Karanji: Traditional Sweet Deep Fried Dumpling

Karanji or Gujiya is a sweet snack and is a big part of festivals like Holi, Diwali, and Ganesh Chaturthi in India. These half-moon-shaped fried pastries are stuffed with a mixture made of desiccated coconut, sesame seeds, nuts, raisins, and vibrant spices.

Good for Vata and Pitta Dosha

Prep Time: 40 Min
Total Time: 1 Hour 20 Min
Serves: 4-5 person(approx)

Ingredients

For stuffing:

½ cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
1 tbsp white sesame seeds
1 tbsp almonds
1 tbsp cashew nuts
1 tbsp raisins
½ tsp cardamom powder
3 tbsp sugar, powdered
½ tbsp ghee

For outer cover:

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tbsp ghee
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup milk

Method

For stuffing:

Melt ghee in a pan.
Add desiccated coconut and saute until it turns slightly golden. Keep aside.
Now, roast sesame seeds in a pan until golden. Keep aside.
Coarsely grind or chop almonds, cashew nuts, and raisins together.
Add nuts to the sesame and coconut mixture.
Add powdered sugar and cardamom and mix well. Keep aside.

For making the crust :

Take flour in a bowl and add melted ghee and some salt.
Knead the dough by adding milk in small parts.
Cover it with a moist cloth and let it rest for 20 minutes.

For stuffing karanji

Take the dough and make a lemon-sized ball then roll it evenly into a five-inch diameter circle with a rolling pin.
Place it into a karanji maker and add a tablespoon of stuffing in the middle of the rolled dough.
Close the karanji maker and press it tightly to seal. Make sure there is no stuffing at the edges while closing.
If a karanji maker is not available, place the flattened dough in your palm, add stuffing then apply some water on the edges and seal the edges together. Make sure the stuffing does not come out and pinch the edges to it the desired shape.
Make all the karanjis in the same way and cover them with a moist cloth so they don’t dry.

For frying karanji

Heat ghee in a pan for deep frying the karanjis.
Gently add 2-3 karanjis and fry them until they are and crisp.
Remove and place on paper towel to remove excess oil.
Store in an airtight container.

Serving Suggestion

Once cooled, serve or store karanji in an air-tight container.

Notes

Make sure you don’t overstuff the flattened dough as shaping the karanjis will become difficult. They may also break while frying.
Don’t place too many karanjis in the oil at the same time, as they won’t fry properly and could break.
You can substitute sugar with jaggery.