Paneer Lababdar Recipe

Paneer Lababdar is a rich and creamy restaurant style paneer curry in a buttery onion-tomato gravy. This indulgent part punjabi part mughlai paneer dish has a mildly sweet & tangy flavor profile. What makes it unique is a delicate lacey gravy, achieved by incorporating grated paneer into the sauce.

Serve this luscious north indian vegetarian curry with indian flatbreads or jeera rice for a comforting, restaurant style meal anytime.

As a true blue north indian its no surprise that I love paneer! In Delhi restaurants, paneer dishes are staple and go beyound butter paneer and paneer tikka. This finger licking paneer variation used to be one of my favorite things to order when eating out.

It is a creamy paneer curry but slightly different with double dose of paneer and a tangy, spicy flavor.

About Paneer Lababdar

I am not sure if it belongs to Hindi or Urdu, however my grandmother often used this word in context of temptation. Labab means to drool. Lababdar dishes are said to be so enticing that they can make one's mouth water just by looking at them.

My recipe is somewhere in between the mughlai & punjabi preparations. I use aromatic spices like green cardamom & cloves and cashwenuts in my recipe finishing it with kasuri methi & garam masala to add a punjabi flair.

Paneer lababdar gravy has a strong aroma & flavor of spices, however the sauce is not overly hot. We only use kashmiri chilies powder that gives the sauce a beautiful color. You can add a few sharp green chillies or serrano peppers during cooking the sauce to give it a kick.

How To Make Creamy Paneer Lababdar (Step By Step Pictures)

Preparation

• Bring water to a boil. Add cloves, cardamom, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and raw cashew nuts. Let boil for 8-10 minutes or until tomatoes are soft. Let cool. Blend the tomatoes, spices and cashews to a smooth paste.

Pro Tip :- Reserve the liquid left behind after boiling to thin out the sauce, tastes way better than just plain water.

• Cut up paneer in 2 inch chunks in any shape you like.Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a small non stick pan or any pan you are comfortable cooking with) and pan fry the paneer until golden on both sides.

Note :- Pan frying the paneer is optional, however I highly recommend if you are making this dish for special occasions.

• Separately, grate paneer to add to sauce. See quantity needed in the recipe card.
• Finely chop the onions. I dont recommend grinding the onions.

Make the Lababdar Sauce

• In a cooking pot or shallow pan, melt the butter on medium heat. Temper with bay leaf and cinnamon.

Pro Tip:- If you are using canned tomatoes, add green cardamom & cloves right now with other whole spices.

• Add the chopped onions next and stir using a spoon to cook lightly for 5-6 minutes till translucent.

Pro Tip:- Be careful to not let the onions brown else they will add a strong onion flavor to your sauce plus change the color. The sauce should taste tomato(ey).

• Next add the powdered spices and stir with the onions on low flame for about a minute taking care not to burn them.
• Pour in the cashew tomato puree, add salt and mix everything. Let the sauce warm through and cook on low flame. You will see small bubbles on sides and in the center of the pot. Cashew will make the sauce slightly sticky so make sure to stir often.
• After 5 -7 minutes or so, once the sauce gets to a deep orange color, add ⅓ to ½ cup (max) of the reserved liquid to make the sauce a little thin. Don't add too much water, such creamy sauces taste better when they are thickish.
• Let the sauce cook a little till its heated through and you achie the desired consistency. Check the salt and adjust if needed at this point.
• Then add the sugar, kasuri methi and garam masala. Mix everything.
• Add the pan fried paneer next along with any butter in the pan. Also add the grated paneer and heavy cream.
• Let simmer on low heat for 2-4 minutes more. Dont let boil.
• Serve with indian flatbreads like garlic naan, methi naan or with steamed rice.    

Recipe Tips

• Use mildly sweet tomatoes. Sour tomatoes will make the sauce quite tangy.
• If you do not have kasuri methi, simply skip it. Kasuri methi is a finishing herb used often in indian cooking.There is no substitute for it. After adding kasuri methi, don't cook for too long else the sauce will get bitter.
• Don't shred the paneer too fine, we want coarsely grated or crumbled paneer for pronounced texture in the sauce.
• You can use a combination of almonds and cashews. However do not completely skip cashews, they add a lovely creaminess to the sauce.
• You can smoke the curry once finished for a true dhaba taste. I have explained the dhungar method here in this post.