Crispy Gunjiya - Melts in mouth.
#Holi without #Gunjiya is no Holi. I promised in my last post of Dahi Vada (click here to read) that my next post will be of Gunjiya, which is another "must-have" recipe for Holi. So, here I bring you this delicious recipe. I wish I could have posted this before Holi, but with all the celebrations, preparation and routine stuff, I got late; but, its better late than never. I hope this recipe comes in handy when you plan to make Gunjiya next Holi or even if you want to make them for just relishing them without any occasion.
Gujiya/Gunjiya is a deep fried dumpling, crispy from outside and soft from inside. It's filled with mixture of milk solids and dry fruits. There are a whole lot of variations that can be made to this amazing recipe, for example, you can fill them with semolina mixture instead of mawa/milk solids or you can bake/air-fry them instead of deep frying; but, I personally prefer making them the traditional way. And, it's for #Holi, so, why compromise on taste and not enjoy the authentic Holi special Gunjiya?
Back in India I used to help my mom fill Gunjiyas, as it's quite fun to do. So, you can make your little monsters feel they're special, by letting them help you. Please note, if you are making Gunjiya all alone, make lesser quantity, for it would take a decent time to do everything alone. My husband likes Gunjiya very much so he doesn't hesitate getting his hands sweet too :) to make it speedy. So let your husband and kids help you, and I am sure they'll enjoy it. And, what else can be better than having your family all together in the kitchen for such colorful festival?
This recipe will make 30-35 Gunjiyas.
List of Ingredients:
Maida/All purpose flour - 3 cups.
Ghee/Clarified Butter - Half cup (Melted).
Ricotta Cheese - 15 oz/425 gm pack.
Powdered Sugar - 1 cup ( you can adjust it as per you preference).
Cardamom - 8-10 (powdered without skin).
Almonds - 1/2 cup (chopped or crushed).
Pistachios - 1/3 cup (chopped or crushed).
You are free to use other dry fruits (Cashews, Raisins etc.)
Shredded Coconut - 1.5 cups (Unsweetened)
Warm water to knead dough - 1 cup.
Oil - to fry.
Easy to follow steps:
First, we'll start by making mawa/khoya. For Gunjiya, ricotta cheese is a great option. With such a great option neither you have to deal with store bought mawa which is super dry, nor you have to spend 5-6 hours keeping an eye on the stove to make mawa from milk. Buy a small pack of full fat ricotta cheese and your mawa will be ready in less then 20 minutes! How amazing is that?
Take out ricotta cheese in a heavy base or a non stick pan. Keep heat medium and stir it. After 7-8 minutes it will loosen. Continue stirring and scraping until all the moisture is released and mawa consistency is attained. Let it cool down and take mawa out in a bowl. Add shredded coconut, cardamom powder, almonds, pistachios, and sugar. Mix well and make sure that mixture does not have lot of moisture; it should feel dry when you mix it. If you feel mixture is moist, add some more coconut.
Now, we'll make the dough. To all purpose flour, add ghee and mix well. The dough should hold the shape and feel moist. If it doesn't, add 1-2 tbsp of ghee and mix well again. Now, start adding warm water slowly to knead a stiff/semi-soft dough. If dough is too soft, Gunjiya crust won't be crispy. Oops! I forgot to take a picture of the dough :(. Cover dough with a damp cloth and let it rest for 30 mins before kneading it again. Make sure there are no cracks in between. Now, make lemon sized balls from the dough and roll one with the help of a rolling pin. Do not use any extra oil to grease rolling pin. As you can see in the pictures below, I rolled it slightly bigger 'cause maida tends to shrink which will make Gunjiya crust thicker than you'd want.
Time to do the fun part, put the rolled sheet onto a mold. Fill in 2 tbsp of filling at the center and apply water to the edges of mold. Close it and press tightly making sure it is sealed properly, and remove the excess dough from the side. If you don't have a mold, roll a smaller sheet, fill 2 tbsp of mixture, apply water to the edges and close it by lifting one side and press the edges with the help of a fork. Fill all the Gunjiyas the same way and keep aside. Un-fried Gunjiya dumplings should be covered with a slightly-damp kitchen towel all the time while you are waiting to fry them. Same goes for the dough and dough balls.
Heat oil in a kadhai or a deep pan on low-medium heat. Lower the flame, oil should be moderately hot before you put Gunjiyas in it. Drop only 4-5 Gunjiyas at a time and fry them till they are golden brown from both the sides on medium heat. Take them out on a paper towel and garnish with some crushed pistachios, saffron strands and coconut powder. You can store these in air tight container for up to 2 weeks.
Tip: It is extremely important to keep turning Gunjiyas every 5-10 seconds while the're in the oil to avoid air pockets on 1 side. If you get late in turning the Gunjiyas, you won't be able to flip them, as one side will become heavier and will tend to flip down automatically. Also, it'll make the Gunjiyas swell from 1 side and it'll be pretty tough to get that side fried.
And, our melt-in-mouth Gunjiyas are ready!
Enjoy the treat! Happy Holi!
Hope you liked the recipe and didn't find it too difficult. Let me know if this got you high on flavors. Don't forget to subscribe for more updates. Leave a comment for any questions/thoughts. Talk to you in my next mouthwatering recipe!
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