A savoury twist to a traditional sweet
Me: Guests coming over for Diwali. Not a clue what to cook!
Mom: Make some gujiya.
Me: Nah, sweets won’t fly with my friends.
Mom: Ok, then make savoury gujiya!
Me: Waaaaaat! Isn’t it a sweet?
Mom: Just take notes.
Trust moms to pull a rabbit out of the hat during kitchen emergencies and you won’t be disappointed. At least, my maa surprises with the strangest recipes every now and then. If only I had her skills, this would have been just a food blog.
For those who may not know, gujiya is a traditional north Indian sweet, commonly eaten during festivals. It usually has a sweet filling of khoya (milk cheese) and is dipped in sugar syrup.
However, the recipe I am sharing here today has the most unexpected filling of freshly grated coconut, lemon, green chillies, paprika and salt. It's almost like a tangy salad stuffed inside a gujiya.
Ingredients:
2 cups of flour
1 freshly grated coconut
2-3 green chillies diced
1 lemon
Freshly-chopped coriander leaves
Two tablespoons of white oil
A pinch of paprika
Salt to taste
How to make:
In a big bowl, mix the coconut, salt, chillies, coriander, lemon juice and paprika. Knead the flour with white oil, water and a pinch of salt. Roll out small portions of the dough in circles and fill in the mixture, making little dumplings. Fold it into half and seal the edges by pressing with a fork. Set aside for some time before deep frying the gujiya. Garnish with the leftover grated coconut, chillies and lemon wedges.
Simple enough? Mine actually turned out great - fresh and tangy. Hope you like it too.
Oh, and Happy Diwali.
