Gujiya - Holi hai!

ujiya is a traditional indian sweet dish made typically during the festival of Holi. The sweet delicious filling inside the crunchy flaky pastry covering tastes out of this world and makes you want to grab some again and again. Gujias slightly vary from region to region. In the Northern parts of India, the filling is made with sweetened khoya and dry fruits and nuts while in South Western States, it consists of shredded coconut, nuts and jaggery or sugar. I of course like this the way my mom makes them.

Where I come from, we call it Pedukiya. These are made in most households during the festivities of Holi like it was in ours. They always take me back in time to those days when on the morning of the festival, you would wake up and go out on the streets armed with all your paints, colors and gulal. Any person you find young or old, whether you know them or not, you make sure you get them painted beyond recognition. Of course you get the brunt of it too so much so you would not recognize if you saw yourself in the mirror... lol. While you did all that, you would sneak an occasional peak in the house and pick a taste of all the goodies mom was busy cooking up. I remember how my mother and aunts used to make it and how all of us children would huddle up in the kitchen and be curious and all excited, waiting for the treat. The sweet aroma of festivity, sounds of laughter, the deep frying, chit-chat, gossip... I miss them all... here in my kitchen when alone I cook something like this there is not someone always to taste as it comes hot off the frying pan, the chit-chat... but the aroma of cooking the warmth of festivity makes me feel at home again. I have the sweetest and the most caring man in the whole world who is my sous chef my taster my food critic, my everything. With him and my our little bundle of joy everyday feels like a festival and keep me going!

A lot of times Gujias are further coated in sugar syrup to form a glazed coating and add to the sweetness. I however prefer it without as the sugar coating is too sweet for my taste.

Though preparation of gujiya requires little extra time and effort, the taste makes it all worth it. One major advantage of gujiya is it has good shelf life, it can be stored for weeks and can be used as dessert as well as a snack. 

Here's a couple of other Holi sweets for your reference.

- Malpua

- Jalebi

For the shell/crust:

Ingredients:

All purpose flour .................................. 3 cups

Baking soda ........................................ 1/8 tsp

Ghee ............................................... 4 tbsp melted

Oil for deep frying

Method:

Mix flour, baking soda, and oil in a bowl, make a firm smooth dough adding water slowly as needed. Knead the dough until the dough becomes smooth and pliable. Set the dough aside and cover it with a damp kitchen cloth. Let the dough sit for 10-15 minutes.

For the filling :

Ingredients:

Khoya/Mawa ........................................... 2 1/2  cup mashed (homemade or store-bought, see notes)

Sooji .................................................... 1 cup fine

Sugar .................................................... 1 1/4 cup

Chopped cashews, pista and raisin ................. 1/2 cup
Ghee .................................................... 2 tbsp

Green cardamon powder ............................. 1/2 tsp

Method:

1. Heat ghee on medium heat and fry the sooji till fragrant and light brown in color. Cool it for 10-15 min add all other ingredients for the filling. Mix and set aside. If the mixture appears to be too dry add a couple of tablespoons of milk.

Making the gujiyas-

1. Mix 1 tbsp of water with 1 tbsp of flour to make a paste. Set aside. 

2. Knead the dough again for a minute. Divide the dough into same sized balls about the size you would for a small puri.

3. Roll each ball into about 4 - 5 inch diameter (like a puri). You can also use a 4 inch cookie cutter to cut it out to get a perfect circle.

4. Dip your finger in the flour paste and spread it around the rim of the rolled dough.Take the rolled dough in your palm and spoon about 1 - 1/2 tablespoons of the filling mixture in the center and fold it into a semi-circle. Pinch the edges to seal (like a dumpling). Make sure the edges are completely sealed otherwise the filling will leak during frying.

5. Repeat the filling process for all the circles. Keep these aside covered.

6. Heat enough oil in a deep frying pan on medium heat.  Place the gujia in the frying pan 3-4 at a time.

6. After gujias are floating on top of the oil, turn them slowly. Fry the gujias until they turn light golden-brown color on all sides. Don’t fry on high heat or the gujia crust will be too soft and not crispy.

7. When they are done frying, drain on a paper towel. Allow to cool to room temperature. Store in air-tight containers at room temperature. ENJOY!

Notes: 

1. A nice and quick way to make mawa is to use ricotta cheese. In a heavy bottom pan, on medium heat melt 1 tbsp ghee, add  15 oz ricotta and cook while stirring till it thickens and starts to caramelize at the bottom, about 25 to 30 minutes. There you have it, your quick and easy (and relatively inexpensive) mawa :) It can be stored refrigerated for up to a week.

 

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