Mar 23, 2016, Updated Jan 02, 2018
Holi Hai!! Happy Holi everyone! It’s one of our biggest festivals today and I missing the enthusiasm, the colors and everything associated with Holi right now! Holi is all about colors, to be in India during Holi, especially in northern India is an experience. Everyone you will see on the road is drenched in bright colors. Blue hair, pink cheeks, black teeth and what not! I remember a day before Holi, mom always used to go through our closet to find the most old and tattered piece of clothing. That’s what we were supposed to wear to play holi in the morning. The morning of Holi always started with eating gujiya and of course then filling balloons with water to throw on strangers. On Holi, you are allowed to throw colors on anyone and no one would mind because after all it’s Holi! If you want to get a glimpse of what Holi is like in India, I would suggest you to watch this video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEw2YFCJmdg. It really captures the essence of Holi and the madness and fun associated with it! You can see how everyone is throwing color/water on random people and dancing away!
Holi is about homemade treats, for me anyway it was always “only” about gujiya [sweet dumplings stuffed with nuts and milk solids] and namak pare. I was never interested in getting drenched with water and all the dirt. Yes dry colors are fine but people play holi with sand, mud and what not and that’s what I never liked. There are such shiny paints & all and everyone’s hair and teeth are all purple and black and no one listens to you if you tell them don’t throw the paint/mud/dirty water on me! After all “bura naa mano holi hai” [a famous Holi saying which means “don’t mind, it’s Holi”!]. Holi is a wonderful festival, I just don’t like the water part, dry colors are fine with me. Anyway mom makes tons of treats for Holi at home and of course gujiya is one thing which she always makes. There’s no Holi without gujiya, it’s the quintessential Holi sweet!
I have shared the recipe for traditional gujiya before. That’s how mom makes it every year. But I am a food blogger and I am also a chocolate and cinnamon addict so I had to give the gujiya a little twist and make these Chocolate Cinnamon Gujiya! Considering how much I love chocolate and cinnamon, this was begging to happen! ? To the traditional gujiya filling, I added some chocolate chips and then rolled them in cinnamon-sugar. Of course some drizzled chocolate on top was totally necessary and so was my chandi ka vark (edible silver leaves) to make it look all festive! Kids will surely go nuts for these!
Few tips on for making the perfect gujiya
- make a stiff dough, do not try to smoothen the dough. It just needs to come together and remain stiff. After it has rested for around 30 minutes, the dough will be really easy to work with. So add water little by little till it all just comes together, no more!
- do not over-fill the gujiya. The fillings will come out of the gujiya and make a mess in the oil.
- always fry the gujiya at medium-low heat. If you fry them at high heat, they will not become crunchy and also the dough will remain uncooked.
- once the gujiya has cooled down, store them in an airtight container. And now go and make these Chocolate Cinnamon Gujiya! I hope you guys like my little twist on the traditional gujiya! Have a safe and Happy Holi! May the festival of colors fill your lives with happiness and joy! Have fun! Method In a bowl take 2 cups of all purpose flour, also known as maida. Add 4.5 tablespoons of ghee and rub it with your fingers till it’s all mixed with the flour. Now add cold water, little by little to form a stiff dough. It’s totally fine if your dough doesn’t look smooth, it will be okay after the resting period. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes.
While the dough is resting, make the filling. In a pan, heat 1 teaspoon of ghee. Add crumbled khoya/mawa to it and saute for a minute or two. Add coconut powder and cook till fragrant, around 2-3 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Add chopped nuts and mix. I added nuts which were already roasted, if you are using raw nuts you would need to roast them in ghee before adding them to the mixture.
Now wait for 2-3 minutes and while the mixture is still little warm (but not extremely warm) add tutti frutti, nutmeg powder, chocolate chips and sugar and mix. Since the mixture is still warm, the chocolate chips will melt a little and this is exactly what we want. Set aside. After 30 minutes the dough would have rested and ready to be used. Take a small dough ball and roll it into a circle of around 4 inch. Transfer the rolled dough on top of the gujiya mold. Apply flour-water paste on the edges of the mold [paste prepared by mixing 1 tablespoon flour with 2 tablespoons water]. Now place 2-3 teaspoons of the prepared filling inside. Do not overfill else the filling will come out in the oil. Press the cold tightly to seal the gujiya. Remove the excess dough and add it to the main dough ball again. Keep rolling, filling and sealing the gujiya till all dough is finished. Keep the prepared chocolate gujiya covered with a cloth all the time. Heat oil in a kadhai/wok on medium heat. Check if the oil is ready by dropping a small piece of dough in it. If the dough comes up gradually then the oil is ready. If it comes up immediately your oil is too hot and you never fry gujiya in super hot oil. Keep the heat at medium and medium-low always while frying the gujiya. Fry the gujiya in batches till they turn light golden brown from both the sides. Fry all the gujiyas and drain on a kitchen towel. Let them cool down. Meanwhile in a bowl mix together 1/4 cup sugar with 1 tablespoon cinnamon powder and set aside. In another pan, heat water and sugar together. Let it come to a boil and then let it boil for 3-4 minutes. We aren’t looking for any string consistency here, just let the syrup becomes little sticky. Switch off the heat and drop the gujiyas into the warm syrup, just 1 minute on each side is enough. Remove the gujiya from syrup and then roll them into the cinnamon sugar mixture. Melt some chocolate chips with little coconut oil in a microwave. Drizzle on top on the gujiya and decorate with chandi ka vark. Your chocolate cinnamon gujiya is now ready to eat!
- Store gujiya in an airtight container.
- Khoya is nothing but milk solids. I got it from my local Indian store. You can make it at home but it takes a hell of time to reduce the milk to a point where only solids remain so it’s better to use store bought! Chocolate Cinnamon Gujiya
title: “Chocolate Cinnamon Gujiya " ShowToc: true date: “2024-09-26” author: “Andres Kelly”
Mar 23, 2016, Updated Jan 02, 2018
Holi Hai!! Happy Holi everyone! It’s one of our biggest festivals today and I missing the enthusiasm, the colors and everything associated with Holi right now! Holi is all about colors, to be in India during Holi, especially in northern India is an experience. Everyone you will see on the road is drenched in bright colors. Blue hair, pink cheeks, black teeth and what not! I remember a day before Holi, mom always used to go through our closet to find the most old and tattered piece of clothing. That’s what we were supposed to wear to play holi in the morning. The morning of Holi always started with eating gujiya and of course then filling balloons with water to throw on strangers. On Holi, you are allowed to throw colors on anyone and no one would mind because after all it’s Holi! If you want to get a glimpse of what Holi is like in India, I would suggest you to watch this video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEw2YFCJmdg. It really captures the essence of Holi and the madness and fun associated with it! You can see how everyone is throwing color/water on random people and dancing away!
Holi is about homemade treats, for me anyway it was always “only” about gujiya [sweet dumplings stuffed with nuts and milk solids] and namak pare. I was never interested in getting drenched with water and all the dirt. Yes dry colors are fine but people play holi with sand, mud and what not and that’s what I never liked. There are such shiny paints & all and everyone’s hair and teeth are all purple and black and no one listens to you if you tell them don’t throw the paint/mud/dirty water on me! After all “bura naa mano holi hai” [a famous Holi saying which means “don’t mind, it’s Holi”!]. Holi is a wonderful festival, I just don’t like the water part, dry colors are fine with me. Anyway mom makes tons of treats for Holi at home and of course gujiya is one thing which she always makes. There’s no Holi without gujiya, it’s the quintessential Holi sweet!
I have shared the recipe for traditional gujiya before. That’s how mom makes it every year. But I am a food blogger and I am also a chocolate and cinnamon addict so I had to give the gujiya a little twist and make these Chocolate Cinnamon Gujiya! Considering how much I love chocolate and cinnamon, this was begging to happen! ? To the traditional gujiya filling, I added some chocolate chips and then rolled them in cinnamon-sugar. Of course some drizzled chocolate on top was totally necessary and so was my chandi ka vark (edible silver leaves) to make it look all festive! Kids will surely go nuts for these!
Few tips on for making the perfect gujiya
- make a stiff dough, do not try to smoothen the dough. It just needs to come together and remain stiff. After it has rested for around 30 minutes, the dough will be really easy to work with. So add water little by little till it all just comes together, no more!
- do not over-fill the gujiya. The fillings will come out of the gujiya and make a mess in the oil.
- always fry the gujiya at medium-low heat. If you fry them at high heat, they will not become crunchy and also the dough will remain uncooked.
- once the gujiya has cooled down, store them in an airtight container. And now go and make these Chocolate Cinnamon Gujiya! I hope you guys like my little twist on the traditional gujiya! Have a safe and Happy Holi! May the festival of colors fill your lives with happiness and joy! Have fun! Method In a bowl take 2 cups of all purpose flour, also known as maida. Add 4.5 tablespoons of ghee and rub it with your fingers till it’s all mixed with the flour. Now add cold water, little by little to form a stiff dough. It’s totally fine if your dough doesn’t look smooth, it will be okay after the resting period. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes.
While the dough is resting, make the filling. In a pan, heat 1 teaspoon of ghee. Add crumbled khoya/mawa to it and saute for a minute or two. Add coconut powder and cook till fragrant, around 2-3 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Add chopped nuts and mix. I added nuts which were already roasted, if you are using raw nuts you would need to roast them in ghee before adding them to the mixture.
Now wait for 2-3 minutes and while the mixture is still little warm (but not extremely warm) add tutti frutti, nutmeg powder, chocolate chips and sugar and mix. Since the mixture is still warm, the chocolate chips will melt a little and this is exactly what we want. Set aside. After 30 minutes the dough would have rested and ready to be used. Take a small dough ball and roll it into a circle of around 4 inch. Transfer the rolled dough on top of the gujiya mold. Apply flour-water paste on the edges of the mold [paste prepared by mixing 1 tablespoon flour with 2 tablespoons water]. Now place 2-3 teaspoons of the prepared filling inside. Do not overfill else the filling will come out in the oil. Press the cold tightly to seal the gujiya. Remove the excess dough and add it to the main dough ball again. Keep rolling, filling and sealing the gujiya till all dough is finished. Keep the prepared chocolate gujiya covered with a cloth all the time. Heat oil in a kadhai/wok on medium heat. Check if the oil is ready by dropping a small piece of dough in it. If the dough comes up gradually then the oil is ready. If it comes up immediately your oil is too hot and you never fry gujiya in super hot oil. Keep the heat at medium and medium-low always while frying the gujiya. Fry the gujiya in batches till they turn light golden brown from both the sides. Fry all the gujiyas and drain on a kitchen towel. Let them cool down. Meanwhile in a bowl mix together 1/4 cup sugar with 1 tablespoon cinnamon powder and set aside. In another pan, heat water and sugar together. Let it come to a boil and then let it boil for 3-4 minutes. We aren’t looking for any string consistency here, just let the syrup becomes little sticky. Switch off the heat and drop the gujiyas into the warm syrup, just 1 minute on each side is enough. Remove the gujiya from syrup and then roll them into the cinnamon sugar mixture. Melt some chocolate chips with little coconut oil in a microwave. Drizzle on top on the gujiya and decorate with chandi ka vark. Your chocolate cinnamon gujiya is now ready to eat!
- Store gujiya in an airtight container.
- Khoya is nothing but milk solids. I got it from my local Indian store. You can make it at home but it takes a hell of time to reduce the milk to a point where only solids remain so it’s better to use store bought! Chocolate Cinnamon Gujiya
