Dry Fruit Ghughra Recipe (Baked or Fried Gujiya)
Golden crescent pastry pockets filled with toasted coconut, Medjool dates, and mixed nuts. Bake for a lighter gifting sweet or fry for the traditional crispy finish. No khoya required.
Equipment
- Baking tray with parchment (for baked version)
- Kadai or deep pan at least 3 inches deep (for fried version)
- Pastry brush
Ingredients
For the pastry dough
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 240 g; maida
- 3 tablespoons ghee at room temperature
- Pinch of salt
- 5-6 tablespoons cold water added gradually
For the dry fruit filling
- 1/2 cup desiccated coconut dry-roasted until lightly golden
- 1/4 cup raw cashews roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup blanched almonds roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoons pistachios roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup Medjool dates about 5-6; pitted and finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons raisins
- 1 teaspoon cardamom powder freshly ground if possible
- 1 tablespoon jaggery powder or raw cane sugar optional
- Pinch of nutmeg (optional)
Instructions
Make the dough
- Combine flour, ghee, and salt in a large bowl. Rub the ghee into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with no dry patches.
- Add cold water one tablespoon at a time, pressing from the edges inward, until the dough just comes together. It should be firm, not sticky. Do not over-work.
- Shape into a smooth ball, cover with a damp cloth, and rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
Make the filling
- Dry-roast the desiccated coconut in a small pan over medium-low heat, stirring often, for 2-3 minutes until pale gold. Set aside to cool.
- Combine toasted coconut, cashews, almonds, pistachios, dates, raisins, cardamom powder, and jaggery (if using). Mix well. Taste and adjust sweetness.
Shape the ghughra
- Divide the dough into 18-20 equal balls. Roll each into a circle about 3 inches (8 cm) in diameter on a lightly floured surface.
- Place a heaped teaspoon of filling on one half of the circle, leaving a 1 cm border.
- Wet the border with water, fold the plain half over, press firmly to seal, and crimp the edge with small pleats.
To bake
- Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Arrange shaped ghughra on a parchment-lined tray and brush lightly with ghee or neutral oil.
- Bake for 28-32 minutes, flipping the tray halfway, until the shell is pale gold and firm. They crisp further as they cool.
To fry
- Heat neutral oil in a kadai to 160-170°C (320-340°F). Fry 4-5 ghughra at a time for 10-12 minutes, turning regularly, until deep golden.
- Drain on paper towels and cool completely before packing.
Notes
Make-ahead: The filling keeps at room temperature for up to 2 days. The dough can be refrigerated overnight — bring to room temperature for 15 minutes before rolling.
Storage: Store in an airtight tin at room temperature for 5-7 days (baked) or 4-5 days (fried). Do not refrigerate — condensation softens the shell.
Vegan option: Replace ghee with refined coconut oil in the dough and for brushing before baking. The filling is entirely plant-based.
Filling tip: Keep dates chopped in small pieces, not paste. Very finely chopped dates release moisture and can make the filling stick and burst the seal.
Baking note: Baked ghughra look pale coming out of the oven — they crisp up as they cool. Do not over-bake chasing a golden colour.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!