Laapsi or lapsi is an Indian sweet dish made using grain flour or broken wheat and
ghee, along with
milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...
,
nuts,
raisins and other
dried fruits. Lapsi is commonly prepared during Hindu ceremonies and is served as a
religious offering to
Devtas.
Lapsi forms an integral part of
North Indian cuisine and has many variants.
Etymology
The name Lapsi (लप्सी) or Laapsi (लापसी) is derived from
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
word Lapsikā (लप्सिका).
History
References to Lapsi are present in Ancient and Medieval Sanskrit literature, particularly
Ayurvedic literature, ''Pākaśāstra'' texts (
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
culinary texts) and
Puranas (Hindu religious scriptures).
Skanda Purana mentions Lapsika as a ''Naivedhya'' for
Puja (Hindu ritual worship). Lapsi finds mention in an Ayurvedic text named ''Bhāvaprakāśa nighaṇṭu''.
The recipe of Lapsi is vividly described in ''Bhojanakutūhala,'' one of the important ''Pākaśāstra'' texts. The recipe of Lapsi in ''Bhojanakutūhala'' uses ''samita'' (refined wheat flour) as the main ingredient.
, a renowned Hindu saint of
Bhakti tradition makes a mention of Lapsi in his
Braj poetry.
Variants
There are different types of Lapsi depending on the main ingredient:
#
Aate Ki Lapsi (Whole wheat flour Lapsi)
#
Suji or ''Rava'' ki Lapsi (Semolina Lapsi)
# ''Dalia'' or ''Fada'' ki Lapsi (Broken wheat Lapsi)
#
Besan Ki Lapsi
or
Chana dal Lapsi (Gram flour or Bengal gram lentil Lapsi)
#
Moong
The mung bean or green gram (''Vigna radiata'') is a plant species in the Fabaceae, legume family.Brief Introduction of Mung Bean. Vigna Radiata Extract Green Mung Bean Extract Powder Phaseolus aureus Roxb Vigna radiata L R Wilczek. MDidea-E ...
dal Lapsi (Mung bean Lapsi)
#
Singhare Ki Lapsi
(Water chestnut Lapsi)
#
Badam ki Lapsi (Almond Lapsi)
Cultural uses
Different variants of Lapsi are prepared in Hindu households during different festive occasions and religious ceremonies. The combo of '
''Lapsi & Puri''
' or Lapsi & Suhari''
' is prepared along with ''Kala chana(black Bengal gram)','' on
Durga Ashtami festival. Usually, ''Suji Ki Lapsi'' is prepared for Durga Ashtami & other ''Mangalik karyas'' (auspicious works).
''Singhare ki Lapsi'' is usually prepared as a ''Phalahaari diet'' for ''
Vrat.''
''Moong Dal Lapsi'' is a common dessert during
Diwali festival. ''Besan Lapsi'' & ''Badam ki Lapsi'' is prepared as a winter dish.
''Dalia or Fada ki Lapsi'' is a popular variant prevalent in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
References
Rajasthani desserts
Indo-Caribbean cuisine
Hindu cuisine
Indian cuisine
South Asian cuisine
Vegetarian cuisine
Vegetarian dishes of India
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