Gujiya

 

This is one of the few North Indian dishes I learned from my mother in law. Since we stayed with my husband’s mama’s family in Lucknow for six months after our marriage, majority of North Indian cooking I learned from mamiji, who is a great cook. Gujiya and Diwali are synonymous; it is always prepared during Diwali. Once when my daughter was in the hostel, I wanted to send with her for friends, I made 70 gujiys, which is my record!

Ingredients

For the filling

¾ cup khoya (solidified milk) (for 30 gujiyas)

1 ½ cups sooji (Bombay rava)

1 cup sugar

2 tbsps raisins

2 tbsps broken cashews

½ tsp cardamom power

½ tsp nutmeg powder

For the covering

4 ½  cups refined flour

A pinch of salt

2 tbsps ghee or oil

Water, roughly 1 ½ cups

Oil for frying

Instruction

-          Roast the sooji till dark brown and keep aside.

-          Roast khoya till the fragrance comes and keep aside.

-          When they are at room temperature, break khoya into finer particles with fingers. Add sugar, raisins, cashew nuts, cardamom and nutmeg powder to the roasted sooji and khoya. Mix well and the filling is ready now.

-          Knead the refined flour, salt, and ghee adding small amounts of water at a time, into a stiff consistency.

-          Spread the dough into a big round, cut small rounds from that.

-          Hold it on the left palm, put a small quantity of the filling in the centre, and apply water along the rims. Fold into half and press and fold along the margin.

-          Heat the oil, reduce the flame to minimum and fry the gujiyas from both sides. If fried on high flame, it will become soft, not hard and crispy.