Paneer Lababdar is a delicious paneer recipe prepared with paneer in a tomato onion gravy. It is mildly spiced, creamy and just irresistibly delicious. Paneer Lababdar is a popular recipe in most North Indian restaurant menus in India and world over. Soft cubed and grated paneer in a creamy tomato and cashew-based gravy is a perfect dish to be enjoyed with Lachha Paratha, Naan or Rice.
The special thing about this recipe is that grated and cubed paneer is added which adds layers of texture to the dish. ‘Lababdar’ in Hindi means to ‘want something strongly and totally give in’ – once one takes a bite of this recipe, it is hard to stop!
- Lots of people ask me the difference between Paneer Makhani and Paneer Lababdar as they look quite similar. I would say the main differences are
- The use of paneer as Paneer Makhani has cubed paneer whereas Lababdar uses both grated and cubed paneer.
- Paneer Makhani is slightly sweeter (natural sweetness of ingredients used) whereas lababdar is sweet and spicy at the same time.
- While Paneer Makhani has a luscious, satin-smooth gravy, paneer lababdar has a creamy but slightly coarse texture due to the grated paneer and also the paste is not strained after blending.
- Paneer Makhani achieves its silky-smooth texture from oil, butter and cream whereas Paneer lababdar uses cashews, melon seeds and grated paneer to give a coarse texture to the gravy.
I love paneer is I am always experimenting and trying out new paneer recipes. While my top favourite paneer recipes have to be Chilli Paneer, Paneer Hara Pyaz, Methi Lasuni Paneer, Paneer Kali Mirch, and this Paneer Lababdar recipes comes very close to being my top 5 paneer recipes.
