As a child I loved playing with colours on Holi with my friends from the neighbourhood. We would get up early to get ready for the day’s festivities and visit each other’s homes to splash colours. However, for me the best part of Holi was the delicious food. Malpua, chhole, dahi bhalla and gujiya. One of my neighbours used to make amazing gujiya – flaky fried dough stuffed with khoya and dry fruits or sweetened coconut – and I, being her favourite, would always get a few extra gujiyas every year. In Jharkhand and Bihar, where I grew up, gujiyas were called Pedakiya. The dish has many names. It is called Ghughra in Gujarat, Karanji in Maharashtra, Karachika in Tamil Nadu and so on. However, this recipe for a gujiya comes with my twist. I feel Baklava (a Middle Eastern sweet) is a distant cousin of the Gujiya and I wanted to fuse the two to create this Baklava Gujiya.

  • Serves

    6

  • Cook Time

    55m

Ingredients

For Filling

  • 200 gm khoya
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup semolina
  • 1 tbsp powdered green cardamom
  • 2 tsp almonds, soaked and finely chopped
  • 2 tsp raisins, soaked and finely chopped

For Gujiya

  • 6 puff pastry sheets (store bought)

For Glazing

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup water

Preparation

  1. Take a deep pan and sauté the semolina and khoya together until the mixture turns golden. Keep it aside to cool.
  2. Add sugar, green cardamom, almonds and raisins to the cooled semolina and khoya mixture. Mix well.
  3. Cut rounds of puff pastry using a cookie cutter or a small bowl.
  4. Place stuffing on one half of the puff pastry circles, and fold the other half over to cover it. Seal the edges with water.
  5. Arrange these on a parchment sheet baking mat. Bake for 10-12 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 200 degree Celsius.
  6. Cool for 5 minutes and let it rest.
  7. In the meanwhile, cook the glaze by boiling water and sugar together.
  8. Once your sugar syrup is ready, drizzle them over the gujiyas and let them rest again for 5-8 minutes.
  9. Enjoy with a fruity and tangy dip to elevate the flavour.
Sadaf Hussain

Sadaf Hussain

Sadaf Hussain is the author of Daastan-e-Dastarkhan, a consultant chef based in Delhi, and a TEDx speaker. He was one of the top MasterChef India contestants in 2016. He is a passionate storyteller and his interest lies in discovering stories related to the origin of various kinds of food. He runs a food website, www.foodandstreets.com, and hosts online food shows that feature street food and rare dishes.

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