Shaktigarh r Lengcha/Langcha
Chhobi dekhe thik chinechen!!!! Yes, these are Shaktigarh r lengcha/langcha. It is not exactly prepared the way gulab jamun is prepared. While gulab jamun uses only mawa or khoya, lengcha needs chhana as well as khoya.
The names of different Bengali dishes and sweetmeats always intrigues me. So, I tried searching for the history of nomenclature of this sweet. An article written by Itiriti is a good read. A brief history of lengcha goes like this.
Origin of lengcha
The birth of “lengcha” was from a matrimony alliance between the royal families of Krishnanagar and Burdwan. The princess of Krishnanagar was married to the prince of Burdwan. When she was pregnant she lost her appetite. Then she expressed a desire to eat a sweet that a moira from her maternal home used to prepare. When asked about the sweet she could not even say the name of it. She uttered “Lengcha” because the moira who used to prepare this particular sweet could not walk properly. ( in Bengali lengra is one who cannot walk properly).
Without delay the king of Krishnanagar found out the moira and was sent to Burdwan to prepare this sweet, which her daughter craved for during pregnancy. He was offered lands in Burdwan, to stay there and prepare this delectable dessert.
So after listening to this royal story if you have made up your mind to prepare lengcha you are just at the right place. If you are looking for a shortcut recipe, you can prepare the way gulab jamuns are prepared only from milk powder, recipe here. But if you are looking for an authentic way of preparing lengcha, you need to add chhena to the mixture. Also, refer to the notes below to find out all the precautions that you need to take to prepare soft and juicy lengchas.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Bengali
Preparation time: 15 mins (excluding waiting time)
Cook time: 40 mins
Servings: 9 pieces
Ingredients
- 300g or 1 cup chenna (I used homemade but you can also use store-bought)
- 100 g or ¾ cup mawa (I used homemade but you can also use store-bought)
- 2 tablespoons of wheat flour
- 2-3 tablespoons of milk
- 2 cups of sugar
- 2 cups of water
- 1/8 teaspoon or a pinch of baking soda (see Notes)
- 3-4 cardamom pods
- Oil for deep frying
- 1 tablespoon of chopped pistachios for garnishing
Directions
- Take the chhena in a plate and mash it properly till it becomes soft and smooth.
- Now, mix the mawa to the chhena and mix them properly together.
- Add the wheat flour and baking soda to the mixture and mix everything together.
- If you find the mixture too dry, add milk to the mixture gradually little by little. (I added about 3 tablespoons). (See Notes)
- Now, divide the dough into equal sized balls. Make each ball into oblong shape. This should be done carefully, such that there are no cracks in the lengcha.
- Take a pot and to it add the sugar, water and cardamom pods.
- Bring it to boil such that the sugar dissolves. The syrup should give you the feel of honey when you put one drop between your fingers.
- Now, turn off the flame and keep it aside.
- Take a pan/kadai for frying the lengcha and add oil to it.
- Heat the oil. The oil should not be very hot.
- Gradually, drop the lengchas to the oil and fry them on medium low flame. (see Notes)
- Fry the lengchas on both the sides till they turn brown in colour.
- After the frying is done, remove the lengchas from oil with a slotted spoon and gently drop them in the syrup.
- The syrup should be hot, neither cold nor boiling. (If you think that the syrup has gone cold you can heat it up for few minutes but do not boil it)
- Leave the lengchas in the syrup for couple of hours to soak up the syrup.
- Garnish the lengchas with chopped pistachios and serve the lengchas hot or chilled.
- I like my lengcha hot. If you also like them hot, just warm them before serving.
Notes
- The baking soda helps in softening the lengcha. But do not add a lot of baking soda to the mixture. If more baking soda is added the lengchas will break while frying in the oil.
- The dough prepared should not be very hard, else the lengchas will also be hard. So if you find your dough hard, add milk to the dough to prepare a soft dough.
- If the lengchas are fried on a high flame, the inside of the lengchas will not cook and will eventually not absorb syrup. It will remain dry and hard at the centre.
Step by step instructions to prepare lengcha
Take the chhena in a plate and mash it properly till it becomes soft and smooth.
Now, mix the mawa to the chhena and mix them properly together.
Now, add the wheat flour and baking soda to the mixture and mix everything together.
If you find the mixture too dry, add milk to the mixture gradually little by little. (I added about 3 tablespoons). (See Notes)
Now, divide the dough into equal sized balls. Make each ball into oblong shape. This should be done carefully, such that there are no cracks in the lengcha.
Take a pot and to it add the sugar, water and cardamom pods. Bring it to boil such that the sugar dissolves. The syrup should give you the feel of honey when you put one drop between your fingers. Now, turn off the flame and keep it aside.
Take a pan/kadai for frying the lengcha and add oil to it. Heat the oil. The oil should not be very hot. Gradually, drop the lengchas to the oil and fry them on medium low flame. (see Notes)
Fry the lengchas on both the sides till they turn brown in colour.
After the frying is done, remove the lengchas from oil with a slotted spoon and gently drop them in the syrup. The syrup should be hot, neither cold nor boiling.
Leave the lengchas in the syrup for couple of hours to soak up the syrup.Garnish the lengcha with pistachios and serve the lengcha hot or chilled.
I like my lengcha hot. If you also like them hot, just warm them before serving.
Thank you for stopping by. If you like the recipe do not forget to hit like. If you prepare this dish and publish your photos on Facebook and Instagram do tag #theepicureanfeast. Also for queries you can mail me epicureanfeast2019@gmail.com
