Paneer Pulao (Cottage Cheese Pulao)

My son is a great fan of paneer no matter what the dish.so paneer is on our family menu at least once a week but believe me I don't know why I haven't posted a single paneer recipe on my blog yet.I guess I mostly make paneer for dinner and either I get too tired to click a picture or the lighting is not sufficient.So this time when I made Paneer Pulao for lunch and the first thing I decided is to make a post of it on my blog .Here goes everyone's favourite Paneer Pulao and I served it along with small onion and capsicum raita (which I will post soon).to add colour to the pulao I added green peas.You can add other veggies too.

Preparation time:20 mins

Serves :3

Ingredients:

Paneer or Indian cottage cheese cubes-200 gms

Basmati rice or (jeeraga samba rice which I used here)-1 1/2 cup

Green peas-1/2 cup

Thinly sliced onion-1 no

Chopped fresh mint leaves-1/4 cup

Chopped fresh coriander leaves-1/4 cup

Garam masala-1 tsp

Salt -to taste

Sugar-1 tsp

Milk-1/2 cup

Oil-2 tbsp

Ghee-1 tbsp

To be grind to a fine paste:

Small onion or pearl onions-6 to 7 no

Garlic -5 pods

Ginger-1 1/2 inch

Green chillies-2( depending on your spice level)

To temper:

Star anise-2

Bay leaves-2

Cinnamon-2 one inch sticks

Green cardamom -2

Cloves-2

Procedure:

1.Grind the ingredients given for grinding to a fine paste.

2.Heat a cooker,add 1 tbsp of oil and ghee .Then add the sugar and once it caramelizes add  the ingredients given for tempering .Now ass the sliced onions and saute well.

3.Once the onions turn golden brown add the ground pate ,followed by chopped mint and coriander leaves.

4.After it is sauteed well ,add the green peas and soaked basmati rice and mix well.

5.Then add the water and milk followed by garam masala. Mix well and close the cooker lid and cook for 2 whistles.In a separate wok add a tbsp of oil and shallow fry the paneer till they are golden brown.Place this roasted paneer inside warm water to retain its softness.

6.Add this paneer to the cooked rice and mix well when it is hot so that the flavour blends well with the paneer.

7.The most yummy and flavorful paneer pulao is ready in a jiffy.Serve hot with any raita of your choice.

Tips:

*I used Jeerasamba rice so the grains are small.You can use basmati rice to get a long grain texture but flavour wise both are good.

*Mixing the paneer after the rice is ready helps it to keep soft .If you cook the paneer along with rice,sometimes it turns rubbery.