Give a refreshing twist to gujiya with these Paan Gujiya where the gujiyas are filled with a paan filling made with mawa, fresh paan leaves, fennel and gulkand. Air fry or deep fry them for a delicious festive treat.
4largepaan leaveschopped, use more if the leaves are smaller
2-3tablespoonsdesiccated coconut powder
1/4teaspoonfennel seeds
1 & 1/2tablespoonpaan masala
1tablespoontutti frutti
1tablespoongulkandrose petal preserve
2dropspeppermint extract
1-2tablespoonspowdered sugarto taste, also known as confectioners sugar or icing sugar
Sugar syrup
1/2cupwater
1/2cupgranulated white sugar100 grams
few dropspaan essenceoptional
crushed tutti frutti, to garnish
edible silver leaves, to garnish
Instructions
Make the gujiya dough
Start by making the gujiya dough. To a large bowl, the flour, salt and 2 tablespoons of melted ghee. Mix the ghee into the flour by rubbing it between your palms. Do this a few times until the mixture looks like crumbs.
then add water little by little and knead to form a relatively tight dough. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rest for 20 to 30 minutes.
Make the paan filling
Roast mawa in a pan on medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until it turns very light golden brown in color, then transfer it to a blender along with paan leaves and blend to a paste.
Transfer the paste to a bowl and to that add desiccated coconut powder, fennel seeds, paan masala, tutti frutti and gulkand. Also add powdered sugar and peppermint extract and mix until everything is well combined.
Roll and fill the gujiya
Once the dough has rested, divide it into small balls, around 20 to 25 grams each. Keep the dough balls covered with a damp cloth to prevent drying. Meanwhile, mix 2 tablespoons of flour with 3 tablespoons of water. This paste will be used to seal the gujiya. Roll dough balls into circles of around 5 to 6 inches diameter. Place the rolled dough over the gujiya mold. Apply the flour and water paste all around the edges. Fill the gujiya with 1 to 1 &1/2 tablespoon of paan filling.
Close the mold to seal the gujiya. Remove the excess dough from the sides. Make all gujiyas simialrly. And remember to keep them covered until you cook them to prevent them from drying.
Cook the gujiya
You can either deep fry or air the gujiya. I air fried them. Preheat the air fryer according to the manufacturer's instructions. Place the gujiyas into the air fryer and spray them with an oil spray. I was able to air fry 8 gujiyas in one batch.Air fry at 360 F degrees for 14 to 17 minutes or until golden brown in color. Each air fryer is different so adjust the timings accordingly.
Make a sugar syrup by adding 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar to a pan. Once the sugar dissolves and the mixture starts to boil, let it boil for 4 to 5 minutes until it gets a little sticky and then turn off the heat. Add few drops of paan essence if you have it. Drop the gujiyas into the sugar syrup, 30 seconds on each side and then remove them from the syrup using a tong dripping any excess syrup. Place them on parchment paper and garnish with crushed tutti frutti and edible silver leaves. Once the syrup dries off, store them in an airtight container.
Notes
I used dry Kolkata paan masala which I got from India. You can use any paan masala that you like or even skip it if you don't have it.
You can either air fry or deep fry them. Please refer to the blog post for instructions on deep frying these gujiyas.