The best Paneer Biryani
Since I have been little, I have grown up eating various biryanis. My and my Dad’s favourites are my Mum’s Vegetable and Paneer Biryani, Vegan Butternut Squash and Coconut Biryani, and for when we feel festive, Nut Roast Biryani. This time, I wanted to have a go at making the biryani myself so chose one of my most loved ingredients… paneer.
WHAT IS PANEER TIKKA BIRYANI
Paneer Tikka is Chicken Tikka Masala’s vegetarian best mate. Paneer is marinated in tandoori spices and cooked in a creamy sauce of onion, garlic and nuts. For Paneer Tikka Biryani, we have added the marinated paneer to rice that has been fragranced with a bountiful of royal spices such as saffron, cardamom, cinnamon, mace to name a few. The piece de resistance to a good biryani is fried onions aka birasta. They add the lightest sweetness to the rice and if you skip this step – trust me, you’ll regret it!
THE BEST RICE TO USE FOR BIRYANI
To get the best texture of biryani and of course, the best flavour, the rice undoubtedly has to be basmati rice. To help the rice keeps its shape in the huge stockpot, a special kind of basmati rice called Sella rice should be used. The sella rice has been aged so is drier than normal and so preventing it from clumping (a nightmare that anyone who has cooked rice will relate).
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST TANDOORI PANEER TIKKA BIRYANI
If you want to prepare mouthwatering, flavourful and fluffy biryani at home, give some serious attention, care and time to this dish. Obviously, we are not preparing this dish using store-bought biryani masala, which can save a little time to prepare but there will be no authentic taste. If you want to prepare biryani from scratch you need to follow this recipe to a T. It may look daunting and tedious at the first sight but believe me once it’s done the all the efforts are worth it. To make Biryani, choose the day when you have plenty of time on your hands, all the ingredients in your pantry but above all, you have the company of your loved ones to enjoy Biryani together.
So what INGREDIENTS FOR PANEER TIKKA BIRYANI will you need?
Rice – To cook the Biryani the BEST rice you should be using is good quality aged Basmati rice aka Sella rice. It emits a good aroma when it is cooked with whole spices. Paneer – Paneer is an Indian style cottage cheese which can be grilled or fried without losing its shape. It can be store-bought or homemade. Nowadays paneer is easily available in almost all British supermarkets. Spices and Masalas – Biryani is all about spices and masalas. Whole spices such as cardamom, cloves, bay leaves, Shahi Jeera (cumin) and saffron increase the flavours of Biryani and of course, represent wealth. The herbs, spices and masala meld together to profile an exotic aroma. Basic masala powders such as red chilli powder, turmeric and garam masala add wonderful flavours to this dish. Nuts and Fats – Rich and sumptuous biryanis prepared with the good amounts of nuts and fats such as homemade ghee, oil, cream and yogurt. Fresh spices and herbs – For an aromatic and flavourful biryani, you’ll require a couple of fresh ingredients such as onion, garlic, mint, and fresh coriander. Fried Onion – The last but not least very important ingredient for Biryani is deep-fried onions aka Birasta. If possible do not miss adding fried onions to this dish to get an authentic taste of biryani. Easily available in any south Indian grocery store but if you want to make at home there are plenty of recipes to follow to make fried onions.
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS / RECIPE FOR PANEER TIKKA BIRYANI
Once you have all the ingredients and some time on your hands, start preparing Biryani. I have some best tips here, to cook the best paneer tikka biryani.
HOW TO COOK RICE FOR BIRYANI
For the fluffiest biryani, it is very important that you cook your rice only 70%. First, wash the rice under the running water till water comes clear then soak the rice in cold water for at least half an hour. Then in a large pan or stockpot boil plenty of water, add whole spices such as cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaf along with a 2 TBSP ghee and some lemon juice. Once the cooked about 70% cooked, turn off the heat and drain all the water and leave it to cool completely.
HOW TO MARINATE PANEER FOR TANDOORI TIKKA?
Whatever your choice of protein you want to use for making biryani, make sure you marinate at least one hour prior to making the curry. You don’t need lots of amounts of yogurt to marinate paneer, too much yogurt makes paneer or any other vegetables bland and tasteless. To marinate paneer you need to make the marinade by combining green capsicum, oil, yogurt, garlic-ginger paste, kasoori methi, garam masala, and tandoori masala powder. Add cubed paneer and leave it for a couple of hours.
HOW TO MAKE PANEER TIKKA MASALA?
Once the paneer is marinated, make paneer tikka masala. Check how to make paneer tikka masala. This recipe made using the microwave but easily done over the stovetop in a pan. Instead of milk powder use single cream.
HOW TO LAYER BIRYANI
First, Paneer tikka masala layered is placed in a stockpot, then layered with fresh mint, coriander and fried onions, then boiled spiced rice. The crowning glory is to finish it off with a garnish of saffron cream, ghee, fried onions and lightly toasted cashews. As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations! Don’t forget to follow me on social media using the buttons below – I can’t wait to see you all there!
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