Paneer Biryani recipe is a delicious, flavorful, and easy one-pot rice recipe prepared from paneer, whole spices, biryani masala, and the long grain basmati rice in an Instant pot pressure cooker or stovetop. It takes less than 30 minutes to prepare. It is perfect for office lunch boxes.
Being famous with the name 'Paneer,' Indian cottage cheese is one of the famous ingredients that brings a unique taste when added to different dishes.
This paneer biryani recipe has many variations, like paneer tikka biryani, paneer dum biryani, and street style paneer biryani. All are equally tasty and flavorful.
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Health benefits of Paneer?
- It is a rich source of protein, and thus, it is ideal for vegetarians.
- It fulfills your daily calcium needs too. This helps your bones to grow faster and stronger.
- The study shows that people who eat food rich in Vitamin D and calcium have fewer chances of breast cancer infection.
- It is a highly-recommended food for pregnant women because of its nutritional value. However, you should consult your physician before use.
What kind of rice is used in Biryani
A classic biryani is made using basmati rice. This rice is thinner and longer than traditional rice. I prefer Daawat Traditional Basmati Rice or Tilda Legendary Rice Pure Original Basmati brands.
Paneer Biryani Ingredients
- Paneer: Homemade or store-bought paneer cubed into 1-inch pieces. You can also add vegetables of your choice, like potatoes, carrots, and beans.
- Rice: Traditionally, long grain Basmati Rice is used for making biryani, and I have used white basmati rice for this recipe.
- Water: I have used 1.5 cups of water for every cup of Basmati rice to make this biryani in Instant Pot. Adjust water based on the type and quality of rice.
- Ghee: adds extra flavor. If you are vegan, replace it with oil.
- Onion: I have sliced the onions lengthwise for this recipe.
- Green chilies: I have used Thai green chilies for the heat.
- Ginger and garlic: I have used a paste made from fresh ginger and garlic. You can also mince and add them.
- Yogurt: use fresh plain yogurt.
- Herbs & spices: Used mint and coriander leaves for herbs, red chili powder, turmeric, and biryani masala for dry spices. I highly recommend using Shan Biryani Masala because it gives Restaurant Style Biryani flavor.
- Whole Spices: Used bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves, and cardamom.
- Lime Juice: Use fresh lime/lemon juice whenever possible.
How to Make Paneer Biryani in Instant Pot
Press SAUTE mode on Instant Pot. Heat ghee (or oil), add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cardamom, and cloves. *Vegans can use oil instead of ghee.
Then add sliced onions, green chilies, ginger-garlic paste. Saute for 2-3 minutes until they turn light brown - stir regularly.
Add mint, coriander leaves, yogurt (curd), turmeric powder, red chili powder, biryani masala powder, and fried paneer, and mix well.
Add rinsed basmati rice, water, and salt. Give a quick stir.
Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 5 minutes.
Once the pot beeps, Wait for NATURAL PRESSURE RELEASE(NPR).
Squeeze some lime juice, mix well, and Instant Pot pressure cooker Paneer Biryani is ready to serve with Onion Raita or plain yogurt.
Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method
- Firstly, heat a pressure cooker with oil on medium flame, add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cardamom, and cloves.
- Then add sliced onions, green chilies, and ginger-garlic paste. Saute for 2-3 minutes until they turn light brown - stir regularly.
- Add mint, coriander leaves, curd, turmeric powder, red chili powder, biryani masala powder, and fried paneer. Mix well.
- Then add rinsed basmati rice, water, and salt. Give a stir.
- Cover the cooker with a lid and cook for one whistle.
- Squeeze some lime juice, mix well, and pressure cooker Paneer Biryani is ready to serve with Onion Raita or plain yogurt.
What to Serve with Paneer Biryani?
Serve Paneer Biryani with any kurma, or with a side of yogurt or raita along with some mango lassi.
Tips & Variations
- For Vegans, you can skip yogurt and add lime juice or 1 medium tomato.
- I have shallow-fried paneer in a pan for biryani, but you can add raw paneer itself.
- You can get biryani masala powder from any Indian grocery store or amazon. You can use any brand. If you don't get biryani powder, then replace it with the same quality as garam masala powder.
- You can increase or decrease spices accordingly.
- If you want to make it more healthy, add some vegetables along with paneer to this biryani.
- You can add fried onions on top before serving.
- If you think your paneer is becoming chewy after pressure cooking, saute paneer separately and add in the end or use homemade paneer.
More Paneer Recipes
More Veg-Style Biryani Recipes
- Vegetable Biryani
- Spinach Biryani
- Potato Biryani
- Chole Biryani
- Soya Chunks Biryani
- Mushroom Biryani
- Quinoa Biryani
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Instant Pot Paneer Biryani
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1 cup paneer (cottage cheese) fried
- 1 medium onion thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
- ¼ cup mint leaves
- ¼ cup coriander leaves
- 2 green chilles
- ¼ cup curd (yogurt) (vegans can use dairy free)
- 1.5 cups water
- 2 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter) or oil
- salt to taste
Whole Spices
- 2 bay leaf
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 2-3 cloves
- 2 cardamom
Dry Spices
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
- ¼ teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon biryani masala powder
Instructions
Instant Pot Method
- Press SAUTE mode on Instant Pot. Add ghee, and once it's hot, add Bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cardamom, and cloves. *Vegans can use oil instead of ghee.
- Then add sliced onions, green chilies, ginger-garlic paste. Saute for 2-3 minutes until they turn light brown - stir regularly.
- Add mint, coriander leaves, yogurt (curd), turmeric powder, red chili powder, biryani masala powder, and fried paneer and mix well.
- Add rinsed Basmati Rice, water, salt, and give a quick stir.
- Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 5 minutes.
- Once the pot beeps, Wait for NATURAL PRESSURE RELEASE(NPR).
- Squeeze some lime juice, mix well, and Pressure cooker Paneer Biryani is ready to serve with Onion Raita or plain yogurt.
Indian Pressure Cooker Method
- Firstly, heat a pressure cooker with oil on medium flame, add Bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cardamom and cloves.
- Then add sliced onions, green chillies, ginger-garlic paste. Saute for 2-3 minutes until they turn light brown in color - stir regularly.
- Add mint, coriander leaves, curd, turmeric powder, red chili powder, biryani masala powder and fried paneer and mix well.
- Then add rinsed basmati rice, water, salt, and give a stir.
- Cover the cooker with lid and cook for 1 whistle.
- Squeeze some lime juice, mix well and Paneer Biryani is ready serve with Onion Raita or plain yogurt.
Video
Notes
- For Vegans, you can skip yogurt and add lime juice or 1 medium tomato.
- I have shallow fried paneer in a pan for biryani, but you can add raw paneer itself.
- You can get biryani masala powder from any Indian grocery store or amazon. You can use any brand. If you don't get biryani powder then replace with same quality of garam masala powder.
- You can increase or decrease spices accordingly.
- If you want to make it healthy add some vegetables along with paneer to this biryani.
- You can add fried onions on top before serving.
- If you think your paneer is becoming chewy after pressure cooking, saute paneer separately and add in the end or use homemade paneer.
Priyanka says
Yummy paneer biriyani i made it. It was perfectly cooked. Accurate measurements. I loved it. Thank you for yummy recipes
Bhavana Patil says
That's really awesome Priyanka 🙂 Thank you for trying out the recipe and sharing your feedback, I am very glad it turned out well. Keep trying more recipes from the blog. Have a great day 🙂
Anonymous says
Brilliant recipe! We have tried it a several times and always a hit
Bhavana Patil says
Thank you so much for the kind words, made my day 🙂