Vegetable biriyani with paneer

Name: Vegetable biriyani with paneer
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: Serves 3–4 as a main, 6–8 as a side
Cuisine: Bangladeshi
Ingredients: 300 g (10½ oz/1½ cups) long-grain white or brown basmati rice; raisins, to garnish; 300 g (10½ oz/1½ cups) chopped mixed vegetables, such as carrots, peas, cauliflower, green beans and peeled potatoes; 4 green cardamom pods; 80 ml (2½ fl oz/⅓ cup) melted ghee; fried onion, to garnish; 1 clove; 2.5 cm (1 inch) piece of cinnamon stick; 1 fresh bay leaf; cashews, to garnish; 2 small hot Indian green chillies, finely chopped; ½ teaspoon ground turmeric; 2 teaspoons ground coriander; 1 teaspoon chilli powder; ½ teaspoon Chaat masala; 250 g (9 oz/1 cup) roughly chopped very ripe tomatoes; 3 tablespoons crumbled Paneer cheese; 60 ml (2 fl oz/¼ cup) milk; a pinch of sugar; 70 g (2½ oz/¼ cup) Greek-style yoghurt; 3 tablespoons finely chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves; a pinch of saffron threads; 1 teaspoon cumin seeds; 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil; 2 cm (¾ inch) knob of fresh ginger, peeled and grated; 1 large brown onion, finely chopped

Preparation info

Serves
3–4
as a main

Difficulty
Medium
Ready in
1 hr

Appears in

Lands of the Curry Leaf

By Peter Kuruvita

Published 2018

About

When our Bangladeshi kitchen hands would make staff lunches in the restaurant, it was usually a version of this — a wholesome dish with tons of flavour. The paneer is so easy to prepare, you will wonder why you haven’t made it before, once you do.

Ingredients

300 g (10½ oz/1½ cups) long-grain white or brown basmati rice

Asia
Bangladesh
Main course
Side dish
Lunch
Spicy
Gluten-free
Vegetarian

Method

Soak the rice in plenty of cold water for 20 minutes.

Drain the rice and place in a deep non-stick saucepan, along with the bay leaf, cinnamon stick, clove and cardamom pods. Add a pinch of salt and pour in 1.125 litres (40