Paneer fried rice recipe – A quick nutritious rice dish that goes good in lunch box or as a quick dinner. This is one of my kids’ favorites and is often made for their school box. I am sharing 2 methods of making this rice. The first one is more suitable for kids and goes well in the lunch box.
The second method is best served immediately and is spicy. You can adjust the quantity of ingredients to suit your taste. For more kids recipes, you can check these lunch box recipes and these healthy snacks recipes
You can also check these Paneer recipes
Paneer pulao
Paneer biryani
Palak paneer rolls
Paneer fry with veggies
Paneer pakora
How to make paneer fried rice
1. Cook 1 cup rice till grainy and cool it. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to a pan and fry 2 chopped garlic and 1 strand of mace. Mace lends a good aroma to the rice and hence can skip using sauce for this recipe
2. Add 3/4 cup chopped veggies and fry until they are done. I used carrots, beans , spring onions and capsicums. Crunchy veggies taste good, do not over cook.
3. Add 3/4 cup paneer, handful of spring onion greens and fry until lightly golden. If fried for long they turn rubbery.
4. Add 1 tsp vinegar and salt as needed.
5. Next cooked rice and 1/8 tsp pepper. I also like to add olive oil at this stage.
6. Mix all and switch off. Garnish with spring onions.
Method 2 – spicy paneer fried rice
To make this paneer fried rice, paneer is first marinated just like we do for the tikka. Then the tikka is fried and set aside. Then the fried rice is made. This tastes unique and is best when served immediately.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of uncooked long fragrant rice (any)
- ¼ cup of thinly sliced peppers / capsicums (red and green)
- ¼ cup of carrots and Spring onions (separate white and greens)
- ½ to ¾ tbsp. vinegar (optional)
- 2 tbsps olive oil (can reduce)
- 1 tsp oil for frying paneer
- For marination
- ½ to ¾ cup of paneer
- 2 to 3 tbps of yogurt
- red chili powder as needed
- salt to taste
- Jumbo pinch of turmeric
- ½ tsp ginger garlic paste (optional)
- ¼ tsp garam masala
Method
1. Marinate paneer with the marination ingredients and set aside for atleast 15 mins
2. Soak the rice for 15 to 30 mins and cook in lot of water till it is done. Do not overcook and make the rice mushy. Drain off the water and set this rice aside. if you are using a sticky variety of rice, add few drops of oil to the water while cooking rice
3. Heat a wide pan with 1 tsp oil, add the paneer along with the marinade and cook on medium high till the paneer turns crisp. This step takes only 3 to 4 mins, try using a wide pan, else the yogurt will take long time to evaporate and paneer could turn hard. set these aside
4. Add olive oil to the same pan, add carrots and white part of spring onions, sauté till carrots are half done
5. Add bell peppers and sprinkle some salt and fry till capsicums are almost done
6. Add fried paneer and green onions, toss everything well.
7. Add rice, pepper powder and vinegar, mix and fry on high for 2 mins.
Serve paneer fried rice hot.
Related Recipes
Method 1 – Paneer fried rice
Paneer fried rice
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )
- 1 cup rice
- 1½ tbsp olive oil or sesame oil
- ¾ cup paneer (cubed to tiny pieces)
- ¾ cup mixed vegetables , chopped. (capsicum, carrots, beans, spring onions)
- 1 tsp vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)
- salt as needed
- ⅛ to ¼ pepper powder as needed
- 1 to 2 cloves garlic chopped
Instructions
Preparation
- Rinse rice well a few times in lots of water. If using basmati rice, soak it for 30 mins.
- After 30 mins bring 2 cups of water to a rolling boil in a pot.
- Drain the water completely from the rice and add it to the boiling water.
- Reduce the flame to completely low. Cover and cook until the rice is soft and perfectly cooked. Cool this completely.
- While the rice cooks, prepare the veggies.
How to make fried rice
- Heat a pan or cast iron wok on a high flame.
- Add garlic and spring onion whites. Saute for 30 seconds.
- Then add mixed vegetables and saute until the veggies are cooked yet remain crunchy.
- Add paneer and spring onion greens.
- Saute for 1 minute. Then add vinegar and pepper powder.
- Add rice and fry for 30 seconds.
- Serve paneer fried rice hot.
Notes
- marinate paneer with 2 to 3 tbsps of greek yogurt or thick curd, 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste, 1/4 tsp garam masala and 1/4 tsp red chilli powder.
- Then saute this first in the pan until the moisture evaporates and paneer turns light golden.
- Avoid overcooking as it makes the paneer hard.
Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.
For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
Tanuja says
Hi,
Tried the recipe but after 3hrs of preparation rice became dry and lost the actual taste. What might be the reason.
Thank you in advance
swasthi says
Hi Tanuja
Did you soak the rice before cooking? I personally prefer to soak and cook rice in a pot so it wont dry up after making fried rice.I have a detailed post on fried rice here. You may check that to know where you went wrong. Hope this helps
Bhuvana says
Thanks for the recipe detail.
swasthi says
Welcome Bhuvana
PREETHY says
Thanks for simple recipes.
swasthi says
Welcome Preethy
R SATHYAVATHY says
very simple and nice receipe
swasthi says
Thanks
R SATHYAVATHY says
SUPER
swasthi says
Thank you
neha says
Thanks Swasthi, this came out very tasty.
swasthi says
welcome Neha
Sunaina Sharma says
really by this recipies i cook better than anyone.
swasthi says
Thanks Sunaina
Glad to know these recipes help
neeraja says
1.if i make fried rice, my kid says its very dry when she eats it afternoon.Also it is very hard for her to much and swallow. How could we avoid it.
2. Can we use vinegar regularly, will it not create stomach upset for childrens?
swasthi says
Hi Neeraja,
There are 3 ways you can prevent the fried rice from becoming dry.
1. Once i finish making the fried rice, i cover the pan and set aside for 5 minutes. This helps to keep the rice soft.
2. Another way is to cook rice without draining. If making for kids, it is always preferred not to drain to retain the nutrients in rice.
3. Do not fry the rice after you add it to the pan. Add the rice switch off the stove. Just mix it.
If your kid is above 6 years, using vinegar once a week is just fine. Vinegar has health benefits if used in moderation and if overused can damage the lining of the stomach since it is an acidic ingredient. It may also result in ulcers. So you can make it once in a week, try making pulao varieties more.
Hope this helps