Ingredients

• 500g - cottage cheese cubes
• 2 - diced potatoes
• 1/2 cup - diced carrots
• 1/2 cup - green peas
• 2 tbsp - clarified butter/ghee
• 1 - chopped onion
• 1 inch stick - cinnamon
• 4-5 - green cardamoms
• 2-3 - bay leaves
• 2 cups - basmati rice
• Salt, to taste
• To be ground:
• 1/2 cup - mint leaves chopped
• 1 cup - coriander leaves chopped
• 2 tbsp - grated coconut
• 1/4 cup - roasted peanuts
• 1 tsp - coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp - cumin seeds
• 5-6 - peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp - turmeric powder
• 1 small - onion chopped
• 2-3 - green chillies
• 6 - garlic cloves
• 1/2 inch piece - ginger
• Juice of 2 limes
• For the Garnish:
• 1/2 cup - fried onion
• 1/4 cup - roasted cashewnuts and raisins
• 2 tbsp - chopped coriander leaves

How to Make Hyderabadi Paneer (Cottage Cheese) Biryani

• Grind all the ingredients into a fine paste and keep aside.
• Deep fry the cheese cubes in hot oil till golden brown. Drain onto an absorbent paper and keep aside.
• Heat ghee/clarified butter in a pan and saute the onions till they turn pink. Add the ground paste and saute for a minute.
• Add the potatoes, carrots, a little water and cook on medium heat till around 3/4 cooked. Add the peas and cook till all the vegetables are cooked, but are firm enough.
• Add the cheese cubes and mix carefully. Switch off the heat after a minute.
• Take plenty of water in a vessel. Add the whole spices and salt and bring to a boil. Add the rice and cook till almost done. Drain and keep aside.
• In a pan, spread a layer of rice (half of the cooked rice) evenly on the bottom.
• Spoon in the vegetable mixture evenly. Spread the remaining rice on top. Cover the pan with an aluminium foil or a tight fitting lid.
• Place the pan on top of a heat diffuser or tawa and cook on low heat for 15O minutes.
• Garnish with fried onions, toasted cashew nuts, raisins and chopped leaves. Serve hot with raita and pickle.
• Recipe Courtesy: Mareena's Recipe Collections