It’s that time of the year when garrulous laughter and colourful, happy faces dot every street in the country, and music fills the air. A time of joy and merry-making, Holi is marked with a sumptuous spread of sweet and savoury snacks. Here is a simple, no-fuss recipe for gujiya that you can try this holi.

Ingredients:

For the pastry (outer covering):

-        1 cup whole wheat flour + 1 cup all purpose flour
-        1/4 tsp salt
-        1/3 to 1/2 cup water or as required
-        2 tbsp ghee

For the khoya stuffing:
-        1 cup khoya (tightly packed) or 200gms to 220 gms khoya
-        1/2 tablespoon ghee
-        1/3 cup chopped dry fruits (10 cashews, 10 almonds, 10 pistachios, ½ tbsp raisins)
-        1/3 cup powdered sugar or as required
-        1/2 tsp cardamom powder

Method:

1.    Preparing the pastry:
Take the flours and salt in a bowl. Heat ghee in a small pan and pour this into the flour mixture. Knead the mixture to form a breadcrumb-like texture. Add water in parts and knead till the dough is firm. Cover the dough with a moist cloth and keep aside for 30 minutes.

2.    Preparing the stuffing:
Crumble and grate the khoya. Melt 1/2 tbsp ghee in a pan on a low flame and add the crumbled or grated khoya into it. Stir the khoya continuously on a low heat. Cook it till it begins to gather around itself. Switch off the flame and let the stuffing cool down completely. Now, add powdered sugar, chopped dry fruits and cardamom powder. Mix well and keep the stuffing aside. Check the taste and add more sugar if needed.

3.    Assembling and preparing gujiyas:
Divide the dough into two parts. Roll each part into a log and slice it into equal parts. Then roll each part in your palms to make balls and place all the balls in the same bowl. Cover with a moist kitchen towel.

Dust the rolling board lightly with some flour. Roll each ball with the rolling pin to a small circle of 4 to 5 inches in diameter. Don't add too much flour while rolling. Apply water all over the circumference. Place the khoya filling on one side of the circle, keeping edges empty.

Carefully, bring together both the edges and join. Then gently press the edges. With a small gujiya cutter or pizza cutter, trim the extra edges. It’s best to make pleated design at the edges. This way, the stuffing does not come out while frying and the gujiyas look good too. Just keep on folding and twisting the edges till the end.

Prepare all gujiyas and cover with a moist napkin so that the dough does not dry out.

4.    Frying method for gujiya:
Heat oil for deep-frying in a kadai or pan. Gently slide the gujiyas in oil. Fry them on medium flame till golden.

Drain on kitchen paper towels. Once they are cooled completely, you can store them in an air-tight box.