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Gujia
October 13th, 2008 filed under Desserts
Gujia is a fried pastry filled with an aromatic nuts mixture. In India, Gujia is traditionally made for the holidays like Diwali and Holi and is a must have treat.
Recipe makes 20 to 24 gujia.
Ingredients:
Crust:
- 1 cup all purpose flour (plain flour or maida)
- 1 tablespoon sooji (semolina flour)
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1/3 cup lukewarm water or as needed
Filling:
- 1/2 cup heavy cream or whipping cream
- 1 cup milk powder
- 1/4 cup coconut powder
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoon melon seeds (optional)
Garnish:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 Water
- 2 tablespoons sliced almonds and pistachios
Also needed:
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour (plain flour or maida)
- 2 tablespoon water
- Oil to fry
Method:
Crust:
- Mix flour, sooji, and oil in a bowl, make a soft dough adding water slowley as needed. Knead the dough until the dough becomes soft and pliable.
- Set the dough aside and cover it with a damp cloth. Let the dough sit for at least ten minutes.
Filling:
- Mix the cream and milk powder in a frying pan.
- Cook on medium heat until mixture starts leaving the sides of the frying pan and becomes soft runny dough. Stir continuously so the mixture does not burn on the bottom of the pan.
- Turn off the heat and add coconut, almonds, melon seeds, sugar, and cardamom powder. Mix together well.
- After cooling, the mixture will be lightly moist. Keep aside.
Making the Gujias:
- Mix 2 tablespoons of water with 1 tablespoon of flour to make a paste. Set aside.
- Knead the dough again for a minute.
- Divide the dough into about 20 equal parts and roll into balls with the palms of your hands.
- Roll each ball into about 4-inch diameter (like a roti or chappati).
- Dip your finger in the flour paste and spread it around the rim of the rolled dough, but just on the half the circle.
- Take the rolled dough in your palm and put about 1-1/2 tablespoons of the filling mixture in the center and fold it into a semi-circle. Now press the edges together with your fingers. Make sure the edges are completely sealed otherwise they will open while frying and oil will get in and filling will come out.
- Continue filling the rest of the gujia in the same manner.
- Heat about 1-1/2 inches of oil in a frying pan on medium heat. To test if the oil is hot enough, drop a small piece of dough into the oil. It should sizzle right away but come to the surface slowly.
- Place the gujia in the frying pan few at a time.
- After gujhias are floating on top of the oil, turn them slowly. Fry the gujias until they turn light golden-brown color on all sides. Don’t fry on high heat; the gujia crust will be too soft and not crispy.
- When they are done cooking, lift them out of the oil with a slotted spoon.
Garnishing:
- Boil the sugar and water on medium heat until syrup is about one thread or 230 degrees (Fahrenheit) on a candy thermometer.
- Dip the gujias into the syrup making sure they are coated with syrup all around.
- Place the gujias on a wire rack to allow the extra syrup drain.
- Garnish the gujias with sliced almonds and pistachios while the gujhias are still moist with syrup.
- Gujias will be dry in an hour.
- Gujia can be stored in airtight container up to a month.
Hi Ms Manjula,
I have made your peda recipe using khoya method you showed in that video. It turned out great. However this recipe my “khoya”: milk-powder and heavy whipping cream never reached the “runny” consistency. I am so bummed. I kep cooking the mix thinking it will eventually reach that consistency, now after 12 minutes it just getting dryer by the second and also does not look pale yellow any more. What could be wrong? The consistency you showed is so obvious that there is no way I missed it in my pan. What do I do now? Please help!!!!
hi mam,
i just wanted to know whether we can use the milk powder tht we use for kids i.e;formula powder….
Baby formula will taste very different AND don’t forget that baby formula (powder or liquid) is nutritionally formulated for infants and toddlers, not adults. It is not a cooking substitute.
You are the BEST Manjula Aunty !!!
Thank you so much for your recipes…
Thanks Manjula,
I have done my ghujiya very tasty using milk powder
I used mlk instead of water to knead the dough for the crust.
Gujias turned out extra tasty.
Can you please tell which milk powder do you use ? All I could find is “Gret value” Instant dry milk? Is that it ? Thanks.
Hi CS,
You can buy the dry milk powder in any grocery store in the same section where they keep baking products.
Milk powder is the same as dry milk. It’s simply milk that has been dehydrated.
Milk powder is a big mystery to me… I made gulab jamun the way you showed, it turned out to be a disaster. I soeaciially bought the milk poweder and all.. frist time I tried , it melted in the oil.
I tried again with less butter and they turned out to be hard rock balls…
Any ideas what are we doing wrong.. Hope you are showng all the steps and listing all the tips to make them. Thanks
CS, Indian sweets are NOT easy to make despite how simple they seem. Don’t get discouraged. Jaya
how to slice almonds thin?do you use a special tool?
You buy them ready-sliced in the supermarket (baking section, usually) or at an Indian grocery. I wouldn’t try to slice them myself, because that’s a recipe for a trip to the emergency room.
hi aunty can we replace cream with milk
Hi Madam,
I try to make gujias, for the filing i tried as per your instruction only but you shown in your video when you stirring cream with milk powder it starts leaving the sides of the frying pan. But when i tried to do it, its not coming like that. after few minutes it made solid.
Plz tell me clearly how to make.
Gs