Gujias are fried pastries filled with coconut or khoya (Thickened Milk) and dry fruits. It is a festival sweet and mostly prepared during Holi, but what the heck?! Why not during Diwali or any other festival too? During these days of Durga Puja, and all the upcoming festivals I was actually craving for Gujias which I had years ago when we visited india during Holi. My hubby’s Aunt had prepared these delicous Gujias, & till date I have not forgotten them. Unfortunately, I did not get an opportunity to ask her the recipe. This is what I came up with and it might not taste like the unforgetable ones back in India, but these did taste delicous too.

Gujias slightly vary from region to region. In the Northern parts of India, the filling is made with sweetened khoya and dry fruits & nuts while in South Western States, it consists of shredded coconut, nuts and jaggery or sugar. We are not very fond of Khoya, so I made these with coconut. A lot of times Gujias are further coated in sugar syrup to form a glazed coating and add to the sweetness. I have not done the glazing… See the “Notes” to how it can be done.

Happy Diwali to all of you,  & have a love filled properous Year!!

Sending this to JFI: Festival Treats & Yummy Festival Feast – Diwali

Ingredients:

For the dough:

1. 1.5 cups  all-purpose flour
2. 8 tablespoons of Ghee
3. 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
4. 1-2 Tablespoons of Powdered Sugar
5. Water

For the Filling:

1. 1.5 cup fresh grated coconut
2. 3 tablespoons cashew nuts chopped fine
3. 3 tablespoons raisins chopped fine
4. 3 tablespoons dates chopped fine
5. 1/4 cup almonds cut into very thin slivers
6. 3/4 cup sugar (Use more or less according to your your taste)
7. 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
8. A Pinch of Ginger powder
9. A pinch of Saffrron crushed
10. 1 tablespoon Ghee

Optional: (use half amount of Khoya with the other half of coconut.)

For deep Frying:

1. Ghee

 Now to make these sweet filled half moons…

Preparation:

Mix the flour, Sugar, baking soda and ghee to form a texture and consistency of bread crumbs that just about holds together. Add water a little at a time and knead to form a stiff dough. Cover the dough with a damp towel. Keep aside.

Heat 1 Tablespoon of Ghee in a pan. Add the cashews & the almonds and fry them for a few seconds. They should not turn brown. Add Coconut, sugar, cardamom powder, dates, raisins, saffron and ginger powder. Stir fry the coconut on a very low flame till it is a pale brownish color & dry and flaky. Keep aside. This is how it should look like.

 
Divide the dough into equal sized-portions and make them into balls. Roll these balls out into circles about 5″ diameter. (Tip:I have no patience to make perfect circles, so I cut it out with the edge of a glass or bowl.)

Put a  tablespoon of filling in the center of each circle and fold over into a half moon. Dip your fingertips in water & press the edges tight & pleat the edges (like a Dumpling ) to seal. (If it takes too long to pleat, just press and cut little lines with knife tip as I have done).  Repeat the filling process for all the circles. Keep these aside.

Heat Ghee in a pan and deep fry the gujias while occasionally turing them, till they light brown in color. Drain on Paper Towels.

Tags: Appetizer, coconut, dessert, diwali, festival, gujia, holi, karanjia, khowa. mawa, pastry, rakhi, snack, Sweet, vegan, vegetarian

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 25th, 2008 at 5:09 pm and is filed under Indian Sweets, Starters & Snacks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.