Homemade Gujiya Recipe (Crisp Holi Sweet with Mawa Filling)
Crisp fried half-moon pastries with a dry mawa, coconut, and nut filling. Step-by-step dough, filling, sealing, and gentle frying for Holi, Diwali, or a weekend project.
Equipment
- Mixing bowls
- Rolling pin
- Heavy-bottomed frying pan or kadai
- Slotted spoon
- Wire rack or kitchen paper for draining
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 2 cups maida all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 4 tablespoons ghee melted, warm but not hot
- About 1/2 cup cool water, plus extra as needed
For the mawa filling
- 200 grams khoya mawa; unsweetened store-bought khoya works well; crumbled
- 1/2 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
- 1/2 to 2/3 cup powdered sugar start with 1/2 cup, taste, then add more
- 1/2 teaspoon green cardamom powder
- 3 tablespoons mixed nuts almonds and cashews; finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons golden raisins optional; chopped
- 2 tablespoons fine semolina sooji; optional, toasted in 1 teaspoon ghee if using
For frying
- Neutral oil or filtered groundnut oil, as needed for deep frying
Instructions
Make and rest the dough
- Whisk maida and salt in a wide bowl. Rub in warm ghee until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs and holds a shape when squeezed.
- Add water a little at a time and knead into a firm, smooth dough (not sticky). Cover and rest at least 30 minutes at room temperature, or up to 2 hours in a cool kitchen.
Cook and cool the filling
- Warm a heavy pan on medium heat. Dry-roast crumbled khoya, stirring constantly, until light golden, dry, and sandy, not glossy.
- If using sooji, toast it separately in 1 teaspoon ghee until fragrant and pale gold, then mix into the khoya off the heat.
- Cool the mawa mixture completely. Stir in coconut, powdered sugar, cardamom, nuts, and raisins. Taste; filling should be sweet but crumbly, not sticky. If it clumps, add a little more coconut or a tablespoon of roasted sooji.
Shape and fill
- Divide dough into 12 to 14 equal balls; keep covered. Roll each into a thin circle about 12 to 14 cm wide, dusting lightly with flour as needed.
- Place a generous tablespoon of filling on one half, leaving a clean border. Brush the edge with a few drops of water, fold into a half-moon, and press firmly to seal. Crimp the edge with your fingers or press with a fork for a tight seal. Patch thin spots with tiny scraps of dough.
Fry
- Heat oil in a deep pan on medium-low until a small piece of dough rises slowly with fine bubbles (not aggressive). Fry a few gujiya at a time without crowding, turning gently until evenly golden brown.
- Drain on a wire rack or kitchen paper. Cool completely before storing so shells stay crisp.
Notes
Wet khoya filling is the main reason gujiya bursts: cook mawa until dry and cool completely before mixing in sugar.
Replace up to half the maida with atta for a nuttier, slightly less delicate shell.
Best the day they are fried. Room temperature 2 to 3 days in a dry climate, or refrigerate up to a week (shell softens slightly).
Freeze uncooked sealed gujiya between parchment layers; fry from frozen on medium-low for the first minute, then finish as usual.
Air fryer option: brush or spray with oil, about 170 to 180°C until golden, turning once. Texture differs from deep-fried.
Dry crisp style: no sugar syrup dip. A one-string chashni dip is a regional variant and softens the shell faster.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!