Paneer biryani

Name: Paneer biryani
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: 6 serving(s)
Ingredients: 2 tbsp. vegetable oil; 225 g paneer, cut into 1cm cubes; 2 onions, finely sliced; 4 garlic cloves, crushed; 4 cm piece fresh root ginger, finely grated; 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped; 1 tsp. ground turmeric; 1 tbsp. garam masala; 4 large tomatoes (about 450g in total), roughly chopped; 150 g natural yogurt; Large handful coriander, roughly chopped, plus extra to serve; 75 g butter or ghee, melted; 325 g basmati rice; 6 cardamon pods, bruised; Pinch saffron

This traditional rice dish just got a veggie upgrade.

By The GH Kitchen TeamPublished: 05 September 2025

Recipe by Alice Shields

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A fragrant veggie biryani that’s light enough to serve as a side dish, but hearty enough to satisfy as a meat-free main.

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Yields:

6 serving(s)

Prep Time:

45 mins

Cook Time:

1 hr

Total Time:

1 hr 45 mins

Cal/Serv:

504

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
225 g paneer, cut into 1cm cubes
2 onions, finely sliced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
4 cm piece fresh root ginger, finely grated
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tsp. ground turmeric
1 Tbsp. garam masala
4 large tomatoes (about 450g in total), roughly chopped
150 g natural yogurt
Large handful coriander, roughly chopped, plus extra to serve
75 g butter or ghee, melted

For the rice

325 g basmati rice
6 cardamon pods, bruised
Pinch saffron

Directions

1. Step 1First, soak the rice in a bowl of cold water for 30min. While the rice is soaking, heat 1tbsp oil in a large casserole dish (that has a lid) over medium heat and cook the paneer, turning occasionally, until golden all over. Transfer to a plate. Add the remaining oil and cook the onions for 15min, stirring regularly, until deep golden brown. Remove onions to the plate with the paneer.
2. Step 2Add the garlic, ginger, chilli, turmeric and garam masala to the empty pan and cook for 2min, until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, for a few min until they start to break down. Reduce heat to low and stir in the yogurt and 1/2tsp fine salt.
3. Step 3While the tomatoes are cooking, drain the soaked rice and cook in a pan of boiling salted water with the cardamom pods and saffron for 5min, until tender. Drain well.
4. Step 4Spoon 1/2 the rice (with the cardamom pods) over the tomato mixture in the pan, and top with 1/2 each of the onions, paneer, coriander and melted butter/ghee. Repeat layering once more.
5. Step 5Cover and cook on medium-high heat until you can see steam from under the lid, reduce heat to low and cook for 30min without lifting the lid. Sprinkle over the extra coriander to serve.

Per serving:

Calories: 504
Protein: 17g
Total fat: 25g
Saturates: 13g
Carbs: 52g
Total sugars: 7g
Fibre: 2g

The GH Kitchen Team

The GH Kitchen Team are Good Housekeeping’s resident recipe developers and all-round food obsessives. GH Kitchen Director Sarah Akhurst is our resident hosting pro and loves nothing more than putting on a foodie feast for friends. Our GH Kitchen Manager Linzi Pucino is our very own Italian food expert (originally hailing from the North East of Scotland!) and can be found working her way through midweek recipes that cover all bases, from haggis to ragu! Our Kitchen Editor ⁠Nadine Brown loves digging into the stories behind her favourite foods and enjoys applying her eclectic tastes to more modern, flavour-forward recipes - just don't give her too much chilli! Our Junior Food Content Produce ⁠Frankie Prichard combines a love of beautiful presentation and flavour-led, seasonal cooking in her recipe development, along with a passion for bringing people together through food. With a wealth of professional kitchen experience between them, they’re dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work every single time

Recipe byAlice Shields

Former Senior Cookery Writer

Alice Shields is the Former Senior Cookery Writer for Good Housekeeping. A trained pastry chef, you’ll find her food styling on photo shoots, developing delicious recipes and writing about all things food. She loves to bake and her favourite pudding will always be a chocolate fondant. Originally hailing from Lancashire, she finally achieved her goal of getting a butter pie recipe into the magazine.

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