Laung (noun.) also know as cloves in english are the unopened flower bud of the evergreen clove trees found in Indian, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Zanzibar and Tanzania in Africa and Madagascar. Cloves are called Laung (pronounced as long) in Hindi and it is a very important component of the dry masala powder – Garam Masala used in Indian curries and gravies. It is added whole to rice dishes like biriyanis and meat/chicken curries.
The whole spices peppercorns, cardamom (Ilaichi), and cinnamon (dalchini) are added whole to pilau and biryanis, while, it can also be added in powdered form to sweet, hot drinks and desserts. The taste goes well with sugary desserts and spicy curries. Cloves contain volatile oils where the main component is Eugenol which has anti-inflammatory properties. The flavonoids in cloves have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.