Gujia

I'm excited about this week's Blogging Marathon because my theme for this week is "Traditional Dishes" and since I have my mom here with me, I was really able to make the dishes the traditional way. Valli wanted us to choose 3 dishes from the 10 she listed. I had only made 1 or 2 dishes out these 10 and so I was game to try the rest.

With the help of my mom, I was able to make 3 sweet and savory dishes that we thoroughly enjoyed. So now you know that for the next 3 days there are going to be calorie-rich delicious treats on my site.

For the first day, I have these sinfully delicious "Gujias" which are basically pastries filled with sweet, crunchy khova mixture and as if this is not sweet enough, they are then dipped in more sugar syrup. Juicy, decadent and absolutely heavenly, gujias are not for the weak-hearted and sugar-phobic. They are definitely a treat that are meant to be eaten once in a while.

I used a combination of recipes from Majula's Kitchen and Padma's Plantain Leaf.

Ingredients:

For the Pastry:

All purpose flour/ Maida - 1cup

Semolina/ Sooji - 2tbsp

Oil - 2tbsp

Salt - a pinch

For the Filling:

Khova - 2cups, grated (I used Nanak brand frozen khova)

Sugar - ½cup
Dry Grated Coconut - ¼cup
Almonds & Cashews - ¼cup, finely chopped
Ground Cardamom - ½tsp

For the Sugar Syrup:
Sugar - 1cup
Water - ¼cup

 

Method:

• Make the Pastry: Mix all the ingredients under pastry into a smooth and firm dough adding enough lukewarm water. Cover with damp cloth and set aside for at least 15 minutes.
• Make the Filling: Lightly fry khova, remove from heat and add all the other ingredients. Mix well and set aside.
• Make the Sugar Syrup: Combine water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for a minute or until the mixture thickens a little. Keep the syrup on very low flame and ready for the gujias.
• To Make Gujias: Heat oil for deep frying in a wide mouthed pan. 
• Divide the dough into small golf size balls. Roll each roll into a disc. Put about 1-2 tbsp filling in the middle. Wet the edge with water and fold the dough over the filling. Press the edge close and use a fork to mark the closed edge to ensure that the filling doesn't leak out when frying.
• Gently add the prepared gujias in hot oil and fry on medium low flame until golden brown on all sides. Remove and drain on a paper towel. Then put them in the sugar syrup for 2-3 minutes, flip around so they are evenly coated with sugar syrup. Remove and let cool before digging in.

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 23.