Paneer briyani

Ingredients:

• 10 Cashews 
• 10 raisins 
• 1 onion thinly sliced
• 1 onion sliced
• 1 handful coriander leaves chopped
• 1 handful mint leaves chopped
• 3 tbsp ghee or oil
• 1 tsp orange color 

cooking rice 

• 1 tsp oil
• 1 ½ cups basmati rice
• 1 star anise / chakra phool
• 1 bay leaf / tej patta
• 4 cloves / laung
• 2 inch cinnamon / dalchini
• 3 green cardamom / choti elaichi
• 2 to 4 pepper corn / kali mirch
• Salt to taste

Marination ingredients

• 1 cup Paneer cubes
• 1 bay leaf 
• 2 green cardamoms 
• 2 inch cinnamon 
• 4 cloves 
• ½ tsp shahi jeera 
• ¾ cup yogurt ,
• ¾ tbsp red chili powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric 
• ¾ tbsp. ginger garlic paste
• 1 tbsp biryani masala
• 1 handful mint leaves chopped 
• 1 handful coriander leaves chopped
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Fry cashews and raisins in ghee and set aside. Saute cold paneer cubes in 1 tsp of ghee for 2 to 3 mins on a medium high flame.
   

   
2. Immediately drop hot fried paneer in the cold yogurt marination ingredients and set aside for at least 30 mins.
   

   
3. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil, add in the spices cooking rice.soaked basmathi rice.Cook till the rice is ¾ th cooked.
   

   
4. Heat 3 tbsps. ghee in a wide and deep non-stick pan or a clay pot, add sliced onions and fry till they turn golden brown.Add the Marinated paneer. Sauté for a 2 min on medium high.
   
5. Spread a layer of rice evenly.Sprinkle the coriander and mint leaves.Sprinkle the fried onions.Pour the orange color milk evenly all over.Add the fried cashews and raisins.
   
6. Cover the pan with a foil and close with lid, making sure that the lid is airtight, so that the steam doesn’t escape. Heat a tawa move this rice pan on to the ot tawa, I used an old dosa tawa. Cook for 25 mins on a medium flame. This helps in preventing the biryani from getting burnt beneath. 
   
7. Serve and  garnish paneer biryani with mint or coriander leaves.