Paneer lababdar
Paneer lababdar is yet another popular Punjabi delicacy served for roti, naan, jeera pulav and other Indian bread items.
Lababdar recipe is almost similar to paneer butter Masala or the basic Makhani masala, yet the method of making and few extra ingredients gives the difference. When compared to paneer butter masala, my personal choice would be always this paneer lababdar gravy because of the excellent aroma and spice level it holds.
Moreover, the Paneer lababdar gravy goes very well with jeera rice and any kind of mild pulav as it is spicier.
Please do check my Paneer butter masala post. The major difference between butter masala and this restaurant style paneer lababdar is in the masala making. In butter masala, the ingredients are first sautéed in oil before grinding whereas here in lababdar gravy the masala ingredients are boiled in water before grinding into a paste.
For other paneer recipes:
Almost all kinds of spices like ginger, garlic, green chilli, red chilli powder and pepper powder are used in this Paneer lababdar. That is the reason for the extra spice taste. However, you can always alter the spice level and ingredients to suit your taste buds.
As a special mention the fresh cream, which I use, is purely homemade and check out the tips section for homemade fresh cream preparation. It is very easy to prepare this cream at home. However, for sweet recipes, this homemade cream may not suit well and use storebought thick fresh cream for sweets.
You can see this popular name in the menu lists of almost all Indian restaurants. Once you are familiar with the making of this delicious paneer lababdar recipe, you will end up making this often for dinner.
Now let us see the video:
Paneer lababdar | How to make paneer lababdar | Restaurant style paneer lababdar
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 200 g paneer
- 1 tbsp butter unsalted
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 big onion
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tbsp chilli powder
- ½ tsp coriander powder
- ¼ tsp jeera powder
- 2 green chillies
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp fresh cream
- 1 tbsp grated paneer
- ¼ tsp garam masala
- ¼ tsp pepper powder
- 1 tbsp kasuri methi
- 1 inch ginger julienne cut
To boil and grind:
- 1 cardamom
- 2 cloves
- 1 inch ginger
- 3 garlic pods
- 2 tomatoes
- 15 whole cashews
Instructions
Preparation:
- Chop onion and slit green chillies.
- Wash and chop tomato.
- Cut paneer into cubes. Also, grate a tbsp of paneer and keep aside.
Recipe:
How to make the lababdar masala:
- In a pan take cardamom, cloves, ginger, garlic, chopped tomato, and cashews.
- Add a cup of water and close with a lid.
- Boil these ingredients for 10mins until water is completely absorbed.
- Let these boiled things cool down and grind them into a fine paste. Lababdar masala is ready. Set aside.
How to make paneer lababdar gravy:
- Heat some butter in another kadai, add bay leaf and cinnamon sticks.
- Put chopped onion and saute nicely until onions become soft and transparent.
- Now add the ground masala along with some water and stir quickly.
- Cook the masala for five minutes and add the spice powders turmeric, chilli, coriander powder, and jeera powder respectively. Pour some water to cook the masala.
- Slit green chillies and add into the masala.
- Now add required salt for the gravy and some sugar for taste and mix well.
- Put the chopped paneer cubes and cook for two minutes.
- Mix half a cup of fresh cream or homemade cream and cook for two minutes.
- You can adjust the consistency of the gravy by adding the required water.
- Also, add grated Paneer slices.
- Finally, when gravy starts boiling add garam masala and pepper powder.
- For flavor add crushed kasuri methi(fenugreek) leaves.
- At last, just before serving add julienne cut ginger pieces and mix well.
- Serve hot with roti, naan, paratha or ghee rice.
Notes
Nutrition
Preparation:
- Chop onion and slit green chillies.
- Wash and chop tomato.
- Cut paneer into cubes. Also, grate a tbsp of paneer and keep aside.
Recipe:
How to make the lababdar masala:
- In a pan take cardamom, cloves, ginger, garlic, chopped tomato and cashews.
- Boil with a cup of water and close with a lid.
- Let these ingredients boil for 10mins until water is completely absorbed.
- When these boiled things cool down completely, grind them into a fine paste. Lababdar masala is ready. Set aside.
How to make paneer lababdar gravy:
- Heat some butter in another kadai, add bay leaf and cinnamon sticks.
- Put chopped onion and saute nicely until onions become soft and transparent.
- Now add the ground masala along with some water and stir quickly.
- Cook the masala for five minutes and add the spice powders turmeric, chilli, coriander powder and jeera powder respectively. Pour some water to cook the masala.
- Slit green chillies and add into the masala.
- Add required salt for the gravy and some sugar for taste and mix well.
- Put the chopped paneer cubes and cook for two minutes.
- Mix half a cup of fresh cream or homemade cream and cook for two minutes.
- You can adjust the consistency of the gravy by adding the required water.
- Also, add grated Paneer slices.
- Finally, when gravy starts boiling add garam masala and pepper powder.
- For flavor add crushed kasuri methi(fenugreek) leaves.
- At last, just before serving add julienne cut ginger pieces and mix well.
- Serve hot with roti, naan, paratha or ghee rice.
Tips:
1) The richness of the gravy comes from the cashews and the fresh cream.
2) Put only mentioned quantity of garam masala otherwise gravy will become slightly bitter.
3) I use homemade fresh milk cream. It’s very easy to make at home. Collect the malai (top fat layer) formed from boiled milk and store it in the fridge in a tight container. When you need fresh cream, take a tablespoon and blend using the small jar in a mixer. Fresh cream is ready. Or you can beat fast with a fork.
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