Sweet Ghughra

Ghughra aka Gujiya or Karanji in other parts of India are a popular stuffed crust sweet. Although most people in India make Gujiya sweet during holi, Gujaratis (people from Gujarat, kutch and Saurashta) mostly make it during Diwali. In fact, it plays an important role during Diwali Annakut celebration.

Here are some of the pictures from Diwali and Annakut Gujiya and other prasad made by
my mother and me.

Ghughra in Gujarati means rattle. Since this crusty sweet is stuffed with the mixture of nuts and the shape and design are very playful, we call it Ghughra. Every gujarati family prepares a big jar of ghughras.

While many culture stuff the Gujiyas/ghughras/karanjis with Milk mawa or coconuts with nuts, we stuff them only with nuts and sugar.  Although you can fry them in oil or even back them, but the true mithai fun is in frying in ghee. The aroma and flavor is just delicious and I am sure that is the reason why my friends love it the most!

Ingredients (Makes 10 Ghughras)

1 cup all purpose flour

2 tbsp. ghee

1/2 cup cashews

1/2 cup almonds

1/2 cup pistachios

1/2 cup raisins

3/4 cup regular sugar

1/2 tsp. cardamom powder

Ghee or oil for frying.

• In a bowl mix flour and 1 tbsp. ghee well. Using some water make a stiff dough and knead the dough well. Keep it aside for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile coarsely powder nuts and cardamom. Keep it aside.
• Heat 1 tbsp, ghee in a pan. Add coarsely powdered nuts and roast for a minute or two. Turn off the heat. Add raisins and sugar and mix well. Keep it aside.
• Divide the dough into 10 equal parts. 
• Flatten each part and roll it to form a 4 inch disc. Take it in your palm cavity. Fill it with around 2-3 tbsp. of nut filling. 
• Bring the sides together and press the sides to fuse them. make a design using fork or ghughra cutter or the traditional pinch and fold pattern.
• Heat ghee, fry ghughra in medium hot ghee or oil on medium heat to slowly brown. You should brown ghughra slowly so that it can crisp well and store it long.
• Enjoy!

Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe:

In a bowl mix flour and 1 tbsp. ghee well. Using some water make a stiff dough and knead the dough well. Keep it aside for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile coarsely powder nuts and cardamom. Keep it aside.

Heat 1 tbsp, ghee in a pan. Add coarsely powdered nuts and roast for a minute or two. Turn off the heat. Add raisins and sugar and mix well. Keep it aside.

Divide the dough into 10 equal parts. 

Flatten each part and roll it to form a 4 inch disc. Take it in your palm cavity. Fill it with around 2-3  tbsp. of nut filling.

Bring the sides together and press the sides to fuse them. make a design using fork or ghughra cutter or the traditional pinch and fold pattern.

Here is my video showing traditional pinch and fold pattern of ghughra.

Heat ghee, fry ghughra in medium hot ghee or oil on medium heat to slowly brown. You should brown ghughra slowly so that it can crisp well and store it long.

Enjoy the festivities!!

Gulkand Gujiya

 

Spring is almost here and my rose plants are filled with buds. Even before the Chaitra month according to the Hindu calendar begins, my very fragrant Chaitri Gulab or spring roses are blooming. As we celebrate holi, the festival of colors welcoming spring...the sight of blooming gulabi/pink roses brings smile on my face. I feel so fortunate to have owned these plants and watching the roses bloom in our yard.

Traditionally, holi which is the festival to celebrate spring and colors would be celebrated by using flower petals. Rose petals were popularly used to make natural holi colors by drying and grinding them into powder or just using them fresh. Roses and flowers are used in abundance at homes and in temples decorating temples and Idols of God and Goddesses with floral garlands. Eventually traditional Eco-friendly holi turned into holi with dirty chemicals and harsh colors that would stain the skin, hair, and nails. The stain would be difficult to remove too. These colors not just have adverse effects on the person,  but are also detrimental to the environment. As educated citizen, I feel we all should enjoy this festival as it symbolizes color, best wishes, and love from friends and family. Applying just a little color on the loved ones and friends is Shagun/Good Luck and fun, and while having fun we all need to respect each other and the environment. I learned to make simple holi colors at home using cornstarch and food color. My friends love it and it is safe for little children to enjoy it too.

Make Eco-friendly holi colors at home.

Click on the picture below.

Last season my husband and I experimented with making gulkand with homegrown organic roses. We tried different techniques and checked different recipes online to get the perfect blend. We left it in the sun the entire summer for rose petals and sugar to naturally cook and yield Gulkand.

This season while the roses are blooming and everyone is making gujiyas to celebrate the spring and holi festival, I wanted to make gujiya stuffed with our homemade gulkand. And the exciting part is that they are in the shape of blooming roses. I have made rose dumplings before and I exactly knew the technique of creating these rose shaped gujiyas.

My husband loved these. He said it tasted very good and looked so pretty and festive for the season! So even of you make regular gujiyas, Make few of these to offer God and thank Him for spreading blooms in our lives.

Here is our homemade gulkand made with 

organic rose petals, organic sugar, fennel seeds, and cardamom powder.

Ingredients (makes 8-10 rose shaped gujiyas) 

2 cups all purpose flour/maide

2 tbsp. ghee.

1 cup coarsely ground nuts (cashews, almonds, pistachios)

1 cup gulkand

Ghee or oil for frying

• Mix flour and ghee well. Use around 3/4 cup water to make a stiff dough. Knead it well and leave it aside.
• Mix gulkand and coarsely ground nuts together. Gulkand can be homemade or store bought.
• Roughly divide the dough into 8 parts.
• Roll each part into an 8 inch diameter disc. Use a 3 inch diameter cookie cutter or mold to cut into equal disc.
• Place discs in a row slightly overlapping each other.
• Place gulkand and nut mixture in the center.
• Fold discs into half and then roll the entire row to obtain a rose bud. Press the bottom the seal it well. 
• Deep fry on low heat till the rose gujiya turns golden brown. I like to fry it in ghee as it imparts beautiful flavor and aroma to this traditional sweet.  You could also apply some ghee on it and bake it in a 400 F preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or till it turns golden brown.
• Dust a bit with powdered sugar and enjoy!

 Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe:

Mix flour and ghee well. Use around 3/4 cup water to make a stiff dough. Knead it well and leave it aside.

Mix gulkand and coarsely ground nuts together. Gulkand can be homemade or store bought.

Roll each part of dough into an 8 inch diameter disc. Use a 3 inch diameter cookie cutter or mold to cut into equal disc.

Place discs in a row slightly overlapping each other.

Place gulkand and nut mixture in the center.

Fold discs into half and then roll the entire row to obtain a rose bud. Press the bottom the seal it well.

Deep fry on low heat till the rose gujiya turns golden brown. I like to fry it in ghee as it imparts beautiful flavor and aroma to this traditional sweet.  You could also apply some ghee on it and bake it in a 400 F preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or till it turns golden brown.

Dust a bit with powdered sugar and enjoy!

Happy Gulabi Holi!

Coconut Chikki

As the winter sets in, we use lot of jaggery at home. So many delicious goodies made of jaggery. With iron and vitamin C, jaggery has qualities to keep the body warm. Mom would encourage us to have lot of ghee and gud during winters. Don't forget the gud, ghee and bajra rotla... It is the ultimate winter food for Gujaratis.

With Makar Sankranti time when we make lots of chikkis and brittles at home, Gud/jaggery is the important ingredient. Filled with nutritional values and benefits, jaggery is a must to use in every home. Every culture has their way of using jaggery... in tea, in chikki, in gujarati dal, puran poli, in masala gud from north and many more.

I was just watching one of Rujuta Diwekar's live video of Facebook where she explains how ghee and gud and important for our body specially during winter, and this recipe is a good example to incorporate these main ingredients in day-to-day life. I love her logical explanations just like what our parents told us and our ancestors did. This chikki can be a wonderful snack or dessert after a meal.

While it is chikki time, and remembering all the chikki flavors from Lanavala, I tried to make coconut chikki. Here is the recipe...simple, easy, and quick.

Ingredients
1 cup finely chopped jaggery
1 cup dessicated coconut
2 tsp. ghee

• In a heavy bottom pan, dry roast coconut for 1-2 minutes. Remove in a plate.
• Heat ghee and finely chopped or powdered jaggery in a pan. Let it melt completely. Check for hard ball consistency. Since I use organic powdered jaggery. Melting gud/jaggery is enough. I do not have to heat it a lot. If you are using very soft jaggery, you will have to stir it slightly longer after melting it to form a hard and crisp chikki.
• Add roasted coconut and stir well to mix.
• Remove in a greased pan and pat chikki tightly with a flat side of a greased bowl.
• Cut into pieces while still warm.
• Cool and remove the pieces from the tray. 
• Store in a container and enjoy!

  Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe:

In a heavy bottom pan, dry roast coconut for 1-2 minutes. Remove in a plate.

Heat ghee and finely chopped or powdered jaggery in a pan. Let it melt completely. Check for hard ball consistency. Since I use organic powdered jaggery. Melting gud is enough. I do not have to heat it a lot. If you are using very soft jaggery, you will have to stir it slightly longer after melting it to form a hard and crisp chikki.

Add roasted coconut and stir well to mix.

Remove in a greased pan and pat chikki tightly with a flat side of a greased bowl.

Cut into pieces while still warm.

Cool and remove the pieces from the tray.

Enjoy!!