Ghughra

A traditional Indian sweet hand-pit stuffed with sweetened rava, nuts, and raisins, Gujarati style

Prep: 30 min

Cook: 10 min

Total: 40 min

Servings: 16

Ingredients

For the Pastry Dough
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup ghee
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup water (Add a little at a time. You may need a little more or a little less.)
For the Filling
1/4 cup ghee
3/4 cup nuts
1/3 cup shredded coconut
1 Tbsp white poppy seeds (optional)
1/3 cup rava (semolina or cream of wheat)
2/3 cup powdered sugar
3/4 tsp cardamom powder
1 Tbsp golden raisins
1/2 tsp nutmeg

In a large bowl, add flour, salt, and ghee. Incorporate the ghee into the dough until you have a sandy texture.
Mix in the water until you have a slightly sticky dough. Cover with a damp towel and let rest for 30 minutes.
Toast the nuts in 1 Tablespoon of ghee. Remove and chop finely.
Heat 2 tablespoons of ghee and add coconut and poppy seeds to toast. Remove.
Add 2 tablespoons ghee to the pan and the semolina (rava). Toast until golden brown.
In a medium sized bowl, combine all of the filling ingredients and stir until they are well combined. They should be able to keep their shape when formed into a ball and squeezed.
Roll out the dough. Form a tube of dough, then cut into 16 pieces. Form pucks with the 16 pieces by rolling them into balls and then slightly flattening them.
Make your pastry shells by oiling a surface with ghee. Lay a puck on the surface and roll out evenly.
Add a heaping tablespoon of filling to the pastry and close and seal the edge either with a fork or with your fingers. Make sure it is tight enough that it will not open up when placed in the frying oil.
Fry each ghughra at 325°F. You should be able to do 3-4 at a time. Stir the oil as they fry and careful turn the ghughra to make sure they cook evenly on all sides.