In this post, I am teaching how to make soft chashni mawa gujiya recipe (gujiya coated in sugar syrup) with lots of helpful tips and step by step pictures. This is a 2 in 1 recipe since you can use the same recipe for making regular mawa gujiya, just don’t coat them in sugar syrup. In north india, gujiya is served with thandai or falooda on Holi. Spring has hit full force here in the Vegas. With spring knocking, it means that Holi, the indian festival of colors is fast approaching. Growing, Holi used to be one of the most busy time at home. I remember how lunch & sometimes dinner was cooked early so that a good part of the day could be spent in making gujiyas.We are talking hundreds of such homemade pastries. She started the preparations a fortnight ahead. We would gift gujiyas boxes to neighbors and all the house help were also given these as a token. Gujiyas are a must for us on festival of Holi.
What is Gujiya
Gujiya is a traditional, deep fried indian sweet popular on festivals like Holi and Diwali. It is a flaky, deep-fried pastry stuffed with a mixture of khoya (reduced milk), grated coconut, dried fruits, and nuts. In shape and form, gujiya look similar to sweet empanadas or sweet fried dumplings. The outer shell is made from all-purpose flour or semolina giving it a khasta (flaky and crispy) texture. In our family, we also call them mewa gujiya. Mewa = dry fruits & nuts. They have different names such as ghughra, karanji, chandrakala in different parts of India. Like most traditional indian sweets, gujiyas need time and patience. There are few steps involved in this gujiya recipe but the good news is that you can make them 3-5 days ahead.
Ingredients Needed
For The Pastry Dough
Maida or All Purpose Flour/plain flour Ghee - For the rich and nutty aroma and a flaky crust. Water Ghee or Oil for deep frying - I deep fry in oil with a few tablespoons of ghee mixed in.
Mawa & Coconut Filling
Mawa - Mawa/Mava or Khoya is reduced milk solids that remain after milk is cooked and reduced for hours until all its liquid evaporates. It is an extremely tedious process to make mawa using this method, however you can make instant khoya at home using milk powder and heavy cream. If you don’t want to make at home, not to worry, these days good quality mawa is available at indian stores and you can use it. Dessicated Coconut Mixed Nuts - Almonds, raisins(my favorite), cashews, charoli/chironji etc. Sugar Powder (Boora) - Add ½ cup sugar to a grinder and grind to a fine powder. You can use store bought boora if available. Dont using powered or confectioners sugar from baking aisle. Green Cardamom Powder
For Sugar Syrup
Granulated Sugar Water Few Saffron Strands
How To Make Gujiya
There are 5 key steps involved in making chashni wali gujiya. Let’s see them one by one.
Make The Gujiya Dough
Make The Sweet Filling
Later in the post, I am also sharing how to make gujiya filling without mawa.
Stuff & Shape The Gujiyas
Tip:- Use a cookie cutter if you face problem in rolling rounds. Tip :-Do not overstuff the filling else when you fry the gujiyas will puff up too much and filling will come out.
Deep Fry the Gujiya
How to check the oil temperature without thermometer? Add a small dough portion into the hot oil and if the dough rises slowly to the surface without sizzling, the oil is at right temperature. If it comes sizzling up, oil is very hot. If the dough sits at the bottom, it is not hot enough. Note :- Do not fry on high heat else your gujiyas will have puffs and they will be brown on outside but raw in the center.
Prepare Chashni (Sugar Syrup)
Variations
Gujiya Filling Without Mawa /Vegan Gujiya You can easily make gujiya filling without mawa. My grandmother made suji ki gujiya for variety and they are quite delicious. Substitute mawa with fine semolina in the filling recipe. Roast fine semolina in ghee to light brown and mix with nuts, sugar and green cardamom. To make vegan gujiya Use oil instead of ghee for dough, filling & frying. Roast the semolina in vegan butter or coconut oil.
Recipe Tips
Mawa :- When you are making the mawa filling , do not let the mawa brown. Just when crumbled mawa softens, take it off the heat. When we fry the gujiyas, mawa will heat up too becoming brownish in color. If your mawa filling is brown to begin with, it will turn bitter/get spoiled when you deep fry gujiya. Keep the dough and shaped gujiya covered with a damp cloth at all times. Use a wide and heavy pan or kadai for frying. Make sure that there is enough oil so that the gujiyas are completely covered while frying. Oil Temperature :- Oil temperature while deep frying is one of the most important factor. Fry the gujiya on low medium heat(always). It takes patience but its worth to get the best looking and tasting gujiyas. If you will add them to hot oil, the outer layer will get puffy all over. Troubleshooting :-If a gujiya opens while frying, immediately take it out with a slotted spoon and you will have to discard it. Switch off the stove, strain the oil or ghee that you were using for frying and then start frying again. You can easily double or triple this recipe.
Serving & Storing Gujiya
My recipe makes about 12 chashni gujiya. If you plan to eat them over a week, you can store them refrigerated. However, if you want to store the gujiya longer, you can store the fried gujiya (without dunking in sugar syrup) in an airtight container for up to a month. Serve gujiya with a chilled glass of thandai.
