Floral Chocolate cake- Shewta Shah
Gujias in Hindi ,Kranji in Marathi ,are fried pastries filled with coconut or khoya (thickened solidified milk) and dry fruits. Gujias are called Pedakiya in Bihar. Pedakiyas are very popular in Bihar and are relished by everyone. There are two types of pedakiya made in Bihar – One with “Suji/ Rawa” ( Semolina)) and other with Khoya. In Suji pedakiya – Suji is roasted in Ghee with sugar, cashew, grated coconut, cardamom, raisins and other nuts and then deep fried in Ghee. In Khoya pedakiya – pure Khoya is mixed with nuts and sugar and then deep fried. “Karanji” (Marathi) in Maharashtra, “Ghughra” (Gujarati) in Gujrat, “Karachika” (Tamil) in Tamil Nadu “Karjikayi” (Kannada and Telugu) in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are all fried sweet dumplings are made of wheat flour and stuffed with dry or moist coconut delicacies. In Goa Goan Hindus prepare it on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthiandand are known as Nevris. In nutshell we can call it Purley an Indian SWEET SNACK.
In Northerns part of India ,ot is common to prepare Gujiya during Holi ( Festival) But why During Holi.. Why not during Diwali….What the Hell??? During these days of Durga Puja, Diwali and all the upcoming festivals I was actually craving for Gujias. Fortunelty Rajshree got it made and brought the same to Office…It was sheer Megic…delicious…..
Gujias slightly vary from region to region. In the Northern parts of India, the filling is made with sweetened khoya and dry fruits & nuts while in South Western States, it consists of shredded coconut, nuts and jaggery/unrefined cane sugar or sugar. . A lot of times Gujias are further coated in sugar syrup to form a glazed coating and add to the sweetness.
Though the preparation of Gujiya requires a little time and efforts, the taste of this delicious recipe is worth it. The best thing about Gujiya is that it can be used as a sweet dish, dessert as well as snacks. It can also be preserved for along time without any effort.
The packaging of a gujhia is very much like that of a Samosa, however the gujhia has a very distinct shape. The gujhia is filled with a mixture of grated and roasted dry fruits,Khoya, coconuts and to add a grainy texture, a little suji (coarse ground wheat flour).Several regional cuisines in India feature dishes similar to gujia, but with different fillings.
On my personal request Rajshree shared the recipe promptly … I am just reproducing the same….Enjoy….
| Baked Gujiya |
Preparation time : 1 Hr
Cooking time : 30 min.
Serving Size : 40 to 45 Gujiyas
Equipment : Microwave, Microwave safe bowl.
Ingredients :
- Mugh dal – ½ Kg, coarsely powdered
- Powdered Sugar – ½ Kg
- All purpose Flour (Maida) – ½ Kg
- Desi Ghee – as required
- Dry Fruits (Badam, Cashewnuts ) – roasted and crushed
- Cardamoms – powdered
- Brown currants (Kishmish)
- Milk
- Rawa
Process:
- In a Microwave safe dish, mix Mugh dal powder and melted ghee till the powder soaks in ghee completely.
- Roast this mixture in microwave step by step as given below, stirring at intervals:-
- Full power for 3 minutes.
- Repeat full power for 3 minutes.
- Reduce to medium power and roast for every 2 minutes each till the mixture is roasted properly (nearly 20 minutes).
- Let the mixture cool down.
- Add the powdered sugar, cardamom powder, crushed dry fruits, kishmish and mix well.
- Make a tough dough of maida in the proportion of 1 cup maida, 2tbsp of rawa & ghee each and knead the whole quantity of maida with required quantity of milk.
- Keep it aside closed for half an hour and make gujiyas with the help of mould.
- Brush gujiyas on both the side with ghee and bake them for 15 mins at 180deg C.