Gujia

Gujia is a popular and traditional sweet of North India which is made of maida and filled with mawa (khoya). It is generally prepared during Holi. Gujias are deep fried in ghee and have crispy outer layer. Some people make this gujia by dipping in sugar syrup. There are many variations of gujia stuffing such as mawa gujia, dry fruits gujia and suji mawa gujia. You can make gujia as you want. Now a days some people like baked gujia due to health issues.

In Maharashtra they are known as Karanji with stuffing of coconut, sesame seeds and nuts. For making gujia you will need a mold to give shape. If you don’t have mold, you can use gujia cutter or make any design to seal it properly. You can purchase khoya or make it with milk at home. We need to roast khoya properly to make their shelf life longer. For stuffing I have used khoya (mawa), shredded dry coconut, chironj, kishmish (rasins), cardamom powder and of course sugar powder. You can add some suji with khoya. We stuff these in rolled dough, seal and then fry. Make sure to seal the gujiya very well otherwise if they open while frying, their filling will come out and spoil the oil and other gujiyas. You can increase the amount of ingredients as per your preference.

Ingredients:

For dough –

4 cup maida (all purpose flour)
½ cup ghee
Ghee for frying

For stuffing –

100 gm. Khoya
1 tbsp. shredded dry coconut
Some kishmish
1 tbsp. chironji
1 tsp. green cardamom powder
½ cup sugar or as per your preference

Instructions:

Making dough-

Take ½ cup or 2 tbsp. melted ghee and maida in to a mixing bowl.
Mix properly. With your fingertips rub the ghee in the flour to get a breadcrumb like consistency. The whole mixture should lump together when gathered. Add a little water and knead a firm dough.

Cover with a lid and keep aside for 30 minutes.

Making stuffing-

Meanwhile prepare stuffing. Crumble khoya with your hand and roast in a pan on low heat until it becomes light down. Keep stirring continuously otherwise it will burn at the bottom.

Let it cool properly. Add sugar, cardamom powder, raisins, chironji and coconut.

Mix well.

Making Gujia -

Mix 1 tbsp. flour into ½ cup of water to seal the gujia.
After that knead the dough again. Cut into small pieces and make the ball. Now roll one ball using rolling pin into a round shape.

Keep the thickness neither thin nor thick. Place it on the mold.

Keep around 1 or 2 tsp. stuffing over it.

Apply maida mixture on the border and close the mold to seal it.
Remove the extra dough. They are also used to make gujiya later.
Open the mold and take out the gujiya in a plate.

Cover it with a cloth so that it does not dry. Prepare all gujias in the same manner and keep them in the plate.

Heat ghee in a pan to fry gujias. Drop slightly gujiyas in hot ghee one by one in the pan. Fry Gujiya on medium and low heat.

After frying on one side, flip the gujias and fry them on the other side.

When they become light brown from both sides, drain them and keep it on a kitchen paper towel or absorbent paper.
Serve gujia to the family and your guests.

Tips:

• The dough for gujia should be firm.
• The ghee that we add while kneading, should be in right proportion to make gujia crispy. 
• Make sure the eadges are neatly sealed.
• Do not stuff gujia too much otherwise it will come out while fring and will spoil the oil. While rolling the ball of dough, cover the other balls so that they do not dry.
• Cover the mawa filled gujia till you are ready to fry them.