Lobongo Lotika

 Lobongo Lotika is a traditional Bengali Sweet. Lobongo is Clove in English and Long in Hindi , this sweet named as clove is used to seal the envelop wrap around the filling . This dish made in two part. First part is make the mouth washing coconut stuffing and second part is make the body or wrapper of stuffing . Then stuffing is insert inside the wrapper and fold it like envelop and the envelop will enclose with cloves (1 to 4) are pressed over it . After that deep fry the stuffed envelop and soaked into the sugar syrup.  That is why this sweet called " Lobongo Lotika" in Bengali . The important feature is how the pastry is well folded and sealed with a clove. 

 

Preparation Time: 1 hour 

Cooking Time: 1 hour  15 mins 

 Ingredients: Outer Covering (Envelope) :-

• All Purpose Flour (Maida) - 1 Cup
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of baking powder
• Cloves - 20 intact (or as many as the number of lobongo lotikas)
•  Oil/Ghee - 2 tbsp

For Stuffing :-

•  Grated Coconut- 1 cup
• Sugar -1 Cups
• Crashed Green Cardamom  (chhoti elaichi) - 4 to 5
• and other dry fruits if you want *

For sugar syrup:-

•  Sugar - 1.5 Cups
• Water - 1 Cup
• Crashed Green cardamom (chhoti elaichi) - 4-5

Method: Make the Dough :-

• Take maida in a bowl. To it add oil, salt, backing powder and mix well for 3-4 min.
• Then gradually add water and knead the flour into a dough.
• The dough will be a little stiff unlike the dough for luchi or poori. Make a smooth ball of dough. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes .

Make the Stuffing :-

• Heat a pan. Fry the grated coconut with sugar and mix it well and keep it in medium heat. Stir occasionally.
• Make the mix dry and separated, then take off from heat and set aside.

Make the Sugar Syrup :-

•  Take a pan, pour sugar and water into a bowl and cook on low heat.
• Add crashed cardamom and mix them all together and stir till the sugar dissolves.
• Now put the pan on medium heat. The syrup till it starts thickening.
• Two string consistency is good for this kind of sweet.

Preparing lobongo lotika:-

•  Divide the dough into 10-12 equal round balls.
• Roll the dough like very small pooris, place 2 tsp stuffing in the center.
• Fold the opposite ends to look similar like rectangles and then fold the remaining two ends to make a square wrap.
• Seal the center by inserting one clove and prepare the rest of the squares.
• Make rest of the Lobongo Lotikas just like this one. All the  Lobongo Lotikas will look like a small flower.
• Heat enough oil for deep frying in a Kadhai.
• The oil should not be smokey.
• Add  3-4 lobongo lotikas and fry on low heat.
• Fry them on low heat to make them crispy.
• Flip frequently so that they turn brown evenly on both sides.
• Remove from pan once they turn light golden and dip them in sugar syrup.
• In this way make the rest of the Lobongo Lotika.
• After 10 minutes of adding the Lobongo Lotika to syrup, remove them and keep aside.
• Let Lobongo Lotikas to be cool.
•  Serve at room temperature.

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