Gujjiya is synonymous with Holi and Diwali. It is a deep fry desi croissant or empanada, popular across India. Vegan Gujiya is the traditional gujiya recipe without mawa or milk solids. While Uttar Pradesh and central India calls it gujiyas, Marathis call it karanji, Telegu kajjakayalu, Goans nevri. This is also a recipe for ghughra as it is called in Gujarat and is prepared during Diwali instead of Holi .
Karanji
Nowadays, mawa is adulterated and people also have less time. Also, many people want to go vegan and are weight conscious. Make this Marathi recipe 'Karanji' if you want to enjoy a gujiya without mawa. It is both healthy and tasty. Also try these festive air fryer sweets
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How to make gujiya in air fryer? (recipe video)
Equipment
- kadai/frying pan
- stand mixer
- Grinder
- mold optional/ below recipe is without mold
Ingredients
For filling:
- dry fruits (almonds, cashews, walnuts)
- desiccated coconut fresh or dry
- coconut oil
- gud or jaggery / palm sugar
- Khuskhus or poppy seeds
- Sooji or semolina optional
- Elaichi or cardamom powder
- Water if using sooji
For pastry
- Plain flour (can be replaced with wholewheat flour, the cooking time will increase by 3-4 minutes)
- Sooji or semolina
- Salt
- Oil for vegan/ghee if vegetarian
- Warm water for kneading
Refer to recipe card for quantities
How to make gujiya without khoya?
1.Grind the nuts and roast in a pan for few minutes with khuskhus (poppy seeds)
2. Add desiccated coconut and roast it for few minutes. Now, add coconut oil
3.Add green caradamom powder,jaggery or palm sugar.
4.Once jaggery has melted, add the raisins and turn off the heat.
how to make gujiya dough?
5.Take the ingredients for the pastry dough in a bowl.
6.knead with water in a semi hard dough.
7.Roll a piece of dough ,place a spoonful of filling.
8.Press from all sides. Do not leave any open gaps else mixture will come out while frying. Start binding the edges using finger tips. Place the index finger of right hand. Now, roll the immediate part of covering to bind it.
9.Prepare the gujiya and keep them ready for frying
10.Deep fry on low heat. Take out when golden brown. Repeat for all the pieces.
How to Air fry Gujiya?
You can also air fry vegan Gujiya to avoid any excess oil used in deep frying.For this, prepare the gujiya as per the above steps.To get more crispy gujiya if you are using an air fryer use plain flour (maida) and not wholemeal flour.
- Refer to the recipe here for Baked namak para.Use the dough as used in this recipe.
In a preheated air fryer (5 minutes) at 170C |340 F, cook the gujiya for 15-16 minutes. Spray oil twice in between.If using whole wheat flour, cook for 18-19 minutes or until they sound hollow. Turn over the gujiya once in between.
Store these in an air tight container.
Related recipes
Vegan Gujiya recipe
Equipment
- kadai/frying pan
- stand mixer
- Grinder
Ingredients
Stuffing
- ½ cup dry fruits almond,cashew,walnut
- ⅓ cup desiccated coconut fresh or dry
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 3 tablespoon gud or jaggery / palm sugar
- ½ teaspoon khuskhus or poppy seeds
- 1 teaspoon sooji or semolina optional
- ½ teaspoon elaichi or cardamom powder
- 2 teaspoon water if using sooji
Pastry
- 2 cup plain flour / maida
- 1 tablespoon sooji or semolina
- 2 tablespoon oil for vegan/ghee if vegetarian if using air fryer,use double the amount of ghee/oil
- ¾ cup Warm water for kneading use 1-2 tablespoon more water if required
- A pinch of salt
- Oil for frying 1-2 tablespoon oil for brushing in case of Air fryer version
Instructions
Stuffing
- Grind the nuts and roast in a pan for few minutes with poppy seeds(khuskhus)
- Add desiccated coconut ,roast for few minutes, add coconut oil
- Add caradamom powder,jaggery
- Once jaggery has melted, add raisins turn off the heat
To shape the gujiya
- Take the ingredients for the pastry dough in a bowl
- Knead with water in a semi hard dough.
- Roll a piece of dough ,place a spoonfull of filling
- Press from all sides. Do not leave any open gaps else mixture will come out while frying. Start binding the edges using finger tips. Place the index finger of right hand. Now, roll the immediate part of covering to bind it. Alternatively you can also use a gujjiya mould.
For deep fried vegan Gujiya
- Prepare the gujiya and keep them ready for frying
- Fry on low heat,take out when golden brown
For Air fried Gujiya
- In a preheated air fryer (5 minutes) at 170C |340 F, cook the gujiya for 14-15 minutes. Spray oil twice in between. If using whole wheat flour, cook for 16-17 minutes or until they sound hollow.
- Store these in an air tight container.
Video
Substitutions and Variations
- For a vegetarian version, you may fry karanji in ghee. If you like your milk solids or mawa, use instant khoya using full fat cream and milk powder. This is still better than using store bought mawa to make mawa gujiya.
- There are many ways of making gujia. Usually, it is made of all purpose flour or maida and deep fried. However, you can always replace some with whole wheat flour instead. Filling can be customized according to taste.
- Add chopped nuts as per your taste.
- You can use a gujiya mold or make it without one as in the above recipe. Coat it with powdered sugar or with sugar syrup if you like yours much sweeter.
If you enjoy festive sweets, you can also try my crunchy Air Fryer Shakarpara - another light, guilt-free Diwali classic.
Storage
Your vegan gujiya can be made 1-2 days in advance before any festival. You can make it even before any travel and it can last for 7-10 days at room temperature.Store it in an airtight container once it cools completely.
FAQ
Whether you're making gujiyas for Holi or Diwali, these quick FAQs cover how to prepare, store, and air fry them for that perfect flaky bite.
Yes! Air-frying gujiya gives you the same golden, crisp texture with far less oil. Brush them lightly with ghee or oil and air fry at 180 °C (355 °F) for 12-15 minutes, flipping once halfway.
Absolutely. You can prepare and shape gujiyas a day in advance. Keep them covered in the fridge and air fry just before serving to keep them flaky and fresh.
Traditional mawa, coconut, and dry-fruit filling works beautifully. For a lighter version, try jaggery and desiccated coconut - both taste great and air fry evenly.
Conclusion: Gujiya is a mandatory for Holi and Diwali festival and if you are health conscious, air fryer gujiya wont disappoint you. Occasionally, even the fried ones are great too!
Neelima Chowdhary says
How much coconut oil?
When to add khus-khus and suji?
bhavana bhatia says
hi neelima, you need to add 1 tbsp coconut oil , and khuskhus along with nuts at the start. Sooji is option, but if you want to add you may add that at the start.if you use sooji, the stuffing will be more soft due to addition of water. However without the sooji it self it turns out well.
Thanks for pointing out, we have updated the ingredient/step