaked up all the spices and aromatics. It perfectly complemented the spicy basmati rice. I used a mixture of ghee and oil to make this biryani – ghee to shallow fry the paneer, oil to fry the onions, ghee drizzled on top and sides of the pan before starting the dum process – so needless to say, this Paneer Dum Biryani was rich and fragrant too!
How to make Paneer Dum Biryani | Easy Paneer Biryani Recipe
📖 Recipe
Paneer Dum Biryani | Easy Paneer Biryani Recipe
MEASUREMENT
1 cup = 250ml, 1 tablespoon = 15ml, 1 teaspoon = 5ml
Ingredients
For the Dum Biryani Masala Powder –
- 3 Cloves
- 2 inch Cinnamon Piece
- 1 Bay Leaves
- 2 Green Cardamoms
- 1 Black Cardamom
- ½ teaspoon Shahi Jeera
- ¼ teaspoon Black Peppercorns
For Dum Biryani Marinade –
- ½ cup Thick Curd
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri Chilli Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1 Green Chilli
- 1 teaspoon Ginger Garlic Paste
- Salt as needed
For Dum Biryani –
- ½ cup Diced Paneer Cubes 100gms Paneer
- 1 cup Basmati Rice
- ½ cup Golden Fried Onions
- ¼ cup Finely Chopped Mint Leaves
- ¼ cup Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves
- 2 teaspoon Oil
- 3 teaspoon Ghee
- 1 Clove
- 1 Cardamom
- 2 inch Cinnamon Piece
- 1 Star Anise
- 1 Bay Leaf
- ½ tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 4 tablespoon Warm Milk
- Generous Pinch of Saffron Crushed
- Salt as needed
- Water as needed
Instructions
- In a thick bottomed pan, dry roast all ingredients under Biriyani Masala Powder until they are fragrant – takes about 3-4 mins on low flame. Once cooled down, grind into a smooth powder.
- In a pan, heat 1 teaspoon of ghee. Add paneer cubes and fry on low flame. Once they turn golden, remove from heat and set it aside.
- In a bowl add the fried paneer cubes along with freshly prepared biryani masala powder, Kashmiri chilli powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt as needed.
- Add ¼ cup of golden fried onions and thick curd along with slit green chillies.
- Mix well and let this marinate for atleast 30 mins or until the rice is ready.
- In a pan, heat 1 teaspoon oil and fry whole spices – cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, star anise and bay leaf.
- Add water as needed (about 3 cups) and salt as needed. As the water comes to a boil, reduce the flame to low and add the basmati rice.
- Cook the rice covered on low flame for 6-7 mins until it is ¾th done. Drain off the excess water. Spread the rice on a large plate, drizzle 1 teaspoon of ghee around and let the rice cool down completely.
- Pre-heat the oven at 200°C. To assemble the biryani, grease a thick bottomed pan (I used my Lodge cast iron pan) with 1 teaspoon ghee.
- Spread the prepared paneer marinade as the first layer. Add a layer of basmati rice as the next layer and sprinkle golden fried onions on top.
- Squeeze half a lemon (or ½ tablespoon lemon juice) all over the rice.
- Sprinkle finely chopped coriander leaves and mint leaves all over along with any left over golden fried onions on top.
- Crush the saffron until it is powdered and mix it with warm milk. Sprinkle this milk all over the rice.
- Cover the pan with aluminum foil. Set the pan in a pre-heated oven at 200°C on bake mode for 25-30 mins.
- Gently fluff the rice and mix the biriyani masala from bottom before serving. Serve with cut onions and lemon wedge.
Detailed step-wise picture recipe of making Paneer Dum Biryani | Easy Paneer Biryani Recipe
1. In a thick bottomed pan, dry roast all ingredients under Biriyani Masala Powder until they are fragrant – takes about 3-4 mins on low flame. Once cooled down, grind into a smooth powder.
3. In a pan, heat 1 teaspoon of ghee. Add paneer cubes and fry on low flame.
4. Once they turn golden, remove from heat and set it aside.
5. In a bowl add the fried paneer cubes along with freshly prepared biryani masala powder, Kashmiri chilli powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt as needed.
6. Add ¼ cup of golden fried onions and thick curd along with slit green chillies.
7. Mix well and let this marinate for at least 30 mins or until the rice is ready.
8. In a pan, heat 1 teaspoon oil and fry whole spices – cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, star anise and bay leaf.
9. Add water as needed (about 3 cups) and salt as needed. As the water comes to a boil, reduce the flame to low and add the basmati rice.
10. Cook the rice covered on low flame for 6-7 mins until it is ¾th done. Drain off the excess water. Spread the rice on a large plate, drizzle 1 teaspoon of ghee around and let the rice cool down completely.
11. Pre-heat the oven at 200°C. To assemble the biryani, grease a thick bottomed pan (I used my Lodge cast iron pan) with 1 teaspoon ghee.
12. Spread the prepared paneer marinade as the first layer. Add a layer of basmati rice as the next layer and sprinkle golden fried onions on top.
13. Squeeze half a lemon (or ½ tablespoon lemon juice) all over the rice.
14. Crush the saffron until it is powdered and mix it with warm milk.
14. Sprinkle this milk all over the rice.
15. Sprinkle finely chopped coriander leaves and mint leaves all over along with any left over golden fried onions on top.
16. Cover the pan with aluminum foil. Set the pan in a pre-heated oven at 200°C on bake mode for 25-30 mins.
17. To make this on stove-top, you can either set the pan on a thick iron tawa on the lowest flame and cook for 20-25 mins. If you dont have an iron tawa, you could directly place the pan on the lowest heat possible and cook for 12-15 mins. It is necessary to keep the pan closed tightly.
18. Gently fluff the rice and mix the biriyani masala from bottom before serving. Serve with cut onions and lemon wedge.
Recipe Notes
- Use fresh, thick curd for best results.
- If the curd is watery or if the veggies or mushroom leave water, the best trick is to save ¼ cup of basmati rice from cooking and sprinkling it as the first layer That way, any extra moisture or water will be absorbed by the uncooked basmati rice.
- To golden fry the onions, heat 2 tablespoon oil in a thick bottomed pan. Fry finely sliced onions on low flame until golden. I had to use 4 large onions to get a cup of golden fried onions.
- Adjust spices as per preference.
I would be delighted to know if you have tried this recipe, don’t forget to share your feedback and comments below. If you have any questions, you can e-mail me! I am also available on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter 🙂
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