400gmspaneercut into cubes and fried till lightly browned on all sides
1medium tomatosliced
For the Biryani:
1tbsplight cooking oil
1cupfried onions
1cupfinely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2cupfinely chopped fresh mint
1tsprose wateroptional
Instructions
For the Rice:
Cook the rice with the spices and salt till all the water evaporates and the rice is about halfway done. Spread it out on a large platter so that the grains do not clump and set aside.
For the Paneer:
Heat oil in a non-stick pan and fry cumin seeds, ginger and garlic for a few seconds till fragrant. Add in onions and fry for a few minutes till onions get tender and lightly brown.
Add in spices, salt and tomato paste, and fry for another minute or two to mix well.
Add in paneer and tomatoes and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes till the paneer is nicely coated with all the spices. Do not cook the tomatoes for too long since we want them to retain their shape and not give out too much moisture. This should be fairly thick and the paneer pieces should be well coated with the spice paste.
For the Biryani:
To assemble the Biryani, heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot.
Spread about half the paneer mix at the bottom of the pot. Then layer over with half of the pre-cooked rice, and top that with half the amounts of the cilantro, mint and fried onions.
Repeat the layering with the remaining half of the ingredients.
Sprinkle the rose water on top, and cook covered on low heat for 10-15 minutes till the rice is completely cooked through. Serve warm with a side of Raita.