Monday, July 7, 2008

Gujhiya - Traditional Indian Sweet Puff




Last month when I was hosting SWC- UP I wanted to publish this post and send as an entry for the event.

Due to lack of time I was unable to publish it in time and so I am publishing it now. As anyone from UP, Bihar would know Gujhiyas are sweet delicacies which are made speacially on Holi . In some households they are also made on the occassion of Diwali . In my house , gujhiyas are made once in a year on holi and that is what made them special and more desirable.
Somehow , holi never seems complete without gujhiyas and hence I always try to make atleast a few that time of the year . My mother would make 100's of gujhiyas and they would all vanish within a couple of days ..... in our household gujhiya making was always a group acitivity with each member of the family having a specific part . Me and my brother moved up the value chain from making small rounds of the pastry to be rolled out to actually rolling it into small circles , then stuffing and folding them . My dad would be the one to fry these beauties ..and I remember all of us happily eating the first two - three lots while "tasting" them . There is nothing to beat a hot gujhiya...fresh from the fryer :-) . When we were teenagers ....my mom even involved all of our friends , we would all sit on the floor working in total synchrony , till date our friends remember the gujhiya making project ..especially those who were from different parts of the country and hence didnot make gujhiyas at home.

Someday I also hope to have a small gujhiya making assembly line at my home and carry forward this tradition :-) . I hope some of you would try this recipe and enjoy this experience as much as we did ...

The recipe is as follows -

For the pastry -

Maida / all purpose flour - 1.5 cups
Dalda/ Shortening - 4-5 tb sp.
Water - as required

Mix the dalda with the flour and rub it with your fingers , till the flour becomes a little oily and stays firm & retains its shape when you squeeze it between your palms . Then add water ( cold water ) and make a semi - soft dough . Keep it covered with a wet cloth.
For the stuffing -

Khoya/ Mava - 1 cup
Semolina / sooji - 1/2 cup
Dry coconut powder - 1/3 -1/2 cup
Powdered sugar - 1 cup ( as per taste )
Cardamom powder - 1 t sp
Dry fruits - pistachios, almonds, raisins, etc etc
Oil - to deep fry






You can check out the method for preparing khoya/ mava here.
Dry roast the semolina till it becomes fragrant. Keep it aside . Then dry roast the coconut powder till all moisture dries out . Then mix all the ingredients together in a dry pan and keep it aside . You can check the sugar levels as per your taste , as the pastry sheet is bland you will need to have a little more sugar in the mixture , hence adjust accordingly.

Once, the filling is ready , make small balls of the dough and roll them into small rounds "pooris" 10 - 12 cm diameter. Always keep the remaining dough covered to avoid it from becoming dry.

Filling the gujhiya can be the tricky part , as one needs to be careful to close it well . You can use curry puff makers , special gujhiya moulds are also available in India .... they make the task quite easy and also ensure that all gujhiyas are of the same size.
If you are using a mould then keep the poori in the centre of the mould such that the edges are evenly covered from all the side . Put one tablespoon of filling in the centre of the poori. Then apply a paste made by dissolving 1 tsp all purpose flour in 3-4 tb sp of water along the edges . This step ensures that both the sides stick to each other properly. Once the edges are properly covered with this paste , fold the mould and the result would be half moon shaped puffs .

If you are not using the mould then you need to keep the poori on your left hand palm, then put the filling in the centre , apply the paste on the edges and fold one half over the other to make a half moon . You can then leave it like that and press the edges tightly together or you can make a serrated design like I did .
Once you have 9 - 10 ready pieces , deep fry them over medium heat till golden in colour. If you intend to fry all of them at one go then cover these ready to fry gujhiyas covered with a wet cloth.

You can eat them immediately and also store them for upto a week in an airtight container.

Enjoy !!

8 comments:

Cooking Station said...

yummo! they look so good.....tempting me to make them right away!

notyet100 said...

looks delicious...nice post,..felt good..

Rashmi said...

hi

mouthwatering Gujhiyas...
my mom used to prepare this for me on my birthday...i love it very much...

do visit my blog when u find time and leave ur comments and suggestions.
blog title: en vittu virundhu
url: http://envittuvirundhusamayal.blogspot.com

Sukanya Yogesh said...

The gujhiyas look absolutely mouth watering. I have tagged you. Please refer to my blog http://sukanya-keralaiyer.blogspot.com/ for further details.

anupriya said...

lovely....wish i cud try one!!

Trupti said...

Gujhiya looks very delicious one of my favorites

SPICE OF LIFE said...

thanks a lot everyone for the lovely comments.....
notyet100, LG,Trupti and amma .thanks for the comments and liking my post :-)

thanks Sukanya for tagging me ..I really appreciate it .

Rashmi I loved your whipped mixed fruit recipe...I am going to make it tonite only.

Unknown said...

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