Wash and soak the Basmati rice in enough water for 15 minutes. In a small cloth take the whole Garam masala and tie its corners resembling a potli.
Peel and Cut the vegetables of choice into chunks. Here I used Potato, carrot, cauliflower, French beans , bell peppers and peas. Cube the paneer as well.
In a small bowl take warm milk and add saffron strands to it. Set it aside until needed.
Marination : In a bowl take yogurt, gram flour, ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder, half of biryani masala, salt, coriander powder, cumin powder and sugar. Mix them well without any lumps.
To this add the cubed paneer and vegetables.Mix well and keep covered for 20 minutes.
In a deep pot take water and bring this a boil. Add whole Garam masala potli, salt to taste and lemon juice. Give it a good stir and add soaked Basmati rice to it.Cover and cook rice until 80% done.
Turn off the heat and drain the water.Remove and discard Garam masala potli.Take the rice into a bowl drizzle a spoonful of oil , toss and set ready.
In a Kadai or heavy bottomed pan add ghee and oil. Once hot add sliced onions, slit green chilli and saute until onions turn pinkish. Add the Marinated vegetable and paneer mix along with its juices,if any and cook on low to medium heat .
After a couple of minutes turn the vegetables and paneer around. Add peas, chopped tomato to it and Cook the mix until potatoes are almost done. Be cautious as Gram flour tends to stick at the bottom.
As the veggies get done remove half of the mix seperately. Add a layer of rice over the vegetable mix. Sprinkle with some biryani masala, Garam masala, salt to taste , chopped mint, chopped coriander and brown onions.
Repeat the layers with remaining vegetables and rice .Sprinkle the rice again with chopped mint ,coriander and brown onions.
Drizzle a teaspoon of ghee over the top. Cover the kadai with foil and seal the edges.
Close it with a tight lid and create dum on medium low heat for 12 to 15 minutes.
Later drizzle the saffron milk , add roasted cashews and turn off the heat. Keep it covered for 5 more minutes so that all the flavours soak in well.
Give it a gentle mix without disturbing it much. Serve it hot with raita and salan of choice.
Delicious and flavourful Vegetable Dum Biryani is ready to devour. A perfect party meal that just blows your senses away !
