Gujiya : Sweet Dumplings, North Indian Style

Gujiya is a widely consumed snack from North India, most predominantly made during 'Holi' celebrations. But this is such a simple yet delicious dish & so easy to make that we can have it any time! I have always wanted to try these @ home and finally here I am!

I had last posted on Dumplings : Indian style. Gujiya is exactly similar to that but for the base ingredients used. Let me share what makes a Gujiya and allow you to try it on your own :)

Ingredients:

For the cover

• Refined Flour (Maida) : 1 cup
• Sooji (Semolina / Rav): 2-3 tspn 
• Ghee:  3 tbspn
• Oil:  For Frying

For the stuffing

• Khoya (Mawa) : 2/3 cup grated  (Click khyoa @ home recipe)
• Sugar : 1 -1.5 cups (powdered)
• Raisins : 15-20
• Cashew : 15
• Almond: 10
• Any other dry fruits of your preference like Fig
• Cardomom Powder: 1/4 tspn
• Coconut: 2 tbspn (Desiccated or if fresh, grate & fry it till brown)
• Water: 1/4 cup (cold water)

Home-made Khoya (Mawa)

Method:

To make the dough for the Cover: Sift the flour and add it in a vessel. To this, add ghee and with fingertips mix it to make it like breadcrumbs

To this mix, add the water and knead it to a smooth dough (don't beat it much). Cover it with a damp cloth and leave it aside for a while.

To make the stuffing: 

1. If you are using fresh grated coconut (instead of desiccated), then first fry them to golden brown and keep aside.
2. In a non-stick pan, add the khoya (mawa). Saute it for 2-3 mts and remove it from fire. To this, add all dry fruits and coconut. Mix it and then add the powdered sugar. Mix it to make the final stuffing.

To make gujiya:

• Make small balls of the dough. 
• Spread each one to a poori-size. After you make 4-5 of these start filling them and frying. (Don't make all of them and allow them to dry in the air)
• Place the stuffing on one side of the poori. Moisten the edges of the poori with water. 
• Now, cover the stuffing with the remaining half of the poori to a half-moon shaped gujiya (Alternatively, you can use the mould available in market). Ensure the edges are firmly closed

• In a deep frying pan, heat oil. Ensure the oil is not very hot. Should be medium hot to fry gujiyas. Fry each till golden brown.
• Place them on a plate with tissues because they are deep fried in oil. Cool them & store them in air-tight container.

[Thanks to @Chef Sanjeev Kapoor for this recipe]

Khoya (Mawa) : @ Home

Khoya (Mawa) is an often used ingredient while making sweet dishes like halwa etc. Rather than looking in the market for pure and good quality khoya, you can make it @ home and refrigerate it.


I had taken 4 cups of milk to prepare this.
Pour this in a heavy bottomed vessel or a non-stick pan.
On a high flame let the milk come to boil
Immediately, reduce to medium flame and allow the milk to reduce to half with stirring
Slowly it will boil down to a condensed form (all moisture is lost) with continuous stirring. (Ensure to scrape the sides constantly)
Home made fresh khoya is now ready

Rava Laddu : Suji ka Ladoo

Its in the air! Yup, the onset of the Festive Season in India has begun... Along with celebrations, its time to treat your taste budz and tummy with very minimal or no restrictions whatsoever :) What better reason for me to try my hands at attempting some sweet dishes; and ofcourse, I was inspired by @ Riddhika Ram's 2 sweet dishes that I happened to taste recently. But as a novice, I would like to begin with the basics; some easy to make but commonly liked and available sweet dishes. Though I am not such a fan for sweet dishes, I do want to learn these to treat those sweet toothed people in my life!

Beginning with the most simple and easy to make Rava Laddu or Suji ka Laddu. Flat 15-20 mts and the dish is ready.

Ingredients:

• Rava / Suji / Semolina : 1 cup
• Sugar: 1 cup (3/4 cup, if lesser sweet)
• Ghee:  1/4 cup
• Cardomom powder : 1-2 pinch
• Cashew nuts : A handful (I would like to add other dry fruits like badam / dry grapes etc)

Method:

1. In a tava, add 1 tbspn of ghee. As it melts, make small pieces of the cashew nuts and roast them till golden brown
2. Keep the fried cashews aside. In the same left over ghee, if any, roast the Rava / Suji. You can also dry roast them. I prefer to roast them till golden brown (approx 10 mts on medium flame)
3. Allow the roasted rava / suji to cool for 5 mts
4. Make a powder of the Cardomoms 
5. In a mixer, add the cardomom (if not powdered smoothly), roasted suji, and sugar. Grind them just a little less fine (max coarse as possible so that it neither bites too much nor its too soft that it becomes sticky)
6. Add the powdered mix in a big bowl. 
7. Melt the remaining ghee.
8. Add the ghee slowly to the powdered mix. Make a mix and start making the ladus when the mix is hot. 
9. Yummy ladus are ready to be tasted

Tip:

• You can sprinkle a little warm milk if you are not able to make the ladus easily - this is something that I read but never tried

What went wrong:

• During my first attempt, I didn't roast the suji enough. So, it had the raw feel when the ladus were made
• I included Dried Grapes & Badam. While badam will go well, at times dried grapes may not synch in because it could be sour at times. Many may not like that flavor in rava ladu.

Kuzhi Paniyaram : A spicy snack

Often when we get bogged down by the regular snacks or on a rainy evening or just for a want of change, we feel the need to try a different snack - if something hot & spicy is what you are looking for and that too in a jiffy, here is one such lip smacking dish : the famous from granny's kitchen, kuzhi paniyaram : the spicy variety

We have a lots to thank our grannys' for their tips & tricks, which are endless. The main ingredient to make the paniyaram is just the left over & a bit sour idli / dosa flour :)

Preparation Time: 15-20 mts

Ingredients:

Idly / Dosa flour : Left over & a bit sour (else you can add a bit of sour curd) -- 2 cups 

Green Chillies:     4-5 chopped (As spicy as you like)

Black Pepper:      4-5 pepper (If you want to have a bit of pepper flavor; you can reduce the chillies if you add more of pepper)

Onion           :      1 Medium chopped finely

Ginger:                 1/2 " fine chopped

Coconut       :       A few pieces (finely cut into small pieces - I haven't added in this picture shown)

Salt              :       To taste (Only a spoon or so more to make for the sourness & added ingredients)

Curry Leaves / Coriander : A few (if rqd)

Oil :                      To Fry

Method:

1. In a bowl, mix the flour (sour curd if the flour is not sour), and all other ingredients mentioned above. 
2. Ensure consistency is semi-solid and not very watery
3. Keep the Paniyaram pan (best suited are the non-stick pans available in the market) on a medium fire
4. Add 1/2 a tspn of oil (lesser from second round)
5. As the oil heats up slightly, pour a spoon of flour each (should not be overflowing)
6. Close the pan and allow it to cook for 2-3 mts (max) - till they turn golden brown
7. Using a knife or a bread knife turn it around & allow it to cook till golden brown
8. Remove from fire & serve it hot with some interesting side dish : Chutneys / Sambhar 

    Tip: Alternatively, some do the following:

• In a tava, add 2 spoons of oil and add mustard. As it sputters, add the chillie, ginger, and onions. Cook till the onion turn pinkish and then add the coconut and finally the garnishing leaves.
• Remove from fire and add it to the flour & follow the remaining steps to prepare the paniyaram.

Chutney:

Onion & Tomato:

Onion: 2 medium

Tomatoes: 3-4 medium

Tamarind : A small peas size

Garlic:    4-5 pods
Red Chillie : 4-5 (splicy ones or you can also add red chillie powder)

Salt:     To taste

Fry each of the above in a spoon of oil separately and cool them before grinding the chutney (with salt). You can garnish it with curry leaves & coriander leaves; season it with spluttered mustard.

Coconut:

Coconut: 1 cup (grated or pieces that can be ground)

Fried gram : 1 tbspn (Potu kadalai)

Green Chillies: 3-4 (As spicy as you like)

Ginger:  1/2 "

Salt:     To taste

Grind them fresh (no fry rqd) with salt. Season it with spluttered mustard & udadh dhal and garnish with curry leaves.

Dumplings : Indian Style

Dumpling is a dish similar to the well-known Chinese dumplings or momos. In India, this is a dish made of primarily the Rice flour and varied styles such as sweet (alias Modaks), salted, fried etc. Its considered to be the favorite dish of Lord Ganesha and is made to celebrate his birthday (Ganesh Chaturthi). It is famously known as "Kozhukatai" in South India.

While I've tried making the sweet kozhukatai also known as Modak, this year I also tried to make the salted kozhukatai. Good start with all liking what they got to taste! This is joined effort of mine & aunt (sangee's mom) based on recipes read on the web :)

Sweet Kozhukatai / Modaks

Salt Kozhukatai 

Kozhukatai Flour 

Ingredients:

1. Rice Powder: 3 cups (for both sweet & Salt kozhukatai) - You can buy the readily available rice powder or soak raw rice in water for about an hour, drain, ensure all water is absorbed via a cloth, and powder it in a mixer. Seive it to get the nice powder.
2. Oil : Preferably Coconut oil - 2 tspn
3. Salt : 1/4 tspn
4. Water: 2.5 cups (same measuring cup as the one used for the powder)
5. Milk : 0.5 cup

Preparation:

1. In a pan, add water and heat it along with salt, oil, & milk.
2. As the water starts to boil, add the rice powder slowly & stirring constantly
3. As soon as the powder is mixed with the water, remove it from fire
4. Mix it with hand to make it into a smooth dough. Sprinkle water and a bit of oil to mix it smoothly. If its too watery, add more of rice powder.
5. Leave the dough covered with a cloth for a few minutes

Sweet Kozhukatai 

Stuffing Ingredients:

1. Coconut : grated 1 cup
2. Jaggery : grated 3/4 cup 
3. Cardomom powder : 1/4 tspn (2-3 pieces powdered)
4. Oil or Ghee : 2 tspn
5. Water : 1/2 cup or lesser to just dissolve the jaggery

Preparation:

1. In a pan, add water and the jaggery
2. When it dissolves completely, filter it to remove any sand or other particles
3. Add it back to the pan and allow it to start boiling
4. To this add the coconut, ghee, and cardomom powder continuosly stirring it
5. When it reaches a consistency like a ball with not sticking on to the pan, remove from fire

Salt Kozhukatai 

Stuffing Ingredients:

1. Uradh dhal (Uzhutamparupu): 1/2 cup soaked in water for 2-3 hours
2. Green Chillies: 2-3 (based on the spice level)
3. Salt : per taste
4. Curry leaves: 4-5 pieces
5. Oil : 2 tspn
6. Mustard seeds: 1/2 tspn
7. Coconut (optional) : 1-2 tspn
8. Asafotedia (hing) : a pinch

Preparation:

1. Grind the soaked & drained dhal with green chillie, salt & curry leaves. Ensure its coarse & don't use much water. Sprinkle water (if rqd) and grind
2. Take this mix, make it to into medium-sized balls & steam it (you can use idli plates by applying a bit of oil) - for 5-7 mts
3. Remove & break the cooked balls
4. In a pan, add oil. When its hot, add the mustard seeds. As they splutter, add this steamed mix along with hing and coconut.
5. Cook them for 2-3 mts & remove from fire.

Making the Kozhukatai (both sweet / salt)

1. Take a lemon-sized dough in hand, apply a bit of oil, and make it into a cup shape (shd be thin on the sides & deep in the middle)
2. At the center, place a lemon-sized sweet / salt stuffing
3. Close the cup into the desired shape - could be a round or horizontal or any other shape you can think of. Ensure the stuffing is fully covered & there is a balance between the dough & stuffing proportion.
4. Once all made, take the idli plates, apply a bit of oil / ghee in each plate & place these kozhukatais. 
5. Steam them for 5-7 mts. When done they appear transparent (you can just touch water and touch the kozhukatais by the fingers. If its not sticky its done)
6. Serve them hot

We get those kozhukatai makers (shown below) which will ease your job. Just ensure you apply oil before placing the dough inside it.

Enjoy delicious & healthy kozhukatais! These make for a good evening snack as well. These are 2 basic varieties. Soon planning to try on some more & will share. Till then, eat healthy & enjoy life!