Baked Karanji(parcels) for Diwali

Karanji is a speciality snacks for Diwali. These are also called as Gujiya in North of India. These are usually made of a kind of pastry with a mix of semolina and flour. The filling is either grated fresh coconut cooked with sugar or at times jaggery. The parcels are made and fried in oil.  I had prepared these during Diwali last year(you may refer to the old post). My son does not fansy fried/oily stuff hence had a baked version of Karanji.

Ruchira book suggests 5 types of Karanjis’

Type 1: Using fresh coconut and sugar as filling

Type 2: Using dessicated coconut and confectioner’s sugar

Type 3 :This is lengthy process where in 2 cups of semolina is soaked 1 cup pf rice for 3 days. This is then spread and dried. The mix is then pounded and sieved to get the pastry flour!!

TYpe 4 : Indradhanushi Karanjya, where the pastry is coloured rolled into sheets. These are then rolled into a tube just like swiss rolls and cut. Each  chopped pastry ball is rolled with a rolling pin the cut side and filled the same as the other karanji:)

Type 5: Here she suggesting baking them.using vistav(coal/wood).Bhajlelya karanjya..I feel like giving her a hug here. Imagine…in her times using the minimal resources when ovens were not prevalent in Indian kitchens!!

I adapted a simple Type 2 and Type 5 versions.

For this you will need:

Pastry/dough

3/4 cup Fine Semolina

1/4 cup Flour

Pinch of salt

4 tsp. Ghee (Clarified butter)

Milk to knead the dough(1/2 cup)

Mix in all the ingredients, using milk knead into a semi soft dough. Keep it covered with a damp cloth at least for 30 mins. Divide into equal portions and shape them into balls. Keep them covered with a damp cloth.

For the filling:

2 cups of dessicated coconut

1/2 cup Dry Fruits finely chopped.

1 tin of Condensed Milk

1 cup Milk Powder

1 tablespoon of rose water

Mix all the ingredients apart from the  rose water. Microwave the mixture for 2 mins and stir. Cook in the microwave for another minute and stir. Repeat the process till the mixture thickens. Once done, add rose water  and mix. Let the mixture cool down.

For baking the Karanjis’:

Pre-heat the oven at 180°C. Take one ball of dough and using rolling pin, roll it flat in a circle. Place stuffing on the flattened dough proportionately and fold the circle to form a semi circle (karanji). Fold and press the edges of the karanji. You may either fold the edges or use a fork to press. Prepare all the karanjis’ in this fashion. Place all karanjis on a baking tray lined with aluminum foil. Bake them at 180°C for about 30 mins or till the karanjis’ get light golden brown colour from both sides. If you are frying them, heat oil in a pan and place these karanjis and fry till golden brown.

You may fill in the parcels/ karanji with any stuffing you like. I sometimes like to make fresh Karanjis’ with fruit fillings. Here is a picture of spiced pineapple filling. I used canned cubed pineapple and lightly spiced it with mixed spices. This was cooked to get a thick jammy filling with 1/2 cup of sugar.

Savoury is much enjoyed at tea time. Use greenpeas cooked in spices, crushed ginger garlic and chopped coriander and dash of lemon juice. Enjoy it with a tangy tamarind chutney or even a green chutney…

The baked versions are the healthy ones, hence am adding them as my entry to the event at my space: Healthy Finger Food which I am hosting for Priya.

Sending this as entries to the following event:

To my friend Nupur Who is celebrating Indian Sweets

Priya’s 60 Days of Christmas… 

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