This is the BEST gujiya I’ve ever had. Gujiya is an Indian dessert enjoyed on the festival of Holi typically. It consists of a pastry dough on the outside which is filled with a mixture of evaporated milk along with some nuts, seeds and coconut giving it a rich flavor. The dough is wrapped around few spoons of this mixture in a semicircular shape using a gujiya mould with the edges sealed using a sticky gum. These are then deep-fried or baked to give the most delicious Indian dessert you’ll ever have. This is my grandmother’s recipe which I’ve seen her spent hours for in the kitchen making hundreds of gujiya, all of them turning out perfect every year on Holi!
Ingredients you’ll need to make gujiya:
- Milk for khoya/khoa/mawa: You’ll want to evaporate 1L of milk by simmering it for around 2-3 hours which will result in a dry crumbly mixture eventually which will weigh 250g.
- Demerara sugar (bura): This is different from your regular granulated or powdered sugar. Demerara sugar is known to add crunchiness to your bakes.
- Calumpang nuts (chironji/charoli): These are seeds from a nut tree typically found in India. Along with a lot of health benefits, they taste delicious in gujiyas. If you are unable to find them, you can leave them out.
- Melon seeds (minge): These are typically seeds of a muskmelon. They have a greyish-white shell and are typically oval shaped. They add a sweet & nutty flavor to the gujiya mixture.
- Dessicated coconut (nariyal kus or gola kus): Dessicated coconut goes incredibly well with evaporated milk. These two ingredients along with demerara sugar are the secret to the marvellous mixture a gujiya has.
- All-purpose flour: I highly recommend weighing all your ingredients using a kitchen scale for accurate recipe results. If you’re using cups, don’t scoop your cup into the flour. Spoon the flour into your cup and level it off with the back of a knife.
- Oil: You can use either vegetable oil or canola oil. I do not recommend using olive oil, as it adds a strong flavor of it’s own and changes the taste. This helps your pastry dough to be soft.
- Water: You will room-temperature water for both the dough and the sticky gum. Add water very little at a time and only add as much as you need depending on the consistency of your dough and gum.
Some Notes:
The most common mistake made is not sealing the gujiyas properly or over stuffing them with the sweet mixture. Both of these result in gujiyas falling apart when deep fried. Stuff only as much filling as your gujiyas can hold. When you close your mould your filling should not fall outside. Use enough amount of gum on the edges for them to seal together. Make sure you press the edges of the mould forcing the gujiya to seal before taking off the extra dough outside the mould. When you open your mould finally all edges of your gujiyas should be properly sealed.
Yes you can. Preheat the oven to 390ºF (200ºC. Coat the gujiyas with oil evenly using a brush and place them on a baking tray lined with a parchment paper. Bake the gujiyas for 25 minutes until golden-brown in color. Use an oven thermometer to make sure your oven is at the right temperature. Transfer them to a wire rack and let them cool. You can have some of them hot too, they taste delicious. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for upto a week.
Your pastry dough should not be too thin or too thick. I roll mine around 1-2mm thick. Very thick dough will taste more like plain dough. You want your gujiyas outer to be thin for the best flavor. Roll them thin enough for you to be able to pick them and transfer to the mould without them breaking or creating a hole in between.
Other recipes you’ll love:
- Bakery-Style Cinnamon Streusel Muffins
- Cherry Swirl Oreo Crust Cheesecake Bars
- Single Layer Chocolate Ganache Buttermilk Cake
Some other tips to make this recipe:
- You can also bake these gujiyas alternatively. Preheat the oven to 390ºF (200ºC. Coat the gujiyas with oil evenly using a brush and place them on a baking tray lined with a parchment paper. Bake the gujiyas for 25 minutes until golden-brown in color. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool before storing.
- Make sure not to over stuff your gujiyas and seal them properly using appropriate amount of gum.
- I highly recommend investing in an oven thermometer (if baking) and a kitchen scale. Baking at accurate temperatures and weighing your ingredients correctly ensure that you can replicate the recipes perfectly and enjoy the best flavors.
Happy Baking!
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The BEST Gujiya
- Total Time: 5 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 45 gujiyas 1x
Description
This is the BEST gujiya I’ve ever had. Gujiya is an Indian dessert enjoyed on the festival of Holi typically. It consists of a dough on the outside which is filled with a mixture of evaporated milk along with some nuts, seeds and coconut giving it a rich flavor. The dough is wrapped around few spoons of this mixture in a semicircular shape using a gujiya mould with the edges sealed using a sticky gum. These are then deep-fried or baked to give the most delicious Indian dessert you’ll ever have.
Ingredients
Sweet Filling
- 1L whole (full-fat) milk or 250g khoya (also known as khoa, mawa or evaporated milk)
- 250g demerara sugar (bura)
- 20g calumpang nuts (chironji or charoli)
- 50g melon seeds (minge)
- 100g dessicated coconut (nariyal kus or gola kus)
Pastry Dough
- 500g all-purpose flour (maida)
- 6 teaspoons vegetable or canola oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup (60ml) water, more if required
Sticky Gum
- 2 teaspoon all-purpose flour (maida)
- ½ teaspoon water or as required
For deep frying:
- 2–3 cups of vegetale or canola oil
Instructions
For making khoya/khoa/mawa:
- This is nothing but evaporating whole or full fat milk until it is crumbly while continuously stirring it. It is a tedious process and you can always get khoya from a store, however we always prefer to prepare it ourselves at home.
- Take 1L of whole or full-fat milk in a heavy bottomed wide top container. The wide top helps milk evaporate faster. Let the milk simmer on medium heat on a stovetop for around 2.5 hours, stirring as often as possible.
- Stirring is necessary as the milk might start sticking to the bottom of your container otherwise causing it to burn.
- Once the mixture is crumbly and completely dry, transfer it to a large bowl and let it cool. Again transfer it to the stove top in a vessel and let it fry on medium heat while continuously stirring it for about 1 minute. This will help it not stick together and form lumps.
- Remove from the heat.
For making the sweet filling:
- To the homemade or store-bought khoya (khoa) add the demerara sugar (bura), calumpang seeds (chironji/charoli), melon seeds (minge) and the dessicated coconut (nariyal kus/gola kus).
- Mix well using a spoon or your hands to combine. Set aside.
For the pastry dough:
- In a large bowl, add the flour, salt and oil. Mix together until the mixture is crumbly.
- Now start adding water around 2 teaspoons at a time and knead using your hands. You should have a soft and smooth dough which will not be too sticky or wet.
- Add more water than mentioned if you require. Cover the dough with a damp kitchen cloth to prevent it from drying and set aside.
For making the sticky gum:
- In a very small bowl, add 2 teaspoons of flour and around ½ teaspoon of water.
- Mix using your finger or a spoon. You should have a thick paste which has the consistency of a gum. Set aside.
For assembling:
- Take about half inch in diameter balls of the dough.
- Using a rolling pin, putting pressure only on the edges, roll them upto 2.5″ diameter.
- Hold the gujiya mould in your hand, opened. Transfer the rolled dough to the gujiya mould. Coat the dough along the edges of the mould using the sticky gum. Your can either use a brush or your finger for doing this.
- Add 2 tablespoons of mixture on top of the dough in the center, make sure it doesn’t touch the gum lining. You can slightly close your mould for doing this.
- Close the mould and apply pressure on the edges of the mould forcing the gujiya to be sealed. Peel off any extra dough that might be outside the mould. You can reuse this dough for another gujiya.
- Lastly, open the mould and you should have your gujiya shaped properly. Set aside and cover with another damp cloth.
- Once all the gujiyas are ready, let them sit for about 15-20 minutes covered with the damp cloth before you fry them.
- Heat 2 cups oil in a heavy bottomed wide mouthed saucepan until you see some steam coming out of it.
- Slowly slide some gujiyas, one at a time into the pan and let them fry around 4-5 together, flipping them when golden brown on one side.
- Remove them on a kitchen towel so that the extra oil gets absorbed. Repeat until all of them are fried.
- Serve hot or at room temperature. Enjoy!
- Store gujiya at room temperature in an airtight container for upto a week.
Notes
- You can also bake these gujiyas alternatively. Preheat the oven to 390ºF (200ºC. Coat the gujiyas with oil evenly using a brush and place them on a baking tray lined with a parchment paper. Bake the gujiyas for 25 minutes until golden-brown in color. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool before storing.
- Make sure not to over stuff your gujiyas and seal them properly using appropriate amount of gum.
- I highly recommend investing in an oven thermometer (if baking) and a kitchen scale. Baking at accurate temperatures and weighing your ingredients correctly ensure that you can replicate the recipes perfectly and enjoy the best flavors.
- Prep Time: 5 hours (including making khoya)
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Gujiya, Indian, Dessert
- Method: Deep fry
- Cuisine: Indian
Keywords: gujiya recipe, indian dessert, holi sweets
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