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Gujiya is the essential Holi sweet that’s made all across the country and referred to by many names. This sweet features a crescent-shaped flaky pastry covering a sweet and nutty filling inside. While there is no particular religious meaning behind gujiya being so important on the festival, it's all the prolonged tradition being followed by generations that associates this treat with the festival.
In different states across India, Gujiyas are prepared with different fillings, each being extremely delicious. In the North Region, Khoya filling along with dry fruits is added whereas in Maharashtra, it's prepared with a sweet grated coconut mix and called Karanji. Similarly, Karigadabu from Karnataka features a sweet lentil mix as the filling. While the recipe differs from region to region, the making process and pastry are largely the same.
If you are making gujiya at home this Holi, try these indulgent recipes from across the country to add a fun element to your festive treats.
6 Different Gujiyas To Make On Holi
1) Classic Khoya Gujiya
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This recipe uses the classic khoya or mawa filling mixed with dry fruits and sugar. The filling is combined in a heated pan, which melts khoya slightly allowing it to mix well with chopped dry fruits and sugar. Once the mixture is prepared, fill it up in circled wrappers and seal, creating a half-moon shape, then fry or bake till golden.
2) Dry Fruits Gujiya
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Dry fruits gujiya is made with filling that only contains different dry fruits like almonds, cashews, walnuts, raisins, pistachios, nutmeg, and so on. The nuts are chopped finely and roasted in ghee to turn aromatic. Then it's sweetened using sugar and turned into gujiyas.
3) Lentil Gujiya
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Split chickpea lentil is used to create filling for this gujiya. The lentils are first pressure-cooked to make them mushy and workable. Then it's mixed with sugar, saffron, nutmeg powder, cinnamon powder, and cardamom powder.
4) Coconut Gujiya
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Coconut gujiya brings a coastal flavour to the sweet. For this, coconut shreds are roasted in ghee and mixed with sugar. This filling is more straightforward than other fillings, as it mainly uses only two ingredients. Aromatics and spices can be added to bring more flavour.
5) Til Gud Gujiya
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Til gud is popularly eaten in Maharashtra on Sankranthi's occasion, it is also used as filing for gujiya and Ganesh Chaturthi special modak in many homes. Gud or jagegry are melted and mixed with roasted sesame seeds creating a warming blend and then flavoured with spices.
6) Besan Gujiya
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Besan Gujiya is made with roasted besan or chickpea flour mixed with chopped nuts and aromatic spices. The besan is roasted in a pan with lots of ghee and stirred until melted. Chopped nuts like pistachios, almonds, cashews, raisins, and grated coconut are then along with cardamon powder and sugar for flavour.
Try these different fillings for gujiya this Holi and serve it all together, adding a surprise element to the Holi party. All of these recipes are extremely warming and flavourful, and can also be made with sugar substitute and oil-free cooking methods.
