Lababdar Recipe with Cauliflower | Easy Cauliflower Curry

Cauliflower Lababdar is a classic, rich, and flavorful Indian curry recipe. This simple side dish, made with basic pantry ingredients and cauliflower(gobi), is a total crowd-pleaser. Serve it with naan, roti, chapati, or steamed rice for an Indian vegetarian meal.

Recipe card

Lababdar Recipe with Cauliflower | Easy Cauliflower Curry

Kushi

Cauliflower Lababdar is a classic, rich, and flavorful Indian curry recipe. This simple side dish, made with basic pantry ingredients and cauliflower(gobi), is a total crowd-pleaser. Serve it with naan, roti, chapati, or steamed rice for an Indian vegetarian meal.

5 from 22 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine north indian

Servings 6

Calories 155 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  Pan

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

For tomato cashew paste

• ▢ 3 Tomatoes roughly chopped
• ▢ 12 to 15 Cashews
• ▢ 1 inch Ginger chopped
• ▢ 3 Garlic cloves chopped
• ▢ 2 Cardamom
• ▢ 2 Cloves
• ▢ 1- inch cinnamon
• ▢ 2 to 4 Dry red chilies
• ▢ Water approx ½ to 1 cup

For the gravy

• ▢ 2 tablespoon Ghee oil or butter
• ▢ 1 Bay leaf
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
• ▢ 1 Onion large finely chopped
• ▢ 2 Green chilies chopped
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Coriander powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Red chile powder Cayenne powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Garam masala powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Sugar adjust to taste
• ▢ ¼ cup Cream coconut milk
• ▢ Salt to taste
• ▢ 1 Cauliflower medium size cut into florets
• ▢ 2 tablespoon Coriander leaves chopped for garnish

Instructions

 

Make the creamy tomato cashew paste

• In a pot, add tomatoes, cashews, ginger, garlic, cardamom, clove, cinnamon, and dry red chilies with water. Bring it to a boil. Cover and cook until tomatoes soften.
  3 Tomatoes, 12 to 15 Cashews, 1 inch Ginger, 3 Garlic cloves, 2 Cardamom, 2 Cloves, 1- inch cinnamon, 2 to 4 Dry red chilies, Water
• Let this cool down completely.
• Add this to a blender or mixie jar and blend it to a smooth paste. See that there are no chunks of tomatoes or cashews.

Making of lababdar curry

• Heat oil or ghee in a pan. Add bay leaves and cumin seeds. Saute for a couple of seconds.
  2 tablespoon Ghee, 1 Bay leaf, 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
• Add onions and saute until the onion turns translucent.
  1 Onion
• Add pureed tomato paste, green chilies, turmeric, coriander, red chilies, and garam masala powder, and cook this for 3 to 4 minutes. You can cover and cook as the mixture may splutter.
  2 Green chilies, ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon Coriander powder, ½ teaspoon Red chile powder, ½ teaspoon Garam masala powder
• Add 1 to 2 cups of water, sugar, salt to taste, cauliflower florets, and bring it to a nice boil. Cover and cook for 5 to 8 minutes on medium to low flame or until the cauliflower is tender and cooked.
  ½ teaspoon Sugar, Salt, 1 Cauliflower
• Taste check and adjust the spices.
• Finally, add the cream and coriander leaves and mix. Switch off the flame.
  ¼ cup Cream, 2 tablespoon Coriander leaves
• Cover and keep this for 5 minutes. This allows the flavors to intensify.
• Serve hot with naan, roti, chapati or basmati rice, and ghee rice, and enjoy.

Notes

• Vary the spices as per your taste. 
• You can substitute cream with milk, sour cream, or yogurt.
• For the vegan version, use coconut milk instead of cream. The taste may vary accordingly.
• If using paneer or chicken, if you have time, marinate them as they will give the best flavors. 
• Along with bay leaf, you can add whole spices like marati moggu and star anise if available. It adds a unique flavor. 

Nutrition

Calories: 155kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 4gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 93mgPotassium: 602mgFiber: 4gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 851IUVitamin C: 84mgCalcium: 64mgIron: 2mg

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

What is lababdar?

Lababdar is a rich and creamy Indian curry made with onion, tomato, cashews, cream, and aromatic spices. Paneer or chicken is added as a main ingredient.

But today, I have made lababdar using cauliflower (gobi). Feel free to use baby, tofu, or chicken instead. You can also make a vegetable lababdar by mixing vegetables just like our mixed vegetable kadai.

Ingredients

Cauliflower: The main ingredient that I have used to make lababdar is cauliflower florets. You can even use paneer or chicken if needed.

Tomatoes: Use fresh ripe tomatoes if possible. If using canned ones, you don't have to boil them.

Cream and cashews: The rich and creamy, nutty flavor in this lababdar gravy comes from the addition of cashews and cream. For a vegan version, use coconut milk.

Spices: Basic Indian aromatic spices like cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and bay leaf are added.

Check out the recipe card for the full list of the ingredients.

Make the creamy tomato cashew paste

• In a pot, add tomatoes, cashews, ginger, garlic, cardamom, clove, cinnamon, and dry red chilies with water. Bring it to a boil. Cover and cook until tomatoes soften.
• Let this cool down completely.
• Add this to a blender or mixie jar and blend it to a smooth paste. See that there are no chunks of tomatoes or cashews.

Making of lababdar curry

• Heat oil or ghee in a pan. Add bay leaves and cumin seeds. Saute for a couple of seconds.
• Add onions and saute until the onion turns translucent.
• Add pureed tomato paste, green chilies, turmeric, coriander, red chilies, and garam masala powder, and cook this for 3 to 4 minutes. You can cover and cook as the mixture may splutter.
• Add 1 to 2 cups of water, sugar, salt to taste, cauliflower florets, and bring it to a nice boil. Cover and cook for 5 to 8 minutes on medium to low flame or until the cauliflower is tender and cooked.
• Taste check and adjust the spices.
• Finally, add the cream and coriander leaves and mix. Switch off the flame.
• Cover and keep this for 5 minutes. This allows the flavors to intensify.
• Serve hot with naan, roti, chapati, or basmati rice, and ghee rice, and enjoy.

Tips

• Vary the spices as per your taste. 
• You can substitute cream with milk, sour cream, or yogurt.
• For the vegan version, use coconut milk instead of cream. The taste may vary accordingly.
• If using paneer or chicken, if you have time, marinate them as they will give the best flavors. 
• Along with bay leaf, you can add whole spices like marati moggu and star anise if available. It adds a unique flavor. 

More cauliflower recipes

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Note: We originally posted this Indian cauliflower curry recipe in May 2016. It has now been modified in Feb 2024 with Expert Chef Tips, FAQs, Storage Instructions, etc.