GUJIYA

Ingredients

  4 cups plain flour
  8 tbsps clarified ghee + 6 tbsp for roasting filling ingredients
  Water knead the dough
  salt to taste approx 1 tsp
  Oil for deep frying

For the filling

  2 fistfuls Almonds  (blanched and peeled)
  2 fistfuls Pistachios
  2 fistfuls   Cashew nuts
  2 tsp Cardamom powder
 1 cup dry coconut or 1 cup  roasted and powdered sesame seeds.
 1 cup Mawa (you can use semolina /roasted chick peas in its place)
 1 1/4 cup Powdered sugar


Method

In a bowl, add the flour, salt and ghee and rub with your palm and fingers such that the dough appears like bread crumbs. Add water to make a pliable dough. Divide the dough and shape into small balls. Keep aside for half an hour.
 Heat a pan, add 1 tbsps ghee, add the grated coconut and roast over medium flame for  approx 5 mts till it turns golden brown.  Keep aside.
In the same pan, add 2 tbsp ghee, add the nuts and roast till golden. Remove and  once cool, make a coarse powder and set aside.
In the same pan, drizzle 1 tbsp of ghee and add the mawa and roast for 5 mts. Keep aside to cool.
Powder the sugar and mix with the roasted dry coconut, ground nuts and mawa. Add the cardamom powder and mix well. Set aside the prepared filling.
Roll each ball with the rolling pin into a thin puri of approx  4 in diameter.
Spread a tablespoon of the filling on one half of the rolled out dough. Wet your finger and run it along the edges of the spread out dough with water and fold over to the opposite end, enclosing the stuffing to form a semi-circle shaped gujiya. Press the ends firmly so that the filling doesnt come out during the deep frying process and use a fork to seal the edges.
Heat the oil in a wide vessel to deep fry the stuffed kajjikayalu. Slowly drop 3-4 gujiyas into the oil and deep fry them on medium flame till golden brown. Turn them carefully to cook the other side as well. Drain the gujiya with a slotted ladle and remove to a plate.
 Gujiya remain fresh for atleast a week and can be stored utp 2 weeks.