Paan Gujiya – Air fry Recipe

Paan Gujiya – Air fry Recipe in this Gujiya is a traditional Indian confectionary stuffed with Paan, mukhwas, tutti frutti, desiccated coconut, and mawa or Khoya. I have made a twist in the traditional Gujiya by making it a paan flavor. This Gujiya recipe is all about Holi. Check out how you can make it yourself (Step by Step).

My leftover gulkand and Mukhwas (a mouth freshener mix with a deep hue) and Paan leaves (betel leaves) were blended together to make what I call Paan Gujiya. But yes these are air-fried, not deep-fried. I was so proud of myself for making these beauties. I had never eaten anything like them before. 

Some other Holi recipes you may also like on my blog – Jalebi,  Namak Pare, Tandoori Paneer Samosa (Best Samosa Recipe),

Sharing is caring! LET’S BE FRIENDS ON PINTEREST! WE’RE ALWAYS PINNING TASTY RECIPES!

About Paan Gujiya – Air fry Recipe

Getting to taste the fresh, vibrant green filling was a delightful contrast to the crispy flour shells and delicious crunch from the nut and mukhwas.

The fact that they were eaten up by family and friends validated and increased the happiness many folds. I didn’t even realize just how totally worth it this new culinary outcome was. And it was totally worth every bit.

The food that we get to enjoy on Holi, apart from getting drenched in color water and playing with Gulaal(Coloured powder) is another reason why Holi is one of my favorite festivals.

I can remember my mom prepared a variety of snacks for this festival when I was a little girl. Throughout the year she made certain dishes, but a lot of them related specifically to the festival. I have tried to make some of those for this Holi shoot.

As I made Gujiyas today, I thought of how much I miss my mother. I would give anything to make Gujiyas again with her. However, I will always remember these sweet memories.

However, Gujiya was the best out of all of those recipes. The pastry is made with all-purpose flour and khoya and tastes like a sweet dumpling. So I thought why not give it a twist as we love to have paan shots or paan Thandai on this festival so why not fill filling of paan ingredients in this Gujiya. And it turned out so crispy and yummy and no taste compromise as well. They got perfectly crispy in the Air- Fryer.

I essentially never tried making these typical festival recipes, since my mom always sent them to me every year. In the past, I thought it was a big deal to get them all made at once, but I just realized that I can figure them out by myself now.

It was assumed that making this would take that much time, it would be annoying and time-consuming to shape them, I would never be able to do it, and more such stuff.

Surely many of you shared my opinion, right? My doubts were all cleared up after making the Gujiya Recipe myself, and I found myself making my favorite Gujiya recipe.

Making them is so simple that you will be pleasantly surprised by the result. Generally, the filling is different between a Gujia and a Maharashtrian karanji.

Make these delicious Gujiyas and enjoy them with your loved ones during Holi as well! As you do this, celebrate Holi with everyone, and let them savor your delicious Gujiya too!

The festival of Holi was always and will always be my favorite, and I enjoy sprinkling water and colors on everyone.

Please let me know if you like them and how they turned out. In the meantime, have a bright and colorful Holi with your loved ones, and stay blessed!

Check out the Paan Gujiya – Air fry Recipe Video :

WHAT IS GUJIYA / KARANJI ?

In India, Gujia or Karanji is a sweet, pastry empanada filled with cottage cheese, coconut, dried fruit, and cardamom powder, commonly known as suji.

Gujiya is a deep-fried sweet so well known in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, as well as during festivals such as Holi and Diwali. It is made with flour and stuffed with a thick mixture of khoya and dry nuts.

Ghughra can also be found in Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh. These deep-fry fried snacks are all deep fried similar to Gujiya, however, they have different fillings.

Ingredients

• 1.5 cup – All-purpose Flour.
• 1 cup – Suji/semolina
• 2 tbsp – Refined oil
• 1/2 cup – Desiccated coconut powder
• 3 tbsp – Walnuts chopped
• 4 tbsp – Cashews chopped
• 2 tbsp – Pistachios chopped
• 1 tsp – Cardamom powder
• 2 tbsp – Paan mukhwas
• 2 tbsp – Gulkand
• 4 tbsp – Tutti- frutti
• 4 to 5 – Betel leaves
• 2 drops – Green food gel color.

How To Make Paan Gujiya – Air fry Recipe (Karanji)

Three major steps are involved in the making of Gujiya:

Dough Making – Gujiya dough is like a pastry dough, made with some flour and some fat. We use ghee (clarified butter) for gujiya, whereas most pastry dough uses butter.. If you want it vegan use vegan butter combined with the flour.

Making the filling – Make the stuffing by making khoya (mawa) and adding some nuts. Here I skipped mawa or khoya and added other ingredients of paan, mukhwas, dry fruits your choice. Add in other ingredients of your choice to taste the stuffing. I like to put desiccated coconut and green cardamon powder for flavoring.

Alternatively, if you prefer sugar-free, and would like to sweeten your stuffing then with chopped dates and/or figs. It’s up to you what filling you want to use.

Air-Fryer/Bake – In the traditional recipe, gujiya is deep-fried. However, the recipe that I am sharing today uses a no-fry method. This recipe can be prepared using either an air fryer or Instant Pot with a crispy lid. The low-fat, guilt-free gujiya are perfect for this Holi.

Soaking in sugar syrup – Soaking the gujiya in sugar syrup is optional, as it moistens the outer crust and makes it sweet, as it is not sweet in taste by itself. 

If you want to make an equal part of sugar syrup and water syrup, then make a syrup of one string consistency. Once the gujiya come out of the oven/air fryer, dip them for 15 seconds in the syrup to moisten them. I skipped this process as already my stuffing has gulkand, tutti fruity, and mukhwas so enough sweet for me.

How To Make Paan Gujiya – Air fry Recipe Step By Step With Photo:

1. Take all-purpose flour, add oil to the flour and start combing it together.
   
2. If the flour starts binding with the oil then it’s ready for kneading.
3. Gradually start adding water to the dough. Add water as required.
4. It should be a semi-tight dough. Then cover the dough with a moist cloth for 30 mins.
5. Then in a blender take chopped betel(Paan) leaves add water and make a fine paste.
6. Now strain the excess paan water. Now discard the paste and keep the excess paan water we drained in the bowl aside.
7. Now add two drops of green food gel color to the Paan water mix it and keep it aside.
8. Take a pan heat 3 tbsp of oil or ghee.
9. Now in low medium flame add suji/ semolina. keep stirring it till semolina turns slightly brown in color.
10. Add chopped cashews, pistachios, and walnuts into the mixture keep stirring till a nice aroma.
11. Add desiccated coconut powder to the mixture. Add cardamom powder. Keep stirring it for 6 to 7 minutes. Take it out on a plate and cool down.
12. After mixture gets at room temperature add paan syrup as needed, paan mukhwas, gulkand mix everything together. Keep aside.
13. Again knead the dough for 1 minute. Take a small portion and make equal size balls. Apply little oil to keep the balls moist and cover the balls with a cloth.
14. Take a ball, start rolling and roll out into a thin disc. 
15. Put the Paan stuffing into the disc.
    
16. Start binding the edges of the disc. Make a nice gujiya shape. Fold as shown below or refer to the video above given. Prepare all the gujiyas in the same way.
17. Preheat the air fryer for 180° degrees for 10 minutes.
18. After preheating, open the basket carefully then grease the air fryer with some oil. Place 4 gujiyas. Now brush some oil over the gujiyas.
19. Now bake the gujiyas at 180° for 10 mins.
20. Take out the gujiyas flip them, brush some oil over the other side of the gujiya. Bake them at 180° for 5 minutes.
    
21. Take them out brush with little oil if you want for some extra flavors and silver vark optional for that Holi effect and serve.

How To Bake Gujiya (Karanji)

The materials you’ll need are a 9×13 inch baking sheet and parchment paper.

350 degrees Fahrenheit is the temperature at which the oven should be preheated. 

Take a pastry brush and spread melted oil or ghee all over the gujiya.

The gujiya should be baked for 25-30 minutes, turned halfway through, brushed with melted ghee, and baked until the crust is light brown in color.

It can take around 20 to 25 minutes because each oven is different. Please pay attention to these as they can get burnt very quickly.

How to make Gujiyas in the Air fryer or Instant pot

• It is necessary to have mealthy crispy lid if you are using mealthy instant pot.
• Before using this recipe, it is imperative that the Instant Pot is completely unplugged.
• Install a parchment bag over the crispy basket. Place the gujiya by holding them by the string and spreading some oil on the top of the gujiya. There should be around 7 smaller size gujiya.
• In the inner pot of Instant Pot, place the trivet that comes with a crispy lid.
• A trivet is perfect for placing the crispy basket over it.
• Then wrap the mealy crispy lid around the inner pot and plug it with the lid. Lower the handle.
• The gujiya should be cooked at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25-30 minutes, then they must be turned halfway through, and melted ghee applied to the gujiya and air fried until It has a nice light brown color on the outside.

How To Deep Fry Gujiya (Traditional Method)

• Deep frying requires oil that has been moderately heated. A Kadai or a wok will work fine for this.
• Make an oil test before you start to fry the gujiya to find out if the oil is at the right temperature. When a small piece of dough is dropped into the oil, it rises quickly, and the dough will float on the surface.
• It is important to remember that if the piece of dough sinks, then it means that the oil is too chilly, while if it rises quickly, it indicates that it is too hot.
• Do not overcrowd the Kadai with gujiya, fry one piece at a time depending on the size of the Kadai. Fry the gujiya in batches.
• Once the gujiya floats in the oil for a few minutes, flip gently to ensure even cooking. Fry the gujiya for about 8 to 10 minutes or until nice golden color.
• Drain excess oil by placing the gujiya on a kitchen towel. Place in an air-tight container after cooling completely.
• Be sure to pleat the gujiya edges if it’s going to be fried so it will not leak stuffing while being fried. Start from the one end, and pinch and twist, until all the edges are sealed (pleated).

How To Make Gujia Without Khoya (Mawa)?

Milk powder can be used instead of Khoya.

Add a couple of tablespoons of cream or milk to one cup of full-fat milk powder. Mix well until the mixture forms a smooth paste consistency.

These milk powders are ready for use as a substitute for khoya.

How To Make Gujiya With Sooji

• Gujiya can be made with sooji in place of khoya (mawa). Sooji gujiyas have a nice texture, longer shelf life, and it is economical too.
• Add a tablespoon of ghee to a cup of sooji, and roast them until light brown in color. Cool completely, and then add the dry nuts and sugar. And the sooji filling is ready!

How To Serve And Store Gujiya(Karanji)

A warm serving of gujiya is to my liking, but you can also serve this at room temperature.

You can store Gujiya(Karanji) at room temperature for 4-5 days. If you do not use it within the first four days, you will lose all its nutritional value. 

Important Suggestion To Keep In Mind

• The Gujiya must be shaped with a mould unless you are skilled in sealing the edges with your fingers. The gujiya may be made by hand or using the gujiya mould. The gujiya mould produces results slightly faster than by using gujiya mould.
• You can toss the fried gujiyas in sugar syrup if you like. Prepare a very thin one-string syrup and then dip the gujiyas until coated.
• It is therefore essential to buy one beforehand or to order one from the internet.
• Other types of dry fruits you can use in the filling include almonds, cashews, pistachios, etc.
• Make sure your dough is not over-kneaded. Let it rest for around 30 minutes before rolling it.
• Make sure that the Gujiyas you fill is not overfilled. I’ve done that, and the filling ended up flowing in oil all over if you are deep-frying them.
• Poppy seeds and chironji are great additions as my mom does. Raisins can be also added.
• You should mentally prepare yourself for the fact that the deep-frying process might take a while.
• The Gujiya should not be fried on high heat because they will be browned on the outside, but raw from the inside, and that isn’t good.
• For the filling of these Gujiyas, you can use either powdered sugar or boora.
• You can Bake, deep fry and air fry them. As per your choice.
• You must make sure that the gujiya are well-sealed after stuffing. If the gujiya open during frying, the stuffing will leak out and ruin the batch.

Print

Note: A rough estimate of nutrition is provided.

 We Love to hear back from you and appreciate your success stories!
Have you tried this “Recipe”? Please feed us with your ★ star ratings and comments below.

You can also FOLLOW me on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and PINTEREST for more fabulous recipes and updates.