Festival Sweet Dishes 

Gujiya

Gujiya is a deep fried pastry stuffed with a sweet filling of khoya, this dish is very popular in north India, especially during holi it is a festival of colors which generally falls in the full moon of march and it is also a festival of colors, unity and celebrates the truimph of good over evil. 

I enjoy preparing gujiyas with my mother and sisters. My mother keeps frying in the pan while we sisters do the rolling, cutting, and filling which gives me a chance to keep stealing the tasty khoya which is full of dry fruits. First my mom took a bowl and added flour, salt, and ghee and rub with your palm and fingers such that the dough appears like bread crumbs. Add just enough water to make a pliable yet firm dough. Divide the dough and shape into small balls. Keep aside covered for half an hour. Meanwhile, heat a pan, add 1/2 tbsps ghee, add the grated coconut and roast over medium for a few minutes, approximately 5 mins till it turns golden brown. Remove and keep aside. In the small pan, add a tbsp ghee, add the nuts and roast till it turns golden. Remove and cool. Once cool, make a coarse powder and set aside. In the same pan, drizzle 1/2 tbsp of ghee and  add the khoya ( available at indian stores) and roast 5-6 mins. Remove keep aside to cool. Powder the sugar and mix with the roasted dry coconut, ground nuts and khoya. Add the cardamom powder and mix well. Set aside the prepared filling. Now roll each ball with the rolling pin into a thin puri. Spread a tablespoon of a filling on one half of the rolled out dough. Wet your fingers 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 doesn't come out during the deep frying process and use a fork to seal the edges. Alternately you twist the edges aroung the gujiya. Heat enough 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 lade and remove to a plate. 

Aloo Chaat is a holi snack. In this recipe preboil the potatoes in a pressure cooker. Once the potatoes become warm or cool, then peel the skin and dice them. Shallow the diced potatoes. Drain on kitchen paper napkins. Take the fried potatoes in a bowl. Add all the spice powders and salt to the potatoes, toss the potatoes well, sprinkle some lemon juice on the potatoes, garnish aloo chaat with coriander leaves and serve aloo chaat hot.

Aloo Chaat