The Festival Of Colors! Holi Food!- Gujiyas!

Happy Holi from EL The Cook!

Today we do a traditional North Indian sweet, perfect to usher in the season of spring, The Gujiya!

These sweet dumplings resemble the packaging of a samosa except that these are rich and sweet, not savory.

Gujiyas are typical of North India and use mawa or khoya, as stuffings, which are forms of condensed milk, which are used in more delicious sweets like gulab jamuns! Garnished with pistachios and raisins, gujiyas remind us of a lovely winter gone by and a bright summer ahead!

Here's how to make this gorgeous recipe! 

INGREDIENTS: ( Makes 20 Gujiyas)

Cook Time : 2 hours

For the Pastry:

• 1 cup all purpose Flour 
• 1 Tablespoon Semolina (sooji)
• 2 Tablespoon Clarified butter (ghee)
• 1/3 cup water

For the Filling:

•  200 gm thickened milk (mawa)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon semolina
• 10-12 finely chopped almonds
• 20 raisins
• 1/2 cup grated coconut
• vegetable oil for frying

For the Garnish:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 water
• 2 tablespoons sliced almonds and pistachios

KITCHEN EQUIPMENT:

• 2 large bowls
• Medium fry pan
• Rolling pin and board
• Slotted spoon
• Kitchen towels
• 2 clean ear buds

METHOD :

 A) For the Pastry: 

• Mix flour, semolina, and oil in a bowl.
• Make a soft dough using water. Knead until soft.
• Cover the dough & keep aside.

B) For the Filling:

• In a pan, fry the semolina with 1 tbsp clarified butter(ghee), until golden brown and keep aside;In the same pan fry thickened milk (mawa) till golden brown.
• Transfer to a bowl and let it cool.
• Now, add semolina(sooji), sugar, raisins, pistachios, grated coconut and mix well.

C) For the Gujiya preparation:

• Divide the dough into about 20 equal parts and roll into 4 inch balls with the palms of your hands.
  

• Dip a clean ear bud in water and spread it around the rim of the rolled dough. 
  
  

• Take  the 1 tablespoon portion of the filling and place  on one side of the dough.
  
  

• Now roll the edges together with your fingers, making a knot shaped edge. This helps to keep the oil out while you are deep frying your pastry.
  

D) Frying:

• Heat about 1-1/2 inches of oil in a frying pan on medium heat.

• Gently, place the gujiyas in the frying pan, few at a time.

• Fry the gujiyas until they turn light golden-brown color on all sides.

• When they are done cooking, lift them out of the oil with a slotted spoon and place on kitchen towels to drain.

E) For the Garnish:

• Boil the sugar and water on medium heat to make a simple syrup or reduce the quantity of liquid to one-third.

• Dip the gujiyas into the syrup, coating them well and allow to drain on a wire rack

• Garnish with sliced almonds and pistachios.

• Gujiyas can be stored in airtight container up to a month.

Enjoy the festival of colors with this super recipe, and don't forget to take a dumpling for your friends and family!

Happy Holi From EL The Cook!