Gujjia- Fried Sweet Crescents

Another unique fried food which is best as an Iftaar (breaking of the fast meal) special and the beautiful thing about it is that its sweet! Now, for a person like me who has a massive sweet-tooth, something sweet has to be present on the Iftaar spread at mine hence,  these sweet stuffed pastries are a great choice that I do make at least twice during the month of Ramadan (Muslim's month of fasting) besides, its favorite of one of my sisters too :)

I didn't know that this flaky pastry stuffed with roasted semolina and nuts is called Gujjia until recently. We've always called this delectable treat 'Meethay Samosay' (sweet triangular fried pastry) and still prefer calling it that. The memory of eating them first goes back to the time when I was a little girl (not so long ago :P) There was one of Dad's friends whose wife came from Pakistan and my mom and she became friends too esp. for the reason that they belong from the same town. She used to visit us often and one day during our Summer vacation, she came to visit us during the day and brought some homemade Gujjias (at that time introduced to us as Meethay Samosay) She called them Ladoo and I don't know why :D out of curiosity, I nibbled on one and to my pleasant surprise, liked the taste and crispy, flaky texture of the pastry along with the deliciously sweet stuffing!  

Ready to be fried and the other half can be frozen

My Mom never made them but upon our visit to my Mom's hometown next time, while being out in the local Bazaar (market) with one of my Khalas (maternal aunts) I saw a Halwai (confectioner) frying these tasty Gujjias and later displayed some freshly taken out of the oil Gujjia over a large sieve like platter. I instantly asked my Khala to buy me some and I got to taste it again after a few years. But to my surprise this time, those were stuffed with Gajjer ka Halwa instead of Sooji (semolina) but I still liked them. For some strange reason I never found out that what they are called exactly and kept on calling them Meethay Samosay or Crescents because of their shape. 

The memory of the ones I got to taste for the first time hovered over my mind once in a while and the craving for this exquisite snack persuaded me to try making it on my own. After looking at different recipes online, I found out that the pastry is similar to how I make Papri (fried crispy dough) thus, the quest got easier for me and I rolled up my sleeves and got ready to try my hand on making these utterly delish sweet treats. The stuffing I prepared by simply following my memory of it to be like when I had Gujjia for the first time. Another best thing about this snack is that you can make them days ahead and fry them later. The fried ones can even stay good up to 2,3 days in an airtight box. Some people immerse them in to warm sugar syrup after preparing but I've neither eaten nor have tried making them that way. 

So shall we see how these lovelies are made? Lets get some sweet cravings Unleashed today! :D 

Gujjia

Ingredients for the dough:

Flour: 2 cup

Ghee (clarified butter): 1/4 cup

Semolina: 2 tbsp. (soaked in 4 tbsp. of water and then sieved)

Salt: 1/2 tsp

Cumin Seeds:1/4 tsp

Water: as required for kneading the dough

Oil: For deep frying

Ingredients for the stuffing:

Semolina: 1/2 cup

Desiccated Coconut: 1/4 cup

Mixed nuts (any of your choice): 1/4 cup (chopped)

Sultanas: 2 tbsp.

Fennel Seeds: 1 tsp. 

Sugar: 1/2 cup

Powered Milk: 2 tbsp.

Water: 5,6 tbsp.

Method:

1. Put the flour along with the soaked and sieved semolina and ghee. Rub with your finger until the mixture resemble breadcrumbs like texture.
2. Add enough water to knead it into a stiff dough. Cover with a damp tea-towel and put aside.
3. In a pan, dry roast all the dry ingredients over low flame except for the powdered milk and sugar. 
4. Once the aroma is released and the color of the ingredients slightly changes, add sugar and the milk powder.
5. Mix everything together and add the water. The mixture will be partially sticking together yet would be dry still. 
6. Turn off the flame and put the prepared stuffing aside to let it cool down completely.
7. Prepare small dough balls by taking some of the kneaded dough and rolling it in between the palms of your hands. Grease your hands a bit with some oil if needed. Cover the prepared balls with a damp tea-towel to prevent drying. 
8. Flatten one dough ball over your working surface and roll it out around 4 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thickness. Prepare all the dough ball rounds in the same manner and again cover with the damp tea-towel
9. Place a generous amount of the stuffing in one half of the rolled out dough ball with a help of a spoon.
10. Now fold the other half over the top of the filling and press the edges together so its sealed. 
11. Pinch and twist the edges to obtain the design you see on the Gujjias.
12. Prepare all the Gujjias in the same way. At this point they can be frozen by laying them over a freezer-safe tray without overlapping them. Once frozen, put into a freezer-safe bag and freeze for the later use.
13. Heat oil in a large frying pot or wok over medium heat.
14. Once the oil is hot enough to start frying the Gujjias, lower the heat down a bit and carefully put 3,4 Gujjias into the hot oil. 
15. After a minute or two, change sides of the Gujjias with a help of a slotted spoon. Fry till they're golden brown and take out into a sieve or on an absorbent paper. Fry all the Gujjias into batches.
16. Serve warm and enjoy.

Makes 10-12

That's all Cooks! :) The sweetness level can always be adjusted according to your taste buds. I hope you enjoy making and eating them. Until next time, keep sharing the goodness of this greatest blessing, that has been bestowed in abundance upon us the lucky ones, with the less fortunate ones.
Thank you and please this Ramadan do remember everyone esp. The Ummah-e-Muslimeen (Muslim Nation) in your Du'as/prayers including me :)

Jazak'Allah Khair! (May Allah reward you)

*Not be duplicated, rewritten or published without permission- Thank you!