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Gujiya
गुझिया: Holi's crimped pastries filled with mawa, semolina, nuts and sugar
In Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and across the Hindi belt, the days before Holi are for making gujiya: the women of the house sit together rolling, filling and crimping hundreds of these half-moon pastries, which are then offered to guests between rounds of colour. The filling is mawa roasted until grainy and golden, mixed with ghee-toasted semolina, coconut, nuts and powdered sugar; Maharashtra's karanji is the cousin with a coconut filling. The common mistake is frying on high heat, which blisters the pastry and leaves it raw and chewy inside; gujiya should fry slowly until crisp and pale gold. Chef's tip: add the powdered sugar only once the mawa has cooled completely, or it melts and the filling turns sticky.
- Total time
- 100 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 9 oz plain flour (maida)
- 2 ⅛ oz gheemelted
- ½ cup cold wateras needed
For the filling
- 7 oz mawa (khoya)crumbled
- 2 tbsp fine semolina (sooji)
- 1 tsp ghee
- 1 oz desiccated coconut
- 1 ⅜ oz almonds and cashewschopped
- ⅔ oz raisins
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- 3 ⅛ oz powdered sugar
To fry
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Rub 2 ⅛ oz ghee into 9 oz plain flour (maida) until a handful holds its shape when squeezed. Add ½ cup cold water little by little and knead to a stiff, smooth dough. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
35 minStep 2: Toast 2 tbsp fine semolina (sooji) in 1 tsp ghee over low heat for 3 minutes until fragrant. Add 7 oz mawa (khoya) and roast, stirring, for 6–8 minutes until it turns grainy and light golden and smells of caramelised milk.
10 minStep 3: Tip into a bowl and cool completely, then mix in 1 oz desiccated coconut, 1 ⅜ oz almonds and cashews, ⅔ oz raisins, ½ tsp ground cardamom and 3 ⅛ oz powdered sugar.
20 minStep 4: Roll small balls of dough into 10 cm circles, place 1 heaped tbsp filling on one half, wet the edge, fold and press. Crimp the edge by twisting it over itself, or trim with a gujiya mould. Keep covered.
30 minStep 5: Heat 3 cups ghee or neutral oil for deep-frying in a kadhai or deep pan, filling it no more than a third of the way, to 300°F; a pinch of dough or batter dropped in should rise slowly with tiny bubbles. Never leave the hot fat unattended.
6 minStep 6: Fry 4–5 gujiya at a time over low-medium heat for 7–8 minutes, turning, until crisp and pale golden all over. Drain on a rack, cool fully and store airtight for up to 2 weeks.
30 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 310 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 32 g
- Fat
- 18 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does gujiya take?
- About 100 minutes in total: 60 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of plain flour (maida)?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of ghee?
- Butter, same amount (keep the heat a little lower, butter burns sooner).
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