Saturday, June 13, 2020

Shahi Paneer and Vegetable Dum Biryani


Shahi Paneer and Vegetable Dum Biryani is an all time classic Mughlai dish that needs no introduction to die hard biryani lovers. Recently I had made this dish to celebrate a special occasion in the family. Many of you asked for the recipe, so here it is.........

Ingredients: Make rice and gravy separately. Ingredients for each listed below.
For rice: 4 cups rice (preferably basmati), 3 - cardamom pods, 3 cloves, 1 - small cinnamon stick, 6 cups water (or as per your preferred proportion - rice should not be mushy), salt to taste, lemon juice - few drops.

For Gravy: Mixed vegetables - 3 cups (I used frozen), Paneer - 1.5 cups, Onions - sliced 2 whole - (you can use ready made fried onion if you don't want to fry yourself - in that case just slice 1 onion), 3 - cardamom pods, 3 cloves, 1 - small cinnamon stick, 1-2 nos - Bay leaves, 5-6 nos- whole black pepper, 2-3 tsp cumin seeds, 4-5 tsp - ginger garlic and chilli paste, Mint leaves - 10-12 cut, saffron dissolved in warm milk - few strands, yogurt- 5-6 tsp whisked, biryani or pulav masala, cumin/coriander powder - 3-4 tsp, cashews - 10-12 broken to pieces, turmeric powder - 2-3 tsp, red chilli powder - 2-3 tsp, oil - 5-6 tbsp, salt to taste. Water as required.

Method:  
For rice: Wash rice with water and keep aside. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and add whole spices to it. Then add washed  and saute gently taking care not to break rice. Add water and cover and cook for 8-10 mins. Rice should not be mushy or really well done. It should be very slightly under cooked.

Garnish: For fried onion (optional): heat oil in a pan and fry 1 sliced onion till light brown and set aside. You can also fry cashews in same oil till light brown and set aside.

For Gravy:  Cook mixed vegetables in a microwave for 10-12 mins and set aside. Take a pan and heat 2-3 tbsp oil. Add cumin seeds and whole garam masala consisting of bay leaves, cardamom, cloves, whole black pepper and cinnamon and saute for a minute. Add sliced onions and fry till soft, add ginger garlic and chilli paste and fry for 2 mins, add turmeric powder and red chilli powder and saute. Add cumin/coriander powder and biryani masala, mint leaves and saute. Add yogurt to the mixture and saute for 2-3 mins till everything is bubbling. Add cooked mixed vegetables and saute and cover and cook for 4-5 mins and set aside. Add water to the mixture if it is too thick. The gravy should not be too thick or too runny.

For Assembly: Take a big pan and add 1 tbsp oil and coat the pan. Divide the gravy in to 2 portions and cooked rice into 3 portions. Add one portion of rice to the bottom of the pan and cover it with one layer of rice. Repeat for second layer. Top layer should be rice (3rd portion). Add fried onions and cashews on top of the last rice layer and drizzle saffron dissolved in warm milk all over the rice. Cover the pan with aluminium foil and cook on low-medium heat for 8-10 mins (taking care not to burn the rice at the bottom). 

The reveal: The whole mixture should cook on steam for that time. After 8-10 mins uncover the pan by removing the aluminium foil and get ready for the big reveal! I cannot describe the feeling when you first see the steaming hot biryani and the aroma that fills your whole kitchen.Very very gently mix all the layers with a spatula taking care not to break any grain of rice. Serve hot with Cucumber Boondi Raita and Mirchi ka Salan, a traditional accompaniment to biryani (recipe to follow).


Enjoy your Shahi (Royal) meal!!!

Till my next post, take car everyone!

2 comments:

AJ said...

Wah lajawaab!!

R said...

@AJ: thanks a lot!! Dhanyawaad :)