Lobongo Lotika (Bengali: লবঙ্গ লতিকা) a.k.a. Lavang Latika or Laung Lata is a traditional recipe of Bengal prepared especially on festivals. This tantalizing dish coated with sugar syrup, crusty from outside made using all-purpose flour, and stuffed with mawa and dry fruits and with a clove on top is loved by all. It exemplifies the opulent side of the Indian cuisine. It’s also pretty famous in other parts of India, especially in Bihar, Jharkhand, and Eastern Uttar Pradesh.

The dough is rolled out first and then the filling is placed in the centre. The dough is then folded to enclose the filling completely and cloves are pressed over it to ensure that the fold doesn’t open up while preparing. Then it’s cooked in hot ghee until golden brown and crispy. Lastly, it is placed in sugar syrup to cool down and absorb the syrup.

Lobongo  or Lavang or cloves play the most important part in Lobongo Lotika. Each of the sweet is sealed with one clove so that the stuffing does not come out during the frying process. Also, the clove lends a wonderful aroma to the lotikas while frying which enhances their taste so much so that it could take you to the next level of awesomeness! The glaze of the sugar syrup on the Lobongo Lotika looks very tempting and very inviting.

Lobongo Lotika is that luxury kind of dessert which you will cherish for your life. Once you have it, it’s impossible to get over it! I learned this recipe of lobongo lotika from the super-chef of our home. Yes! My mother-in-Law. This sweet is generally made during festivals like Durga puja, Deepawali or Holi and is also available in sweet shops but the homemade one tastes always better. I am lucky to have both my mother and mother-in-law, who were a pro at making delicious foods and we were just gorging them on! Yesterday, I decided to prepare Lobongo Lotika at home again.

Lobongo Lotika is one of the many varieties of Bengali sweets which have been prepared at our house traditionally. Initially, I was not very inclined towards learning how to make this beautiful traditional sweet because I was always under the impression that these would be way too difficult for me. But later on, I practised on it to near perfection matching the quality of my mother-in-law, at least this is what claimed by my loving husband and adoring son. Well, I take it as my tribute to her. She left us for her eternal abode around 16 years ago.