Name: Bengali Lobongo Latika
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 6⅓ tbsp All-Purpose Flour; ¾ tbsp Ghee, melted, for kneading the dough; 1⅔ tbsp Water, as needed for a firm dough; 3¼ tbsp Khoya, crumbled; ⅔ tbsp Powdered Sugar, for stuffing; ⅛ tsp Ground Cardamom; 2 Cloves, to seal the pastry; 6⅓ tbsp Cooking Oil, for deep frying; 4¾ tbsp Sugar Syrup, sticky one-string consistency

1 hrtotal

Prep 30 min · Cook 30 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: None

Add to your week

Ingredients

6⅓ tbspAll-Purpose Flour
¾ tbspGheemelted, for kneading the dough
1⅔ tbspWateras needed for a firm dough
3¼ tbspKhoyacrumbled
⅔ tbspPowdered Sugarfor stuffing
⅛ tspGround Cardamom
2Clovesto seal the pastry
6⅓ tbspCooking Oilfor deep frying
4¾ tbspSugar Syrupsticky one-string consistency

Quantities are for 2 servings.

You'll need: Stovetop.

Method

Massage the liquefied ghee into the all-purpose flour utilizing your fingertips, creating a coarse, breadcrumb-like texture. Hydrate incrementally with water to construct a tense, unyielding dough. Cover and rest this foundation for 20 minutes.
20 min
Make the filling: toast the crumbled khoya lightly in a pan for 2 minutes to deepen its flavour. Once it has cooled, mix it thoroughly with the powdered sugar and cardamom.
2 min
Divide the rested dough into equal balls. Roll each one out with a rolling pin into a very thin round wrapper, like a delicate puri.
Place a firmly packed spoonful of the sweetened khoya in the middle of each pastry disc.
Fold it: bring two opposite edges of the circle up over the filling so they overlap in the middle. Then fold the two remaining open sides inwards, making a neat, sealed rectangular parcel.
Drive a single, robust clove (lobongo) directly through the central junction of all overlapping folds, structurally pinning and sealing the envelope.
Heat the frying oil gently, to a low-medium heat, in a deep kadhai. Lower the pastry parcels in and fry them slowly for a long time, until they are blistered and golden brown all over.
Lift them out with a spider skimmer to drain off the fat, and drop the hot pastries straight into the warm sugar syrup. Let them soak for 3-4 minutes so the syrup is drawn in, then serve.
3–4 min

How to tell it's done

Crisp, flaky, and syrupy on the outside, bursting with a soft, sweet, and aromatic khoya filling with a hint of clove.

Getting it right

Tip

Frying the pastry slowly on medium-low heat ensures a flaky, thoroughly cooked crust, similar to a samosa.

What to serve it with

Serve warm or at room temperature. It is a quintessential part of Bengali weddings and Bijoya Dashami celebrations.

Vegan Gajar Ka Halwa

Vegan gajar ka halwa cooks carrots down in almond milk and coconut oil in place of the usual milk and ghee.

1 hr 10 minvegan

Vegan Peanut Chikki

Peanut chikki sets roasted peanuts in jaggery, snapped into pieces once it cools hard.

20 minvegan

Traditional Adhirasam

Traditional adhirasam is a Deepavali sweet made from damp rice flour and jaggery dough rested for a soft fermented center and crisp edge.

48 hr 30 minvegan

Amrakhand (Mango Shrikhand)

Amrakhand is mango shrikhand made from thick hung curd, mango puree, powdered sugar, saffron, cardamom and nuts.

12 hr 10 minvegetarian

Amritsari Pindi Chole

Amritsari pindi chole is a dry Punjabi chickpea dish colored with tea, coated in amchur, anardana and mustard-oil tadka.

9 hr 20 minvegan

Assamese Til Pitha

Til pitha wraps sesame and jaggery in a rice flour crepe, an Assamese Bihu sweet.

50 minvegan