Gujia Recipe

Gujia Recipe Gujia is a a very popular north Indian sweet which is always prepared on festivals. It now enjoys fame all overIndia because of its delightful taste. It is mainly a festival sweet prepared during Holi, Diwali etc. In Uttar Pradesh Gujiya is always prepared during Diwali in every household. The outer pocket of gujias is made of flour and the stuffing is made of shredded coconut, dry fruits and nuts. Many people also like khoya or thickened solidified milk instead of coconut for the stuffing. Also often the gujias are coated with a layer of crusted sugar syrup which imparts a yummy glistened look to the gujias and add to its sweetness. When I visited a distant relative from my husband's side residing in Uttar Pradesh, she served us a plate of delicious gujias. I got the recipe from her. Now, I prepare gujias during every Bijoya Dashmi and my guests savor them a lot. Try out this recipe at home. Cooking time: 30 minutes Preparation time: 1 hour Serves: 20 Ingredients For dough Flour-1.5 cups Ghee-8 tablespoons Baking soda-1/4 teaspoon Powdered sugar-2 tablespoons Water as needed For stuffing Fresh grated coconut-1.5 cups Finely chopped cashew nuts-3 tablespoons Finely chopped raisins-3 tablespoons Finely chopped dates-3 tablespoons Grated almond-1/4 cup Sugar-3/4 cup Cardamom powder-1/2 teaspoon Ginger powder-a pinch Crushed saffron-a pinch Ghee-1 tablespoon For deep frying Ghee For sugar syrup Sugar-1/2 cup Water-1/4 cup Saffron-a pinch For garnishing Blanched raisins, almonds and cashews-1/2 cup Method Mix flour, baking soda, powdered sugar, and ghee. Add some water and knead the mixture in to tight dough. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and set aside. Heat ghee in a pan. Add chopped almonds and cashews and fry for sometime. The color of almonds and cashews should not change. Further add grated coconut, chopped dates, sugar and cardamom powder, chopped raisins, saffron and ginger powder. Mix well and fry on low flame till the ingredients turn golden brown, become dry and flaky. Set the cooked stuffing aside. Now break the dough in to equal sized portions. Rotate each portion on your palm to make balls. Roll out each ball to make circles of 5'' diameter. Then place 1 tablespoon of cooked stuffing in the middle of each circle and fold over in to a half-moon pattern. Now seal the edges by pressing with your fingers. Press in such a way that tiny dumplings line the edge of each gujiya. Heat ghee in a deep pan. Deep fry the gujias until they turn golden brown in color. You should keep turning the gujias from time to time while frying Take the gujias out of pan and drain them on tissue paper. Now boil sugar and saffron in water on medium flame. The sugar will melt and the syrup will acquire a dense consistency. Dip the gujias in to the syrup and make sure that all gujias are thoroughly coated with the syrup. Place the gujias on wire rack. Allow draining and cooling The gujias are ready for serving. Serving instruction Put the sugar syrup coated gujias on serving plate and serve after garnishing with blanched cashews, raisins and almonds.