No Fry Gujiya Karanji - Instant Pot, Mealthy Crisplid, Air Fryer, Oven Baked

Gujiya is a popular North Indian sweet, dumpling shaped pastry, stuffed with sweet filling made with khoya (mawa) and nuts and deep-fried. This recipe demonstrates 3 different non-deep fried  methods - Instant Pot Gujiya using Mealthy crisplid, Air Fryer and oven baked Gujiya, thus making these Gujiya low fat, and little healthier than the traditional deep fried version. This recipe can be made NUT-FREE.

Try this healthier version of gujiya this Holi. These gujiya are simple, delicious, and easy to make and better than the deep fried version.

WHAT IS GUJIYA (KARANJI)

Gujiya is a deep-fried sweet, made with flour, shaped into a dumpling and stuffed with a mixture of khoya (mawa) and dry nuts. It is a popular sweet in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and is specially made during festivals, such as Holi, Diwali.

There are similar preparation of gujiya in many several regions in India. It is called Ghughra in Gujarat, western state of India. Karanji in Maharashtra, and Kajjikaya in Andhra Pradesh. They are all deep fried just like gujiya, however, they have a different fillings.

Holi, also known as "festival of colors", is celebrated all over India with much love and warmth. The festival signifies the arrival of spring, and end of winters.

As a kid, I remember my mom used to make so many sweets and savory goods to celebrate Holi. Ghevar, gujiya, gulab jamun, kachori, dani, namkeen, and the list goes on.

And you guessed it right, my favorite was gujiya. Crisp, flaky from outside, melt-in-mouth from inside. These gujiya were just perfect. My mom makes the best gujiya!!

Today, I am sharing this gujiya recipe, inspired by my mom. The only difference is that I chose to air fry or bake instead of traditional deep fried method. Rest is exactly the same, the way my mom makes this gujiya.

The filling is so moist, and has perfect balance of sweetness and crunchiness from the nuts. Every bite bursts with flavors from green cardamon powder and saffron. Try this no-fry, healthier version of gujiya, I am sure you will love it as much as my family does.

INGREDIENTS FOR GUJIYA (KARANJI)

FOR GUJIYA DOUGH

1 CUP ALL PURPOSE FLOUR

3 TABLESPOON GHEE

5-6 TABLESPOON ICE COLD WATER, AS NEEDED

PINCH OF SALT

FOR GUJIYA STUFFING

1 CUP KHOYA - FRESH OR FROZEN

1 TABLESPOON GHEE

2-3 TABLESPOON MILK

½ CUP CHOPPED NUTS - ALMONDS, PISTACHIOS

⅓ CUP DESICCATED COCONUT

3-4 TABLESPOON BROWN SUGAR, ADJUST TO TASTE

1 TEASPOON GREEN CARDAMON POWDER

FEW STRANDS OF SAFFRON (OPTIONAL)

2-3 TABLESPOON MELTED GHEE OR OIL FOR BASTING, AS NEEDED

Pic Shown: Closeup of Gujiya (Karanji)

HOW TO MAKE GUJIYA (KARANJI)

Making of Gujiya primarily consists of three main steps:

MAKING THE DOUGH - dough of gujiya is similar to a pastry dough, made with some flour and some fat. Most pastry dough use butter, but for gujiya we use ghee (clarified butter).

MAKING THE STUFFING - traditionally, filling for the gujiya is made with khoya (mawa) and some nuts. You can add ingredients of your choice to flavor the stuffing. I like to add some desiccated coconut, and some green cardamon powder and few strands of saffron for the flavoring.

I have used brown sugar, feel free to use refined sugar or if you prefer sugar free add chopped dates and/or figs for desired sweetness.

AIR FRYER / BAKE GUJIYA - traditionally, deep fried. However, I am sharing a no-fry version of this recipe. You can air fry the gujiya using an air fryer or in a Instant Pot using mealthy crisplid or even bake them in an oven. Thus, enjoy these low-fat, guilt-free gujiya this Holi.

SOAKING IN SUGAR SYRUP (OPTIONAL) - This step is optional, soaking gujiya in sugar syrup makes the outer crust moist and sweet, as the crust is not sweet. 

For the sugar syrup, take equal parts of sugar and water and make a one string consistency sugar syrup. Once the gujiya come out of the oven / air fryer, dip the gujiya for 10-15 seconds in the syrup. This moistens as well as gives a nice glaze to the gujiya.

HOW TO MAKE GUJIYA DOUGH

In a mixing bowl, add all-purpose flour, ghee, pinch of salt. Mix the flour with your fingers.

Take some flour into your hands and gently rub the flour mixture between your hands to form a breadcrumbs like texture. This is a important step, this makes the crust for gujiya flaky or "khasta", as we call in Hindi.

Gradually, add ice cold water, around ¼ cup or as needed to just combine the dough into a tight ball . Do NOT over knead the dough.

Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and let it rest for 20 minutes.

STUFFING FOR GUJIYA (KARANJI)

In a pan, heat a tablespoon of ghee on a medium heat. Add chopped nuts and roast for 1-2 minutes or until light brown in color.

Add desiccated coconut and roast for 1-2 minutes. Transfer the nuts and desiccated coconut into a bowl.

In the same pan, add crumbled or grated khoya (mawa) and 2-3 tablespoons of milk. Roast on low - medium flame, 5-6 minutes or until it comes to soft ball consistency. Transfer the khoya into a bowl.

Let mixture cool completely before adding other ingredients.

Once khoya is cool completely, add the remaining stuffing ingredients - sugar, green cardamon powder, pinch of saffron, pinch of salt. Mix well and keep the stuffing mixture aside.

Note: The stuffing should be moist and NOT dry, if required add 2-3 tablespoons of milk while cooking khoya. I have used the frozen khoya available in Asian / Indian grocery stores, and it tends to dry out. Therefore, adding couple of tablespoons of milk helps it retain its moisture.

You can also add some ghee to the prepared stuffing, if it seems dry. Do NOT add milk once the stuffing is prepared, as it will decrease the shelf life of gujiya.

HOW TO MAKE GUJIYA (KARANJI)

On clean, dry surface, place the rested dough, and without using any extra flour, roll the dough into thin round shape, around 3mm of thickness, as shown in the pic.

Using a round cookie cutter, cut the the dough, into small discs.

Remove any excess dough and keep it aside. 

Flip the discs bottom side up.

Apply some water around the edges of the dough. To shape the gujiya you can use any of the methods described below:

FIRST METHOD - HOW TO SHAPE GIJIYA

Place 1-2 teaspoon of filling in the center of the each disc.

Now, gently lift one side of the disc, and place it over the other half, to foam a half moon shape, as shown in pic.

Gently, press the edges to seal them. You can use a fork to give it a nice pattern, as shown in pic.

Place the shaped gujiya on to a baking sheet, and cover it with a clean kitchen towel, while you finish shaping rest of the gujiya.

SECOND METHOD - HOW TO SHAPE GUJIYA WITH GUJIYA MOLD

You will need - GUJIYA MOLD 

Place the disc on to gujiya mold, add 1-2 teaspoons of the filling.

Apply some water around the edges of the dough.

Close the gujiya mold carefully, press and seal the gujiya. Carefully lift the gujiya out of the gujiya mold.

Place the shaped gujiya on to a baking sheet, and cover it with a clean kitchen towel, while you finish shaping rest of the gujiya.

HOW TO BAKE GUJIYA (KARANJI)

You will need 9*13 inches BAKING SHEET,  PARCHMENT PAPER

Pre-heat the oven at 350 degree Fahrenheit.

Using a pastry brush apply some melted ghee or oil on all the gujiya.

Bake the gujiya for 25-30 minutes, turn them half way through, apply melted ghee on the gujiya and continue to bake until the outer crust is nice and light brown in color.

Note: Different oven work differently, please keep an eye on these as they can get burnt quickly. It took me around 26 minutes of cooking time.

Pic Shown: Oven Baked Gujiya (Karanji)

AIR FRYER / INSTANT POT GUJIYA USING MEALTHY CRISPLID

You will need MEALTHY CRIPSLID

IMPORTANT: Completely UNPLUG the Instant Pot unit, before proceeding with this recipe.

Line the crispy basket with some parchment paper. Carefully, lift the gujiya and place them in the crispy basket. Using a pastry brush, apply some oil on top of the gujiya. You can place around 7 small size gujiya.

Place the trivet (that comes with crisplid) inside the inner pot of Instant Pot.

Place the crispy basket on top of the trivet.

Now place the mealthy crisplid on top of the inner pot. Plug the crisplid and lower the handle.

Air fry the gujiya at 350 degree Fahrenheit for 25-30 minutes, turn them half way through, apply melted ghee on the gujiya and continue to air fry until the outer crust is nice and light brown in color.

HOW TO DEEP FRY GUJIYA (TRADITIONAL METHOD)

Heat oil in a kadai or a wok. For deep frying oil should be moderately hot.

Before starting to fry the gujiya, do a oil test to see if it is at a right temperature. Drop a small piece of dough in to the oil, it will rise gradually, then float on the surface.

Note: If the piece of dough sinks, that means the oil is cold or if it rises quickly, means oil is too hot.

Carefully, add the gujiya in the oil. Fry the gujiya in batches, depending upon the size of the kadai, you can add 3-4 pieces of gujiya. Do NOT overcrowd the pan.

After few minutes, the gujiya will float on the surface of the oil. Gently flip the gujiya for even cooking. Deep fry the gujiya for around 8-10 minutes or until nice golden color.

Remove the gujiya on a kitchen paper towel, to drain any excess oil.

Cool completely, and store it in air tight container.

Note: If deep frying the gujiya, make sure to pleat the edges of the gujiya, to prevent any stuffing coming out during the frying process. Make a pattern on the edges by pinching and twisting the edges, starting from one end, until all the edge is sealed (pleated).

Pic Shown: Air Fryer / Instant Pot Gujiya using Mealthy Crisplid

PRO TIPS FOR THE BEST GUJIYA (KARANJI)

Before adding water to foam a dough, make sure the flour mixture has a breadcrumbs like texture. This is a what makes the crust for gujiya flaky or "khasta", as we call in Hindi.

Always use ice cold water to form a dough for pastry.

Use minimum water to knead the dough into a tight ball . Do NOT over knead the dough.

Let the dough rest for minimum 20 minutes. It makes it easy to work with the dough.

Keep the dough and filling covered at all times, to prevent it from drying.

For the filling you can use nuts of your choice. I prefer almonds, pistachios. You can also use cashews, pecans, chironji, poppy seeds, raisins.

You can shape the gujiya by hand or using a gujiya mold. Using gujiya mold is slightly faster process.

Keep the shaped gujiya covered, to prevent it from drying.

Make sure to seal the gujiya well after stuffing, to avoid any stuffing coming out during baking/air frying.

Don't forget to apply some oil on top of the gujiya for that nice brown color and it also crisps evenly. I prefer using pastry brush, gives me consistent results. When using cooking spray, I see uneven browning of the gujiya.

Once the gujiya is cool completely, store the gujiya in a clean, air-tight glass container. The gujiya stays good for 5-7 days. 

Temperature cooking can sometimes be quite tricky. Please use timing as a guideline. Different oven/air fryers work on different temperature settings. Keep a close eye on these while baking/air frying as these can go from light brown to burn in no time.

VARIATIONS TO THIS GUJIYA

Traditionally, the outer crust for gujiya is made using all-purpose flour. However, you can also use some whole wheat flour in combination to the all-purpose flour. Take equal quantity of flours to make a stiff dough.

You can make the gujiya refined-sugar free, instead of sugar, use dates or figs to sweeten the filling.

This recipe can be made nut-free, skip the nuts.

HOW TO MAKE GUJIYA WITHOUT KHOYA (MAWA)

You can use milk powder instead of Khoya.

Take 1 cup of full fat milk powder, add couple of tablespoons of cream or milk. Mix well to foam a smooth paste consistency.

This milk powder mixture in ready to be used in place of khoya.

HOW TO MAKE GUJIYA WITH SOOJI

Sooji can be used instead of khoya (mawa) to make gujiya. It gives gujiya filling a nice grainy texture. Also, it has a longer shelf life as compared to khoya (mawa) and is economical too.

Replace 1 cup of khoya with 1 cup of sooji. Take a tablespoon of ghee and roast the sooji until light brown in color. Cool completely, add dry nuts, sugar. And the sooji filling is ready.

HOW TO SERVE AND STORE GUJIYA(KARANJI)

Gujiya can be served warm or cold. I like it warm, with some cold milk. 

Gujiya(Karanji) stays fresh for 4-5 days at room temperature. Store it in a clean, air-tight glass container. Use clean, dry hands to remove the gujiya from the jar.

Pic Shown: Top - Oven Baked Gujiya, Bottom - Air Fryer / Instant Pot Gujiya using Mealthy Crisplid

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