What is Gujiya

Gujiya is a sweet deep fried dumplings, native to the Indian subcontinent, made with  maida(all purpose flour) stuffed with a mixture of sweetened khoa (milk solids; also called mawa) and dried fruits, and fried in ghee. 

Several regional cuisines in India feature dishes similar to gujia, but with different fillings. In my region, filling is made of grated coconut and jaggery. In some places semolina is roasted with ghee, dry fruits and sugar to make the fillings. Now a days chocolate flavoured gujiua is also prepared for the choco lovers.

My version of gujiya

I love these sweet fried dumplings in any form, love to have them on any festival. As I am living in Middle East for several years, and hence the flavour of middle eastern cuisine has influenced my cooking. So I tried making popular indian gijiya with middle eastern flavour.

Kunafa is a popular Middle Eastern dessert and I made these gujiyas with the flavour of kunafa. To make my gujiyas more cruncy and flaky, I made the outer part in a different way which came out very nice and beautiful. I hope you will like this new version of gujiya.

Recipe

Preparation time: 40 min

Resting time: 60 min

Cooking time: 15 min

Serves: 12

Difficulty level: medium

Ingredients

For the dough(outer layering)

• 1 cup all purpose flour(maida)
• 2 tbsp cold butter
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• As required cold water to make the dough

For the inner dough

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour(maida)
• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon cold water
• 1 pinch salt

For the stuffing/filling

• 1 cup laccha sewai
• 1/3 cup mozzarella
• 2 tablespoon chopped pistachios
• 1 tablespoon milk powder
• Light sugar syrup as required
• 1 tablespoon sweetened condensed milk

For the light sugar syrup

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• Few drops of kewra water/cardamom powder

For garnishing

• Icing sugar
• Chopped pistachios
• Dry rose patels

Method

For the outer layer

Mix together 1 cup maida, cold butter, sugar and salt.

Mix well to make a crumbly texture. If you hold some mixture in your palm and press, then the mixture should form ball.
With cold water make a semi soft smooth dough.

Cover and keep aside for an hour.

For the inner layer

Mix together maida, vegetable oil sugar and salt.

Rub with your finger tips to mix everything evenly. You should be able to make a crumbly ball out of the dough.

With approximately 1 tablespoon of cold water, make a rough ball.
Dont knead the ball. It should be like hard pie dough.

Cover and keep aside for an hour.

Make the filling

For that roast the laccha sewai to golden brown. No need to add in any ghee or oil during roasting as laccha sewai has already ghee with it.

When the laccha sewai, becomes crisp and golden brown ,add mozzarella and stir well until cheese gets melted.

Remove from heat. Also add in some crushed nuts of your choice , condensed milk and milk powder. Stir well.

For the sugar syrup mix together sugar and water and bring to boil.
Cook until sugar gets melted.Thin sugar syrup is ready.

Add in sugar syrup according to your requirement to the prepared filling and mix well. This will give sweetness to your fillings. Set aside.

After resting time, take out both the dough.

Make 4 patties out of the outer layer.

Also make 4 small balls out of the inner dough.

Take 1 patty from the outer layer, spread with your hand and then place 1 ball from the inner layer dough and seal with the outer layer.

Make again a patty and with a rolling pin, roll to make an elongated disc. No need to make it very thin. Thickness should be like paratha.

Now roll from one side of the disc to make a log.

Again roll the log to make an elongated disc.

Roll again like before to make a log. This will help to make the layers.

Now cut the log into 4 portions to make 4 pinwheel patties.

Take one patty and roll to make an oval shaped roti (little thick)

Stuff 1 tablespoon of kunafa filling and fold to give gujiya shape.

Seal the edges with your fingers to give some patterns. You can also use gujiya mould to make the gujiyas.

Repeat the process to make all the gujiyas. I make 12 gujiyas out of the entire dough.

Heat sufficient oil in a yok or kadhai, and fry the gijiyas in low heat until they become golden brown and crisp.

Like this make all the gujiyas and place them in kitchen towel. I am garnishing them with chopped pistachios, dry rose patels and sugar dust.

When gijiyas are cool down completely, store them in airtight container and serve when you like. They can be stored at room temperature for 3-4 days.

So prepare them ahead of Holi,Eid or any other festival and enjoy.