Labanga Latika / Lavang Latika

Diwali is just round the corner and what better day to do a recipe collaboration with two of my blogger friends, Parinaaz Marolia who mostly blogs about Parsi delicacies in her blog A dollop of that.Today her post is on chocolates with honey pistachio and the boozy brandy fillings...a festive favourite of many.

And with Shweta Biswal of Oriya rasoi who's not only from Odisha but also my place type too,that makes her all the more special.She blogs about authentic Odiya food and her post Chuda ghassa parfait is a traditional dish presented in a contemporary style.

I am making some food memories in my kitchen today.And I want to preserve these memories I have from my childhood with my parents and sister and my near and dear ones ,the cooking memories that I am part of with my husband and children and the ones we create daily.The best way to preserve them is to document those memories in my blog and share with you all.

This sweetmeat Lavang Latika has beautiful childhood memories of marriages in my family.Odiyas    have a custom of sending sweets with the bride during Bidai for her in laws ,their relatives and neighbours .People actually wait for the" Bahu Bhaara", the term used for the loads of sweets which come with the bride when she comes to the grooms place post wedding.Every wedding memory of my child hood had labangalatika as one of the sweets in the Bhaara and down the years this gorgeous  sweetmeat had become my favourite.

When it was my turn to get married ,I made sure the Labangalatika tin was safe and secure in the crowd of relatives and my mother in law was sweet enough to keep the huge tin in my room so that I could gorge on them whenever I wanted and none of the relatives actually got to taste a single piece.And till date the hubby dear and in laws have a good laugh about it.

All those years have passed but the love for the labangalatika s hasn't lessened an ounce ..our love
affair is still going strong and I don't hesitate to make them in my home whenever the occasion arises
and on this festive occasion of Deepawali ,my kitchen is smelling of the heavenly khoya and the subtle flavour of the frying of those beauties.

These sweets are small parcels stuffed with a sweet filling of khoya and coconut ,sealed with a clove,  deep fried and dunked in sugar syrup.The name is derived from the word Lavang or clove.Its famous in the neighbouring states of Bengal and Assam too.

The traditional Odiya recipe has coconut in the stuffing but I omitted as my children are not fond of coconut.The latikas are crisp from outside and soft inside.There are a few things to be kept in mind before preparing them .They have to be fried in medium heat as they will brown faster on the outside and will not cook from inside.They have to be dunked in sugar syrup for a min or two,more than that will make them soft.

You Require

For the Latika

2C maida or all purpose flour
4 tbsp melted ghee or clarified butter
Water to bind the dough
Oil to deep fry
18-20 lavang or cloves

For the stuffing

1C khoya
1/2 C desiccated coconut
1 tbsp Ghee
1/3 C powdered sugar or according to taste
1 tsp cardamom powder
1/4 C chopped dry fruits ( optional)

For the sugar syrup

1 1/2 C sugar
1 C water
1/2 tsp cardamom or elaichi powder
5-6 cloves

how to roll out and form the latikas

Method

• Add the maida and the melted ghee in a bowl,mix with fingertips till they resemble breadcrumbs. Add the required amount of water and knead into a stiff dough,cover with a wet cloth and keep it aside for half an hour.
• Meanwhile take ghee in a pan and fry the khoya in low heat,keep stirring till they start 
• gathering from the sides and look a little dry.Keep stirring constantly  the khoya has a tendency to scorch the bottom of the pan.
• Switch off the flame and wait for the khoya to cool.
• After its a little cool ,add desiccated coconut,powdered sugar,cardamom powder and the dry fruits, mix properly. Alternately, If you are using fresh grated coconut then you can add all the stuffing together in the pan and stir over low heat  till it looks like a smooth dough.
• For the sugar syrup add all ingredients and boil on high flame till it reaches one thread consistency.
• For rolling out the latikas,Divide the dough into equal sized balls.
• Roll each ball into a thin chapati ,the size of a puri.
• Put some stuffing in the centre and fold it from both the sides,overlapping each other,now fold both the open ends overlapping each other as shown in the pic and seal with a lavang or clove.
• Now deep fry the latikas in a wok in medium heat,cook till light golden brown on both the sides.
• Drain the latikas and dunk them in the prepared sugar syrup for a min or two.
• Drain the sugar syrup and enjoy them hot or cold,when hot they are soft and once cold they have a nice,sugary,crunchy crust on them.

Enjoy!!

And please take a peep in my friends blogs...
Parinaaz's Special assorted chocolates

and
Shweta's
Chuda ghassa parfait

Nolen Gur er Paayesh...Rice pudding with date palm jaggery

My better half with his Bengali roots is a true Bong at heart...thank god for the similarities in both the cultures and a truckload of Fatafati bong friends from whom I adopted their ways,I survived our marriage.To satiate our Bong Babu Moshai's hunger and as an offering to Maa Durga on the auspicious day of Dusshera I cooked this delicious Paayesh/ Kheer.For him it was a trip down memory Lane.

Nolen Gur basically means Notun Gur or New Gur and the Gur mentioned here is not the usual cane jaggery but date palm Jaggery which has a distinct flavour and aroma.This jaggery is typical of Bengal and Bangladesh and is available during the winter months.The sap of the date palm tree is collected and cooked on fire to make this Gur.

My stock of Khejur ( Date Palm) Gur comes from my Ma in law from Bengal.This time she sent me the Gur in Liquid form,Nolen Gur as well as the solidified version, Patali Gur.I am hanging on to the stock like prized possession till my next stock lands up.

Few important things to be kept in mind before we start cooking the kheer or Paayesh.The Paayesh is cooked on low heat and needs to be stirred continuously at regular intervals as it has a tendency to scald the bottom and however little burnt it is the taste and the look gets spoilt.Secondly the Gur has to be added to the Paayesh only after it is taken off the heat and just stirred into it till it incorporates with the Paayesh....otherwise the  Gur curdles.Lastly the amount of Gur you add is according to the taste of each individual .I add few tbsps of sugar and the Gur,some use more sugar and less Gur and some use only Gur.

You Require
1 l full fat milk
1/3 C Gobindobhog Rice or the Tukda Basmati Rice,washed and drained
2-3 tbsp of Sugar
2 bay leaves or 1/2 tsp of Cardamom powder
Khejur Gur,according to your taste( I used 1/2 C of Nolen Gur)
2 tbsp chopped cashews and small raisins sautéed in 1 tsp of Pure Ghee

• Method
• Heat the milk and bay leaves( if you are adding) in a heavy bottomed pan till it boils.
• Add the washed rice to the milk and let it cook..keep stirring in between to avoid the kheer burning as it thickens.Add the cardamom powder now if you are not adding bay leaves.
• Keep checking for the rice to get cooked.
• After the rice is cooked add the sugar and let it boil stirring continuously in low heat.
• When the Paayesh has thickened enough for the consistency you require take it off the heat.
• After few mins add the Nolen Gur and stir to incorporate properly.By this time your house will be smelling divine.
• Add the cashews and raisins sautéed in a little ghee to the Paayesh.
• Serve it warm or cold according to choice.

Entries for RCI Bengal

West Bengal is one of the Eastern states of India, the land of Ramakrishna Paramahansa,Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore,Amartya Sen...the list is endless, a state rich in cultural heritage, state teeming with people who are literary intellectuals, sports lovers, a place where India's quest for freedom began, a place which gave birth to number of modern movements in literature, painting, theatre, cinema, politics.

I always had this strange fascination for speaking bangla whenI was a kid as I found the language too sweet:)As I grew up I had lots of bengali friends and I made sure I talked to them in Bangla.Lady luck endowed her choicest blessings on me when I got married to Biplab, though he belonged to an oriya family but were settled in Bengal since generations.My joy knew no bounds when I found out that the whole household not only spoke bangla at home but the style of living, cooking,customs and traditions was a lot like bengalis.Since then it has been a beautiful experience learning and getting accustomed to bangla ranna and traditions....my dream come true:)

West bengal not only shares borders with Orissa but has cultural ,linguistic and culinary similarities too.The culinary similarities are the ingredients , the style of cooking , the same recipes with a little twist here and there.The common ingredients in cooking being Sorshe tel( mustard oil),paanch phoron( five spice mix),Poshto baata(poppyseed paste),Sorshe baata(mustard paste),extensive use of fish and prawns with different kinds of veggies and the different kinds of drool worthy sweet dishes which are unique to only these two states.My mom inlaw is an amazing cook and the credit goes to her in teaching me a few of the bengali dishes.

My entries for RCI Bengal hosted By Sandeepa of Bong Mom's Cook Book are Rui aloo phulkopi(carp fish cooked with cauliflower potao and peas),Moog Dal(split green gram cooked and tempered with cumin,bayleaf and red chillies) and Nikhuti Payesh(Cottage cheese Oblongs deep fried and served dipped in flavoured condensed milk.

).
Rui aloo phulkopi:
5-6 pcs of Carpor rui mach (normally red snapper or bhetki is used for this curry)
2 potatoes diced
1/4 cup green peas
1 small cauliflower cut into medium florets
1 large onion..ground to a paste
1 tomato diced or pureed
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp whole garam masala( 2 green cardamoms,2 -3 cloves,1"stick cinnamon)2-3 Bay leaves
1 tsp coriander pwdr,1 tsp garam masala,1/2 tsp cumin pwdr,1 tsp turmeric,1 tsp chilli pwdr
salt to aste
1/2 tsp sugar
3 tbsp mustard oil
1/2 lemon
1 tbsp chopped coriander
1 green chilli
Method:
1.Marinate the fish with turmeric(1/2 tsp),salt ,chilli pwdr( apinch) and lemon juice for 15- 20 mins.Shallow fry with 2 tbsp mustard oil till light brown.
2.Fry cauliflower and potatoes till half cooked,keep aside.
3.In the same pan add the rest of the oil add the sugar, caramelise on low heat, add the bay leaves and whole garam masala .
4. Add the onion and ginger paste ,fry till slightly brown.
5.Add all the masalas or spices except garam masala with little water and add with the tomatoes to the frying paste.Fry until the oil seperates from the masala.
6.Add the fried cauliflower and potatoes and1 cup water and salt.Cook covered for 10 mins or till the veggies are tender.
7.Add the fried fish and peas to the gravy and simmer for 5-8 mins.
8.Add the garam masala pwdr and garnish with coriander leaves and green chillies.
Moog Dal

100 g split green gram (moog dal) 1 tsp turmeric powder 1 dry chilli ½ tsp cumin 1 bay leaf 1 tbsp ghee ½ tsp sugar Salt to taste 1 tsp mustard oil

Method

1.Dry fry green gram in a pan. Wash and boil the fried green gram. 2.Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin, dry red chilli and bay leaf. 3.Saute till it splutters. 4.Add boiled green gram, turmeric powder, salt,sugar and water. 5.Boil for a few mins. 6.Add ghee and remove from heat. 7.Serve with hot rice. Nikuti Payesh:

500 gms Cottage Cheese(Channa)
1 lt milk
1 kg sugar
100gm flour
1/2 tsp soda bi carbonate
1 tsp ghee
2-3 black cardamom
4-5 sticks cinnamon
oil for deep frying
Method:
1.Knead well the cheese,flour,soda bicarb,cardamom and the ghee together.
2.Make small elongated balls out of the mixture and deep fry them till dark brown.
3.Boil the milk seperately with cinnamon and 4-5 tbsp sugar till it condenses.
4. Make a sugar syrup of one thread consistency from boiling water and the remaining sugar.
5.Immerse the fried oblong balls or nikhuties in the sugar syrup for 2 hrs.
6. Remove the balls with a strainer and dip in the boiled condensed milk.Serve after cooling.