Panneer Lababdar - Panneer (Cottage Cheese) Indulgence

Here's Panneer Lababdar - a Mughal influenced Panneer curry. Google states Lababdar is some sort of strong desire or indulgence and I roughly translated this dish's name to Panneer Indulgence.I could agree with this adjective purely because of the ingredients that go in. While some recipes on the web claim to have a fat free, cholesterol free version - guess what don't bother. If you have to be diet conscious well...you might want to wait until later. ;-) My first introduction to Lababdar was actually Chicken Lababdar at Hilton Garden Inn, Gurgaon. However in the interest of my veggie friends - here's a Panneer version. If you ever wonder how to make a gravy / curry with restaurant style consistency - it's all in the paste. Of course a slight variation in ingredients can turn it into something completely different.

Ingredients:

1. Unsalted Butter - yes it all starts here :)
2. Panneer cubes
3. Cashews
4. Red onions
5. Tomatoes
6. Cardamom seeds (not the entire pod)
7. Cream 
8. Kashmiri Red Chilli powder
9. Garam Masala
10. Kasuri methi leaves (Dried Fenugreek leaves)

Method

1. Heat a pan in medium fire and melt the butter without burning it.
2. Saute the Cashews, Onions, Tomatoes and the Cardamom seeds until the onions and tomatoes get a bit mushy.
3. Let the mixture to cool for a few minutes and blend it into a smooth paste. 
4. Re-heat the same pan with a few table spoons of vegetable oil and saute the blended paste until oil separates.
5. Add Salt, Kashmiri Chilli Powder, Garam Masala and Kasuri Methi leaves while the paste sautes.
6. Once the oil separates add the Panneer cubes and mix it up carefully without breaking the cubes.
7. Add a dash of cream (not too much that it doesn't turn into a pale curry) and about a tablespoon of butter (yes again) and let it simmer for a few minutes.
8. You may add some water to get your choice of consistency (and quantity).
9. Garnish with grated Panneer, another dash of cream  and Coriander leaves.
10. Serve hot with roti or rice.

Enjoy!!

Happy Cooking 

C