Gujhia

Place the all purpose flour, whole wheat flour and salt in a bowl. Heat ghee in a small pan or bowl until it melts and becomes warm. Pour the ghee on the flours.
First mix the ghee with a spoon. Then rub and mix the ghee with the flours, with your fingertips to form a bread crumb like texture. Add water in parts and begin to knead. The amount of water needed will depend on the quality and texture of the flour.
Knead the dough till firm and tight. Cover the dough with a moist cloth and set aside for 30 minutes.

Crumble or grate the khoya (mawa). Chop the nuts, raisins and set aside.
Melt ghee in a pan on a low heat. Add the crumbled or grated khoya. Stir the khoya continuously on a low heat. Cook the khoya, till it begins to gather around itself. Switch off the heat and place the pan on the kitchen countertop. Let the khoya stuffing cool completely at room temperature.
Later add powdered sugar, the chopped nuts, raisins, coconut, and cardamom powder. Better to sieve the powdered sugar if there are lumps. Mix everything well and keep the stuffing aside. Check the taste and add more sugar if you prefer.

Divide the dough into two parts. Make a medium log of each part and slice it into equal parts. 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 having 4 to 5 inches diameter. Don't add too much flour while rolling. If you can roll without the flour, then it is better.
With your fingertip or a pastry brush, apply water all over the circumference edge. Place about 1 to 1.5 tablespoon of the prepared filling on one side of the circle, keeping the edges empty. Don’t add too much of stuffing as it becomes difficult to shape gujhia and they may break in the oil. Carefully, bring together both the edges and join. Gently press the edges. You can use a pleating method as well if desired.
Prepare gujhia this way and arrange them on a plate or tray. Cover the gujhia with a moist napkin so that the dough does not dry out.

Heat oil for deep frying in a kadai or pan.
Gently slid the gujhia in oil. Just add a few pieces and don't overcrowd. At a time depending on the size of the pan/wok/kadai, you can fry 2 to 3 gujhia at a time on medium-heat. Turn them over carefully as fry the other side. Deep fry till they have become golden turning over as needed.
Drain on kitchen paper tissues. Fry all gujhia this way and once they are cooled completely at room temperature, store them in an air-tight box.

Course: Dessert

Region: Asia