Gujiya is a very popular Indian sweet shaped like empanadas or dumplings that are filled with a stuffing of mawa, coconut and nuts. These Gujiyas are the perfect and popular festive sweet made specially during the festivals and especially on Holi. Holi and Gujiyas are almost synonymous.
Mawa/ khoya- 200 grams
Desiccated Coconut- 1/2 cup
Sugar powder- 3/4th cup
Almonds- 15, chopped
Cashew- 15, chopped
Pistachios- 15, chopped
Raisins- 2 tablespoon
Chironji- 2 tablespoon
Cardamom powder- 2 teaspoon
Fennel powder- 1 teaspoon
Saffron strands- 15-20
Rose water- 1 tablespoon
— For Sugar Syrup or Chashni
Water- 1.5 cup
Sugar- 2 cups
Saffron strands- 25-30
— For frying
Oil or Ghee
— For Garnishing
Dried Rose petals, Pista slivers and Silver Varq
DIRECTIONS:
1-MAKING THE DOUGH
Take flour in a bowl.
Heat ghee in a small pan or bowl. Pour this hot ghee on the flour.
Rub flour and ghee with your fingertips to form a bread crumb like texture. Rub for about 4-5 minutes.
Start adding water little by little and bind the dough. Knead the dough for about 4-5 minutes.
Knead it till it becomes firm to touch.
Cover the dough with a moist cloth and keep aside for 30 minutes.
2- MAKING THE FILLING
We will start by roasting the nuts first.
Heat a non stick or heavy bottom pan.
Add ghee.
Add in chironji and roast it for about a minute on medium flame.
Add in rest of the chopped nuts too and roast them for a minute.
Add in desiccated coconut. Mix and roast everything for 2 more minutes.
After that switch off the flame.
After that add in Rose water and mix everything well.
Add in cardamom powder, fennel powder and saffron strands.
Take out this roasted mix in a bowl.
Wipe clean the same pan put crumbled mawa in the pan. Keep the heat on low.
Keep stirring the mawa. It will start melting.
Cook the khoya properly until it releases fat and comes together. It will look like dough.
It will take about 4-5 minutes to roast the mawa.
After that switch off the heat.
Mix the roasted nuts in the roasted mawa.
When the mixture comes to room temperature add in the sugar powder and mix everything well.
(If you will add sugar powder in the hot mix, it will start melting)
If you feel that the stuffing is dry then add few teaspoons of warm milk.
(1 or 2 tablespoon will be enough)
Stuffing or filling is ready.
3- FILLING AND SHAPING THE GUJIYAS
Give it a quick knead to the dough.
Divide the dough into about 20 equal parts.
Roll each part in your palms to make small balls.
Keep them in a bowl or plate. Keep them covered with a moist cloth.
Next, take one ball and with the help of a rolling pin roll it to a circle of about 3 to 4 inches in diameter.
Place this rolled out disk into the Gujiya mold.
With your fingertip, apply water all over the circumference edge.
Put about 1-1.5 tablespoons of the filling mixture in the center and fold the mold to close it. Press firmly.
Make sure the edges are completely sealed otherwise the gujiya may break in the oil.
Remove the excess dough from the sides.
You can make all the gujiyas in the same way.
You can keep the removed excess dough together and use it to make more gujiyas.
Arrange all the rolled and filled gujiyas on a plate and keep them covered with a moist cloth.
4- FRYING THE GUJIYAS
Heat enough oil, ghee or mixture of both in a heavy bottomed kadai or pan on medium heat.
Before frying, test the temperature of oil. To test if the oil is hot enough, drop a small piece of dough into the oil. If the dough sizzles right away and comes to the surface gradually the oil is perfectly hot.
If the dough sits at the bottom, the oil is still cold. If the piece of dough comes up briskly and quickly, the oil is too hot.
Next, gently slid the 4-5 gujiyas (depending upon the size of your kadai) in the oil.
Do not overcrowd the kadai.
Once they come up slowly, turn them gently so as to fry the other side too.
Deep fry till they have become golden brown on all the sides.
Each batch will take about 10-12 minutes to fry.
Once they are done take them out with the help of a slotted spoon and drain them on an absorbent paper.
Similarly fry all the gujiyas.
5- MAKING THE SUGAR SYRUP
For making sugar syrup, boil water and sugar in a pan until sugar dissolves.
Add in saffron strands too.
Keep cooking till syrup is slightly thickened and sticky.
It should be viscous like honey.
Switch off the heat and Let this sugar syrup become warm.
6- DUNKING THE GUJIYAS IN SUGAR SYRUP
Once the sugar syrup becomes warm and all the fried gujiyas come at room temperature dip gujiyas in sugar syrup gently.
Leave them for 3-4 minutes.
After that take them out in a plate. Let them air dry for some time.
Let the gujiyas cool completely before storing them in an airtight container.
Garnish prepared Gujiyas with Dried Rose petals, Pista slivers and Silver Varq.
Enjoy the scrumptious treat with family and friends!!