Lyangcha

Lyangcha, an authentic sweet dish prepared in Bengal, Orissa, Assam and in the eastern regions of India. It is made from flour and milk powder,by frying it and dipping it into sugar syrup for a long time.

Lyangcha is common sweet in regular life of eastern Indians.They are also prepared during occasions and festivals to add to the vibe of it.

Preparation

Traditionally,lyangcha is made from khoya(a form of solid milk).But due to unavailability of khoya at times ,often milk powder is used instead of it.

Lyancha is made from flour, milk powder.The flour and milk powder is mixed thoroughly with soda and water and made into a dough.Ghee is added making the dough at constant intervals.Mixed well, the dough is kept untouched for few hours . Then the dough is divided into cylindrical shaped pieces with hand. the cylindrical pieces are then deep fried in oil until a brown crust is formed around and they turn stiff and hard. The fried cylindrical pieces are the boiled into sugar syrup .Once done,they are bought back to a tub containing cold rose flavored or elaichi flavored sugar syrup. Kept for few hours untouched, these hard pieces become soft and juicy, ready to be served on the plates.

History

The origin of the delicacy is said to be in the towns of Burdwan, in West Bengal ,India. The genesis of Lyangcha actually goes back to an sweet maker in Burdwan ( a district in West Bengal) who used to make Pantua ( fried sweetmeat made of flour and milk solids dipped in sugar syrup) of huge sizes. Lyangcha a sweet meat – in popular parlance was created by the erstwhile sweet makers of the region in Bengal.

According to local stories, the credit of Lyangcha goes to a sweet maker named Lyangcha Dutta of Shaktigarh.The noted novelist Narayan Sanyal in his legendary novel “Rupamanjari” actually tells a story. Goutam Dhoni a noted journalist and correspondent of “Ekdin” a Bengali Daily tells another fascinating tale about Nikhuti ( a sweet famous in Krishnanagar). In his latest article in Nadia Darpan( a local Bengali Daily) Dhoni brings to our attention how Lyangcha has travelled from Krishananagar ( a town in Nadia District) to Burdwan and Shaktigarh. The genesis of Lyangcha actually goes back to the matrimony alliance between the two super power kings in two different districts of present day West Bengal. A matrimony alliance between the royal families of Krishnanagar and Burdwan changed the genesis of Lyangcha.

The story goes that the princess from the then Krishnanagar royal household was married to the prince oof Burdwan royal household. When she became pregnant she lost her appetite and refused to eat any food. She continued this for a long time even though she was requested to break her fast and even medical treatments were started. During this time she expressed a desire to eat Lyangcha – a sweetmeat that artisans from her maternal home used to prepare.

The then ruler of Krishnanagar made arrangements to find out who prepared Lyangcha but none of the Modaks/ Moiras(The Bengali confectioner) in Krishnanagar were little familiar to Lyangcha. Apparently even the lady did not remember the name of the sweet. She had mentioned “Langcha” because the sweet maker who used to prepare this specific sweetmeat could not walk properly ( in Bengali Langcha means the one who limps). Then the sweet maker was called forth to the ruler of Krishnanagar in Krishnagar court,he was immediately sent off to Burdwan. He was given lands and other properties to settle in Burdwan so that he could prepare delicacies for the royalty. Currently Shaktigarh, Burdwan district of Bengal is credited with huge Lyangchas but the shops in Krishnanagar take a special pride in how “Langcha” has travelled from Krishnanagar to Burdwan.

Variations

Gulab Jamun

One famous variation of Lyangcha is Gulab Jamun made in the Indian Subcontinent. This delicacy named Gulab Jamun has the same process for preparation as well as the ingredients match,but the latter one is spherical in shape while the previous one is cylindrical. Made commonly in north India, the sweet is also famous for its taste and auroma. Made durng the occasions ,this sweet marks a important item in the diet of Indians.

The word "gulab" comes from the Persian words gul (flower) and āb (water), referring to the rose water-scented syrup. "Jamun" or "jaman" is the Hindi-Urdu word for Syzygium jambolanum, an Indian fruit with a similar size and shape and violet color. The Arab dessert luqmat al-qadi is similar to gulab jamun, although it uses a completely different batter. According to the culinary historian Michael Krondl, both luqmat al-qadi and gulab jamun may have derived from a Persian dish, with rose water syrup being a common connection between the two desserts.

Gulab jamun is a dessert often eaten at festivals, birthdays or major celebrations such as marriages, the Muslim celebrations of Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, and the Hindu festival of Diwali (the Indian festival of light). There are various types of gulab jamun and every variety has a distinct taste and auroma.

Pantua/Ladikeny

Another famous sweet spheriacal in shape,of much tighter and less sweet than Lyangcha or Gulab Jamun ,famous in the east India can be referred as another form of Lyangcha for its same preparations process. The distinctive feature of ledikeni is its molten sugar syrup of lightly flavored cardamom powder.[1] The name ledikeni is a rendition of "Lady Canning" and was first used by confectioner Bhim Chandra Nag, when he renamed his pantuas specially prepared on the occasion of the birthday of Countess Charlotte Canning, wife of Governor-General Charles Canning.[2]

Nikhuti

Nikhuti is a mini form of lyangcha of extreme smaller size ,which is often used as offerings to deities or to garnish another dessert.

Chhena Jhili

In Puri is a small village called Nimapada, and that’s where this sweet was born. It is essentially a deep fried patty shaped sweet made from the same ingredients, soaked in sugar syrup. Eaten hot, the soft, juicy cheesiness against the backdrop of a little hint of cardamom sweetness is gorgeous.

Places Famous For

Burdwan , a town in West Bengal is extremely famous for its Lyangcha. Dipped in sweet sugar syrup, this serves as one of the most most popular items in dessert list of common people. Tarapith, a small village in West Bengal known for its Ma Tara temple, is also famous for its Lyangcha where the size matters ! The large sized Lyangchas made from flour and Khoya add to the sweetness of Bengal. Tourists visiting here have an outstanding affection for its lyangchas hundreds of pieces sell within minutes in famous shops of Tarapith. Starting from 10 Rupees to a Hundred Rupees each for the largest sized one( about 3 feet), these sweet are the second most attracted elements after the temples.

The most famous region of Lyangcha is Shaktigarh ,the birthplace of the sweet itself. As one arrives by the National Highway to the village of Shaktigarh, he finds shops one after another lined by the highway selling the sweet of its place. There are innumerable shops selling those blackish sweets along NH 2.[2]Worldwide famous for its sweet ,Shaktigarh has created its own name and history in the art of dessert making and Indian sweets. Lyangchas are of different taste over here ,black in color ,fried more deeply and much sweeter than the ones found in any other parts of Bengal.These are not even cylindrical but has a shape of banana instead.

Places like Kolkata, The capital of West Bengal is also famous for its lyangchas as like any other sweet in the metro city. Other cities like Bhubaneshwar the capital of Orissa is also famous for its sweets. Puri, Nimpada are other places in East India which is known to people for its Lyangcha.

Nowadays this sweet has left all bounds and traveled the world thus winning hearts and mouths with its taste and smell. Cities of Europe and USA , which has Indian sweet shops are keeping this item in their cases , to lure the public and to let them enjoy the wonderful delicacy.

The government of West Bengal are in thoughts of creating a Lyangcha Hub in Shaktigarh,the birthplace of Lyangcha, to spread this to the world and make foreign exports to earn revenue.

References

    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.