What’s it about this little half-moon rich pastry dumpling that has everyone in a frenzy at Holi? After all, it’s just a pastry case with a filling, right? And it’s over in just two bites!
Well, I have to ‘fess up here – I’m partial – I love, love, love gujias. And being a Delhiite, I’ve always associated it with Holi, even though technically it really is a pan Indian festive special made mainly for Teej, Diwali, Holi and Chhath Puja.
The crunch of that warm, sweet, crispy shell and the gooey stuffing of khoya and dried fruit send me straight to heaven in one swoop! And I cannot stop at just one, all caution thrown to the winds!
And it seems, I’m not the only one who reveres this simple sweet. Indians across the country adore it. It’s known by different names of course, and there are variations in the fillings as well. In Bihar for example, the dry version of the gujia is called pedakiya, and it could be made with semolina, dried fruit and cardamom. In West Bengal, Gujia is known as Peraki and is a popular seasonal dessert that resembles a turnover with rich stuffing of milk solids or khowa, grated coconut, chopped nuts and date palm jaggery. Bengalis make Peraki during the winters when the fresh nolen gur or date palm jaggery is available. During rest of the year, either normal jaggery is used or totally skipped and replaced with sugar. In Gujarat it is known as ghughra, karanji in Maharashtra and Odisha, somas in Tamil Nadu, garijalu or kajjkayalu in Telegana and Andhra Pradesh, karjikayi in Karnataka and neuri in Goa which uses a coconut filling.
Gujias are easy to make at home, and if you’re so inclined, here is a simple recipe to get you started.
Ingredients
Pastry
1 cup all purpose flour, maida
1 tbsp ghee
pinch of salt
¼ cup+ 1 tbsp of water
Filling
½ cup khoya (mawa)
12 raisins
5 almonds, chopped
5 walnuts, chopped
5 cashew nuts, chopped
1 tbsp desiccated coconut
¼ tsp green cardamom powder
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
3 tbsp of fine grained sugar or jaggery powder if you prefer
oil or ghee for frying, I prefer ghee
First make the pastry. Mix the flour, salt and water. Knead with ghee till you get smooth, stiff dough. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.
In the meantime, toast the nuts in a heavy pan till they are light brown and set aside. Next, put in the crumbled khoya and keep on low flame till it melts and cooks lightly getting a golden colour. Add the nuts, raisins, and sugar, cardamom and nutmeg powders. Mix well, breaking up any lumps, cool and your filling is ready.
Divide you dough into 10 equal sized balls. Flatten slightly and then roll each into a 4” round circle. Put 1 tbsp of mixture into the centre of each circle. Dampen the edges of the circle with your fingers or a pastry brush. Fold over into a half circle and press the edges firmly to seal. Use a fork to make indentations around the edges – this is important – if the pastry is not properly sealed, it will open when frying. If you are not frying it immediately, cover with a clean damp cloth so that the gujjias don’t dry out.
Heat the ghee or oil, and on medium flame, fry the gujjias 3-4 at a time, turning them around for an even browning. Remove and drain when they are golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels. Cool completely before storing in an air tight container – that’s if there’s any left to store!
Easy isn’t it? Go on, give it a try! And send us recipes for any variation you may have tried.
Have super fun with your family and friends and a very happy Holi folks!!!
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A homeschooled chef even before she joined Catering College in Bombay, Christine’s gastronomic journey started with mother and grandmother. Polished with a degree and 10 years of experience in the Hospitality industry, Christine’s love of food, drink and everything gastronomic has been sharpened and honed with travel across the world. Today, she shares the wealth of her foodie experience and adventures across the world with Travel and Food Network, so look forward to much more from Chrsitine!
