Homemade Mawa Gujiya (Chashni Wali Gujiya)

A fool proof, detailed and authentic gujiya recipe that will guide you in making khasta(flaky) gujiyas at home. I have tested this recipe multiple times over the years and throughtout the post, I am sharing a lot of my learnings, tips and tricks.

Gujiya is a deep fried indian sweet (mithai) made by stuffing and then deep frying crescent shapped flour pastry stuffed with sweet mawa (reduced milk) filling. Optionally you can soak the fried gujiyas in sugar syrup to make glossy soft gujiya or chashni vali gujiya. On Holi, gujiya is served with thandai or falooda.

This is a 2 in 1 recipe since you can also use the same recipe for making regular mawa gujiya(just skip steps of coating them in sugar syrup).

With spring around the corner, Holi, the vibrant Indian festival of colors, is fast approaching. Growing up, it was one of the busiest times at our home. At my grandmother's house, in days leading up to Holi, we made hundreds of them. We gifted boxes to relatives, and house helps were also given as a token of appreciation.

What is Gujiya

Gujiya is a deep-fried pastry resembling sweet empanadas or fried dumplings. It is made with maida (all-purpose flour) and ghee, then filled with a sweet khoya (mawa) mixture. Khoya, or reduced whole milk solids, forms the base of the filling, which also includes desiccated coconut, chopped nuts, raisins, and aromatic spices. Known by different names across India, gujiya is also called ghughra, chandrakala, nevri, and karanji.

The key ingredient in the filling is khoya, which is now easily available in stores. My favorite is Vadilal khoa that you can usually find in the refrigerated or freezer section.

While khoya can be made at home, the process is quite time-consuming. It requires simmering milk on a low flame, stirring constantly until all the moisture evaporates, leaving behind thick, dry milk solids. If you're looking for a shortcut, I have a recipe for homemade instant khoya that saves you all that effort.

Like most traditional Indian sweets, making gujiyas requires time and patience. You will get better as you make them more and more. Personally, I have never tried baked or air-fried gujiya, as this is a once-a-year treat for us, and we prefer them the traditional deep-fried way.

My Top Tips For Making Perfect Gujiya

• Don't over cook the mawa - I learned this after a few failed attempts. When preparing the filling, cook the mawa just until it softens slightly, then mix it with the other ingredients. During deep frying, the filling heats up significantly, and overcooked mawa can brown too much or even burn.
• Avoid over stuffing the gujiya - This happens because, during deep frying, the dough pocket fills with steam. If the gujiya is overstuffed, the dough may tear.
• Deep Fry on Low Heat - There are two reasons for this. First, on high heat, the outer shell cooks too quickly, leaving the inner dough layer raw. Second, the dough is rich in fat, making it soft. On high heat, small air bubbles form quickly on the surface and burst, spoiling the appearance of the gujiya.

Ingredients

For The Dough

• Maida or All Purpose Flour/plain flour
• Ghee - Ghee is added to gujiya dough to make it rich, flaky, and tender. The fat in ghee helps to create a smooth & soft dough that holds together well while being deep-fried. It also contributes to the unique, melt-in-your-mouth texture of the gujiya and as well as the aroma. In short, please avoid using cooking oil since its flavorless.

Mawa Filling

• Mawa
• Other Filling ingredients - You need dessicated Coconut, and mixed nuts (I use almonds, cashews and pistachios. Raisins are my my favorite but can be skipped if you do not prefer.
• Sugar Powder (Boora) - Add ½ cup sugar to a grinder and grind to a fine powder. You can use store bought boora if available. Don't using powered or confectioners sugar from baking aisle. 
• Green Cardamom Powder - freshly ground is the best. Simply pop open the seeds and grind using mortar pestle.

How To Make Gujiya

Prepare The Gujiya Dough

1. Sift the all purpose flour with a pinch of salt in a wide dish (parat) or a large mixing bowl.
2. Add melted ghee and, using your hands, work the ghee into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Check if the dough can be held together in a ball. This step is known as checking the moyan (which I’ve also explained in my atta mathri post). The flour will feel silky soft once the ghee is incorporated.

1. Slowly mix in the warm water and gently bring together to form make a firm dough. Do not knead the dough else gluten will form and your gujiya won't be soft. We have to make a stiff dough but it should not be dry. Don't worry about smoothening the xd ough too much. Takes 2-4 minutes to come together. The amount of water needed will depend on the absorption quality of flour.
2. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside to rest for 30 minutes.

Make The Mawa Filling

5. In a heavy-bottomed pan (preferably non-stick), heat 1 teaspoon of ghee on low flame. Add the desiccated coconut and lightly toast it. Do not brown the coconut. Transfer the toasted coconut to a large bowl.
6. Next, melt 2 more teaspoons of ghee in the same pan and add the chopped nuts and raisins. Toast them until they are lightly browned, then transfer them to the bowl with the coconut.
7. Add the crumbled or grated khoya (mawa) to the same pan and cook on very low heat pressing with a spatula (if needed) until it softens. Stir continuously with a spatula to prevent it from sticking to the pan. Once the mawa softens, immediately transfer it to the same bowl with the coconut and nuts. Be careful not to let the mawa change color.

5. Allow the mawa mixture to cool completely. Once cooled, add the cardamom powder and powdered sugar (boora), then mix well. The filling should be slighly moist or resemble a crumble. Set the khoya mixture aside or refrigerate it if you're preparing it a day in advance.

Stuff & Shape The Gujiyas

9. In a small bowl, make a thick paste by mixing 2 tablespoon of flour with a 3 water. This flour glue will be used to seal the gujiya while folding.
10. Once the dough has rested, divide it into equal portions and keep them covered with a damp cloth or damp paper towel. Apply some ghee on your hands and gently press and roll each portion between your palms to form a smooth ball.

11. On a flat rolling surface, use a rolling pin to roll out each portion into a 3.5 to 4 inch circle. Try to keep the edges slightly thinner than the center. No dusting the surface with flour. If needed, use a little oil or melted ghee to help with rolling.

Tip- If you have trouble rolling out even rounds, use a cookie cutter to achieve a perfect shape.

12. Dip a finger into the flour glue we made earlier and spread it all around the edge of the rolled dough.

13. Pick up the rolled dough and pinch the center of the edge on one side(see image). Press it to slightly close one end and form a pocket.

14. Spoon a tablespoon of the mawa filling and bring all the edges of the dough together to form a crescent.Make sure the edges are completely sealed, else the filling will come out while frying.

Tip :-Do not overstuff the gujiya else when you fry the gujiyas will puff up too much and tear.

16. You can use the back of a fork or create a decorative edge by pressing the dough together. I personally use my hands to pinch and fold the dough over itself to create a pleated pattern. Alternatively, you can use a gujiya mold, which is available on Amazon, for a more uniform shape.

17. Shape and stuff all the gujiya in similar manner. Keep all the shaped gujiyas on a tray covered with a damp cloth till ready to fry.

Images For Using Mould to Shape Gujiya

Deep Fry the Gujiya

18. Heat ghee or oil in a heavy pot (such as a cast iron kadai or Dutch oven) for frying the gujiyas. The oil should be deep enough to fully submerge the gujiyas. If you're using oil, add 2-3 tablespoons of ghee to enhance the flavor. Let heat up on low heat.
19. Checking the oil temperature without thermometer - Add a small dough portion into the hot oil and if the dough rises slowly to the surface without sizzling, the oil is at right temperature. If it comes sizzling up, oil is very hot. If the dough sits at the bottom, it is not hot enough.
20. Deep fry the gujiyas in small batches (4-5 at a time) on low heat, until light golden brown in color. It takes time to fry the gujiyas, don't rush please. Drain fried gujiyas on a paper towel. Your gujiyas are ready. If you dont want to coat them in sugar, cool them fully and store in an air tight container for 2 weeks.

Prepare Chashni (Sugar Syrup)

20. Bring the sugar & water to a boil in a pot. Once sugar is dissolved and boiling,simmer for 5-6 minutes. We are not looking for any taar(string consistency). The sugar syrup should not thicken. It should be thin & sticky (similar to honey). Add a few saffron strands to warm syrup and mix well. 
21. Dunk slightly cooled gujiyas in sugar syrup for at least 2 minutes. You can dunk longer (3-4 minutes) if you like softer gujiyas. Don't let sit in syrup for too long else gujiya start breaking.
22. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the gujiyas on a wax paper or parchment paper lined plate. Let dry for 10 minutes.
23. Store the chashni coated gujiya in a single layer in the refrigerator for up to a week. This version has a short shelf life.

Recipe Tips

• Troubleshooting :-If a gujiya opens while frying, immediately take it out with a slotted spoon and you will have to discard it. Switch off the stove, strain the oil or ghee that you were using for frying and then start frying again. Else the other gujiyas will have black specks.
• Gujiya Without Mawa /Vegan Gujiya - You can easily make gujiya filling without mawa. My grandmother made suji ki gujiya for variety and they are quite delicious. Substitute mawa with fine semolina in the filling recipe. Roast fine semolina in ghee to light brown and mix with nuts, sugar and green cardamom. Use oil instead of ghee for dough, filling & frying. Roast the semolina in vegan butter or coconut oil.

Serving & Storing Gujiya

This recipe makes about 12-14 gujiyas. If you plan to eat them over a week, you can store them refrigerated. However, if you want to store the gujiya longer, you can store the fried gujiya (without dunking in sugar syrup) in an airtight container for up to a month. Serve gujiya with a chilled glass of thandai.

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