My Mother's Special Gujiya

Gujiya is one sweet that most North Indians symbolize with Holi... but that I learnt only in my freshman year in college. At home, my mother used to make them all the time. Father and I liked them much, so Maa would often make them to go with the evening chai or just like that, as munchies after a long day's work. She even packed some in my tuck box when I left for college and that is when I realized how good and special her Gujiyas were. My friends loved them and reminded me to get some back after the holidays. Maa obliged and soon that became a ritual...a ritual that continued even after my marriage. I believe she would have continued to pamper us with her supplies had we still been in India... but... we are not... So the other day, at my request, Maa finally parted with her special recipe and said I could share it with all of you if I liked....  

Anyone who has had Gujiya  will testify that besides the filling, a crunchy crust is the next best thing about it. Often, a wrong  proportion of ingredients and incorrect frying temperatures are considered responsible for a not-so-crisp exterior. Maa says, besides taking those obvious precautions, one also needs to add a bit of sugar syrup to the dough mixture while kneading it. According to her, this little detail does wonders to the texture of the crust. My grandmother had apparently cracked this halwai's-secret and had shared it with Maa and she claims that it is this little thing that makes her sweets stand out. I tried out her trick this time and was so thrilled with the outcome.. 

The initial plan was to take some of the sweets to our friend's place and play Holi there. But it got too cold to go out, so we smeared colors on each others faces and celebrated Holi at home with colors and my mother's special Gujiya....

Now a quick word about Mawa , before I go on to the recipe...

Mawa, also known as Khoya, is made by simmering full-fat milk over low medium heat for hours until it reduces to a mass of slightly caramelized granular dough-like milk solids. If you have the time and energy, you can make your own Mawa at home, just as Maa did,  or like me, you can skip the hard work and buy your mawa from the Indian store... (You can find the recipe here.) 

Roshogollar Payesh # Holi, Guest Post by my sister

I come from a family of great cooks. My grandmother was the best. According to my mother, she could fiddle around with whatever was available and create fabulous dishes out of them. I think, Moni, my aunt, inherited my grandma's skills and passed those genes over to my sister, Didi.....   So soon after announcing the Favorite recipes Event I asked my sister if she would like to do a guest post for me. She readily agreed. I knew she would. She is the enthusiastic one in the house, always enjoying life as it comes and always up for some fun...

An old  photograph of my big family with my grandparents in the center,
my aunt Moni in the top row and
Didi, in the bottom row..the one wearing red turtleneck and blue n white frock 

Now over to my sister, as she reflects on Holi... then and Holi.. now

Holi.....hmmm I remember Holi as in my schooldays ,the festival of colors, drenching in water, having loads of sweets snacks ,house hopping, changing wet clothes from time to time, having fun with friends, no studies, entertaining guests and taking ages to scrub clean at the end of the day. The fun filled day with loads of excitement has now become a memory for me. Presently staying in UK with my family and with very little friends around, Holi is just another day for me.

My sister with her daughter, Sneha

Right now, my 6 year old daughter is trying to get the essence of this festival from Indian movies and television. And on the special occasions, I try to recreate the festive atmosphere in the house by cooking simple desserts such as Roshogollar Payesh, a sweet dish that Maa used to make for us in the good old days...

This is an uncomplicated recipe for those like me who are compelled to be in the kitchen every single day.....

Announcing Favorite Recipes Event : Seasonal Celebrations

Hello all and welcome to March and to the very first foody blog event at Ma Niche.  

This month I am hosting the Favorite Recipes Event. For those who do not know, Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen started the FR Event in January 2013 and it has ever since been running on various blogs, each month with a different theme.  This month, I chose to host the event  with the theme : Seasonal Celebrations. With St Patrick's Day, Holi and Easter round the corner, I am sure all of you will have lots of recipes to share. So get busy and start linking up your favorite recipes....

Just a few ground rules before we get to the link up : 

1. Submit  at least  one new recipe and  two recipes from the achieves and please update the post with the logo or a worded link. 
2. The recipe can be gluten or vegan free.
3. Kindly link this announcement post and Swathi's event announcement page in the recipes. You are welcome to use the logo, it is however not mandatory. 
4. Non-bloggers are also welcome to submit recipes relevant to the theme for the month. Just mail in your recipe along with a photograph to manichemyspace at gmail dot com.
5. Bloggers can link their recipes using the linky tool below. In case you have any difficulty, mail me your link at manichemyspace at gmail dot com. 
6. In case you are mailing your recipes to me, please include the following details:
1. Your Name:
2. Recipe Name :
3. Recipe Details :
4. Pic of the Dish :

An InLinkz Link-up

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Holi !