Stuffed Laung Lata – sweet pastry stuffed with rich filling of coconut, sugar and almonds

“Laung Lata” is a regional sweet dish which is popular in a few parts of India. I remember eating it the first time in Varanasi, India and i had absolutely loved it . With festive food on my mind these days, i recently flipped through some old photographs and the memory of eating this sweet flashed by. Bringing that memory to life and adding my own healthy twists to it, presenting Stuffed Laung Lata.

For any Indian who is living abroad, like myself, there is one thing i can say with utmost confidence, he/she misses the Indian street food and sweets for sure ! Even with so many Indian eateries around, there is still so much more which is not covered in any menu i have come across so far. The regional cuisines, occasion based foods and complex sweets are hard to find and are missed the most.

As many of you might know, the Indian festival of colors – Holi, just happened a couple of days back. This festival carries a big significance in India and many people join to celebrate it by playing with colors and enjoying delicious food. The recipe i have for you today is one of the sweets which are famous in some parts of India and is prepared specially during Holi and hence it is only available in those parts. I remember visiting Varanasi, India during Holi a couple of years back and that was when i tasted this sweet for the first time. It was truly festive and amazing! Originally, this is a pastry dough stuffed with a rich filling of nuts, sugar, and milk solids etc. It is then enclosed to form this typical shape, deep fried and then dunked in a sugar syrup. Absolute D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S !!

The original Laung lata – Image courtesy google

This recipe is a much toned down version of the original recipe. I have chosen to opt out of the sugar syrup dunking and created a much healthier filling without compromising on the taste ! There are 2 ingredients which are very unusual and i am sure it would come out as a surprise to many of you.. but this spin makes the dish taste YUM ! Enjoy !

Stuffed Laung Lata – sweet pastry stuffed with rich filling of coconut, sugar and almonds 

Recipe

Preparation time : 45 mins -1hr

Makes : About 20 pieces

This is divided into 2 components :

• Sweet Pastry dough
• Filling

Sweet Pastry Dough

• 1.5 cups of All purpose flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• pinch of salt
• 3 tablespoons Clarified butter/ ghee
• 4-5 tablespoons of water

Filling

• 1 cup silken tofu, crumbled
• 1/2 cup Oatmeal powder
• 1 cup coconut, dessicated
• 1 cup brown sugar (feel free to add more if you like it sweeter)
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• 3-4 strands of saffron, soaked in 1 tablespoon of milk for 10 minutes
• 1 tablespoon clarified butter/ coconut oil
• 10-12 almonds, finely chopped
• 10-12 raisins
• 1 tablespoon clarified butter/ghee

Assembly

• 20 pieces of clove (for encasing the laung Lata)
• Oil for deep frying

Method

We will begin with preparing the sweet pastry dough.

1. In a mixing plate/bowl, add in the flour, salt, sugar and butter/oil. Now, slowly add in water to the flour and knead a soft and smooth dough. Cover the dough with a damn cloth and keep aside while you prepare the filling.
2. For filling, Take a non stick pan. Bring to heat and to it, add in the clarified butter/ghee. Once the ghee melts, add in the chopped almonds and toast them. Next, add in the dessicated coconut, oatmeal powder and raisins and toss well. Toast the oatmeal and coconut till slightly roasted.
3. Once the mixture is toasted well, shut the flame. Now, add in the brown sugar and toss in well. Next, add in the silken tofu with saffron threads and cardamom powder and mix well. Keep aside and let it cool down a bit.
4. We will now begin with assembling the “Laung lata”. For this, divide the dough into equal portions. Now, take one portion and roll it out to a thickness of 1-2 mm. I used a cookie cutter to cut out a proper disc (approx 3 inches dia). Now, take a tablespoon of filling and place in center of the dough dic. Fold as shown in the picture below.
5. Taking 1 clove, seal the overlapping flaps to secure the filling inside. Repeat with all the portions and keep aside. Now, take a frying pan and pour oil to it. Bring it to heat. Once the oil is medium hot, place a couple of laung latas at the same time and fry them evenly on both sides on medium high heat. Remove when golden brown.

The Laung latas with decadent stuffing is ready. Crispy, aromatic and delicious to core.