Paneer Lababdar is a rich and creamy restaurant style paneer curry in a buttery onion-tomato gravy. This indian paneer dish is indulgent and has a mild sweet & tangy flavor profile. Along with pan fried paneer chunks, grated paneer is added to the super flavorful sauce.
Serve this luscious indian vegetarian curry with naan, tandoori roti or parathas, jeera rice or just homestyle roti for a comforting meal anytime.
Being from Delhi, needless to say, I LOVE paneer. In restaurants there, you will find all sorts of paneer dishes and this finger licking paneer variation used to be one of my favorite things to order when eating out.
Paneer or chicken lababdar is a common dish on menus of north indian restaurants and dhabas(road style diners). If paneer in creamy gravy is your favorite, you will really love this restaurant style paneer lababdar. Paneer lababdar is slightly different from other paneer recipes like paneer makhani or paneer tikka masala in terms of having a rich texture and taste.
About this recipe
What is the meaning of 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 named to make one's mouth water thanks to their delicious taste.
In paneer lababdar you will bite into soft cubes of paneer in a mildly sweet and tangy onion tomato gravy to which grated paneer is added. Paneer lababdar is not as smooth in texture as paneer makhani or shahi paneer, however the sauce is equally comforting, thick and super flavorful.
My recipe is somewhere in between the mughlai & punjabi preparations. I wont label it as belonging to any particular cuisine. 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.
Here's why you will love this recipe
- Indulgent rich gravy making it perfect to serve for special occasions or festive meals on Diwali & Holi.
- A treat for paneer lovers - If you are a hardcore paneer lover, this dish feature paneer in two ways-paneer chunks as well as grated paneer is added to sauce.
- Sauce with texture - Additon of grated paneer to the sauce adds a ton of pleasing texture that is loved by anyone who likes layers of texture in their food.
- Eat like restaurant at home - Making restaurant like dishes can feel intimidating to few, however this paneer lababdar recipe is easy and can be put together in roughly 40-45 minutes. Plus, you don't need any fancy ingredients.
- Make the sauce ahead- Much like onion tomato masala, you can make this gravy and store refrigerated or freeze it.
- Use gravy base for different kind of protein - If you don't want to make with paneer, you can add eggs, shrimp or chicken to this gravy. It works beautifully. See tips section below to see how.
What Does Paneer Lababdar taste like?
Paneer lababdar gravy taste mildly sweet and tangy. It has a strong aroma & flavor of spices like green cardamon & cinnamon, however the sauce is not too hot. We only use kashmiri chilies powder (paprika) that mainly gives the sauce a beautiful color. However you can add a few sharp green peppers like thai bird chilli or serrano during cooking the sauce to give it a kick.
Jump to:
What is Paneer Lababdar Made of?
- Paneer - Use store-bought paneer or use fresh homemade paneer. I only use full fat or malai paneer in my cooking, however you can use any kind you wish.
- Butter - Gives the best rich flavor to the sauce.
- Tomatoes- Fresh tomatoes (I like a combination of roma & campari tomatoes). The flavor of the sauce depends a lot on tomatoes so use the best you can find. Dont use too sweet or too sour tomatoes. You may use canned tomatoes too.
- Cashew- You may use a combination of nuts like almonds or even magic(melon seeds). I stick to using only raw cashews. Dont skip cashews completely.
- I use fresh garlic & ginger but ginger-garlic paste is fine too.
- Spices (Whole) - Bay leaves, Cinnamon, Cloves, Cardamom
- Spice Powders - Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder(or paprika), Cumin Powder, Coriander Powder & Garam Masala
- Heavy Cream- Does add extra richness to sauce. See FAQ section if you want to skip.
- Other Ingredients - Onions, Salt, Sugar, kasoori methi (dry fenugreek leaves)
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. Dont slice the paneer too thin or pieces. 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. Let it be in the pan while you are making the sauce.
Note :- Pan frying the paneer is optional, however I highly recommend if you are making this dish for special occasions.
Pro Tip :- No need to soak paneer in warm water if you are pan frying it. The heat while pan frying will soften it.
- Separately, grate paneer to add to sauce. See quantity needed in the recipe card.
- Finely chop the onions. Too thick onions dont cook well and taste kind of raw in the sauce. I dont recommend grinding the onions.
Make the Lababdar Sauce
- In a cooking pot or shallow pan, melt the butter and 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.
Notes & 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.
- Dont shred the paneer too fine, we want coarsely grated or crumbled paneer for texture in the sauce.
- Avoid over browning the onions.
- You can use a combination of almonds and cashews. However do not completely skip cashews, they do add a taste 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.
- This is a rich and luxurious dish that I recommend enjoying once in a while.
For Vegan Lababdar Sauce
Here are a few substitutions for a vegan version of this dish.
- Use extra firm tofu chunks and grated/crumbled tofu instead of paneer. You can use seitan or tempeh too
- Use any plant based butter to make the sauce. Avoid oil to make this dish (we need a buttery flavor in there). Avoid coconut flavored butters. Such creamy north indian dishes somehow dont taste good with a coconut taste.
- Use extra cashews. I would say about 18-20.
- Finish the dish with a dab of plant butter. Avoid adding plant based yogurt etc because that might make the sauce too tangy. If the yogurt you use isn't too tangy, then maybe you can add a scant tablespoon.
FAQ
Yes you can. The grated paneer in the sauce adds quite a bit of creaminess and you easily can.
Absolutely. Use whole tomatoes and grind them with the cashews, ginger and garlic. Add cloves and cardamom with other whole spices tempering the butter. There is no need to boil the tomatoes if using canned.
The sauce can be made nut free, however it wont taste the same. You may use a little of sunflower seeds instead of cashews however the taste is different.
Paneer Lababdar (Creamy Paneer Curry)
Ingredients
For The Tomato paste
- 10 oz tomatoes 300g
- 14 whole raw cashew
- 6 black pepper corns
- 1 inch ginger fresh
- 4 garlic cloves fresh
- 3 green cardamom pods
- 2 cloves
- 1 cup water
Paneer
- 9 oz paneer ~250g
- 1 tablespoon butter for pan frying
For Lababdar Sauce
- 3 tablespoon butter for the sauce
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ inch cinnamon stick dalchini
- ½ cup chopped onions ~1 medium onion
- 1 teaspoon kashmiri chilli powder or paprika
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ to 1 teaspoon sugar or more depending on how sweet you want
- 1 teaspoon kasuri methi crushed between palms
- ½ teaspoon garam masala good quality
- pinch fresh grated nutmeg optional
- ¼ cup heavy cream adjust to preference
Instructions
Preparation
- In a pot or pan, bring water to a boil. Once boiling, add cloves, green cardamom pods, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and raw cashews.
- Let boil for 8-10 minutes or until tomatoes are soft. Drain and reserve the liquid. Let cool a bit. Using a high speed blender, blend everything to a smooth paste.Pro Tip :-Using the reserved liquid to thin out the sauce tastes way better than just plain water.
- Cut up 7 oz paneer in 2 inch chunks in any shape you like. Dont slice the paneer too thin. Dont cut into very small chunks.
- Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a small non stick pan or any pan you are comfortable with) and pan fry the paneer until golden on both sides. Let it be in the pan until you are making the sauce. Pro Tip :- No need to soak paneer in warm water if you are pan frying it. The heat while pan frying will soften it.Note :- Pan frying the paneer is optional, however I highly recommend if you are making this dish for special occasions.
- Grate 2 oz paneer using a box grater to add to sauce. Dont grate too fine, we want nice long shreds to add texture to the sauce.
- Finely chop the onions. Too thick onions dont cook well and taste kind of raw in the sauce. I dont recommend grinding the onions because the lababdar sauce is supposed to have texture.
Make Paneer Lababdar
- In a cooking pot, melt the butter on low heat. Once slightly melted and temper with bay leaf and cinnamon. Saute for few seconds and then add the chopped onions. Stir onions to cook them lightly for 5-6 minutes till translucent(but not too browned). 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 for about 20 seconds or so on low heat taking care not to burn.
- Pour in the tomato cashew paste, add salt and mix everything together. Let the sauce warm through and the set on low medium heat to cook. 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 more for 2-3 minutes or so to achieve the desired consistency.
- Check the salt and adjust if needed. Then add the sugar, crushed kasuri methi and garam masala. Mix everything.
- Add the pan fried paneer to the sauce next along with any butter in the pan. Also add the grated paneer and heavy cream. Let the curry simmer on low heat for 2-4 minutes more. Dont let boil.
- Serve paneer lababdar with naan, roti or parathas. You may drizzle bit of extra heavy cream on top if you wish. Enjoy!
Notes
- The nutrition facts are an estimation only.
- Use mildly sweet tomatoes. Sour tomatoes will make the sauce quite tangy.
- Canned Tomatoes - Use whole canned tomatoes and grind them with the cashews, ginger and garlic. Add cloves and cardamom with other whole spices tempering the butter. There is no need to boil the tomatoes if using canned.
- Dont shred the paneer too fine, we want coarsely grated or crumbled paneer for texture in the sauce.
- You can add a few sharp green peppers like thai bird chilli or serrano during cooking the sauce to give it a kick.
- Avoid over browning the onions.
- You can use a combination of almonds and cashews. However do not completely skip cashews, they do add a taste to the sauce.
- The sauce can be made nut free, however it wont taste the same. You may use a little of sunflower seeds instead of cashews however the taste is different.
- You can smoke the curry once finished for a true dhaba taste. I have explained the dhungar method here in this post.
- Skip heavy cream if you wish. The grated paneer in the sauce adds quite a bit of creaminess and you easily can.
- If you do not have kasuri methi, simply skip it. Kasuri methi is a finishing herb with a unique taste.There is no substitute for it.
- After adding kasuri methi, don't cook the sauce for too long else the sauce will get bitter.
- If you don't want to make with paneer, you can add eggs, shrimp or chicken to this gravy. It works beautifully. See tips section below to see how.
- This is a rich and luxurious dish that I recommend enjoying once in a while.
- Use extra firm tofu chunks and grated/crumbled tofu instead of paneer. You can use seitan or tempeh too
- Use any plant based butter to make the sauce. Avoid oil to make this dish (we need a buttery flavor in there). Avoid coconut flavored butters. Such creamy north indian dishes somehow dont taste good with a coconut taste.
- Use extra cashews. I would say about 18-20.
- Finish the dish with a dab of plant butter. Avoid adding plant based yogurt etc because that might make the sauce too tangy. If the yogurt you use isn't too tangy, then maybe you can add a scant tablespoon.
Divya
Did you boil the tomatoes or just used them raw?
Tanvi
Boil tomatoes, green cardamom, cloves, ginger, garlic & cashews.