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Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Ghugra (Baked) & Strawberry Lassi

 

These have been on my 'to do' list ever since I saw this post and the time had come now at last. Though they reminded me the delicious South Indian kajjikayalu, the filling of these ghugras was interesting. I gathered from Jugalbandi that ghugras are traditional Gujarati snacks that are usually deep-fried. They are crescent shaped, all purpose flour shells with a savory vegetable (check the list below) filling inside or a sweet filling of dry fruits and nuts mixture.
I used to prepare a similar version for my son when he was younger so that it was easier for him to eat at school. It used to be a mixed vegetable filling in wheat flour shells but it involved deep frying. These ghugras had instantly attracted my attention since they were a baked version.
I tried them today and they turned out pretty good. The only drawback is that they need to be eaten fresh from the oven. The outer shell remained crispier only for a few hours and then turned softer.

Ingredients (makes 10)
For the covering:
1 cup all purpose flour / maida
(The original recipe uses whole wheat pastry flour. All purpose flour / chapathi flour can be substituted.)
Salt to taste
A pinch of baking soda
2 Tbsp ghee or melted butter
2 Tbsp yogurt
2 Tbsp melted ghee / butter for brushing.

For the filling:
1 cup tuvar lilva / fresh pigeon peas (fresh or frozen peas/whole green grams /chopped green beans/corn can be used.)
One inch piece of ginger
2 -3 Green chillies (I used Serrano peppers)
2 tsp oil
1 tsp carom / cumin seeds (I used both)
A pinch of asafoetida
Salt to taste
Pinch of sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
2 Tbsp minced cilantro
1/4 cup grated, fresh / dry coconut (I did not use it.)

Preparation of the dough:
Combine all the ingredients mentioned under covering in a mixing bowl. Gradually add water and make a soft, pliable dough. Let it rest while the filling is prepared.

Preparation of the filling:
* If using frozen beans, microwave them for a couple of minutes without adding water. Grind it along with chillies and ginger into a coarse paste. I used food processor to grind.
* Heat the oil and add carom / cumin seeds and asafoetida. When the seeds start to splutter, add the bean paste and salt.
* Cook covered for a few minutes. Turn off the heat and add the sugar, lemon juice, sesame seeds, cilantro and coconut if using. Mix well and let the mixture cool.

The ghugra preparation:
* Divide the dough into 10 equal balls and the filling into 10 equal portions.
* Preheat the oven to 375 F.
* Dust the work surface with some flour and roll out a dough ball into a thin disc of about 4 -5 inches diameter. Wet your finger and run it along the entire circumference. Spread a tablespoon of the filling on one half of the rolled out disc and fold over to the opposite end, enclosing the stuffing to form a semi-circle.  Press the ends firmly to seal, twisting the edges with your thumb and fore finger or with a fork or best of all, use a mould. Check this post for an idea.
* When all are assembled, brush them with ghee / butter. Place them on a baking sheet.
* Bake them for 15 minutes. Turn around the baking sheet and bake for another 15 - 20 minutes, until golden brown.


These ghugras are going to be a part of cooking with whole foods - toordal event, guest hosted by me and originally started by Kiran.


For the past three days, it has been around 90-95 deg F and feels like Summer is here at last. I therefore did not prefer to serve coffee / tea with these ghugras and went ahead with a yummy strawberry lassi to beat the heat. 


Strawberry Lassi:
Ingredients: (For 2 servings)
12 strawberries
1.5 cup yogurt (chilled)
Sugar to taste

Method:
Remove the stalks and wash the strawberries.
Blend the ingredients together and serve.

19 comments:

Sarah said...

oh wow! that looks so good! And its not fried!

Hari Chandana P said...

Very interesting recipe.. looks yummy.. Thanks for sharing :)
Indian Cuisine

Lifewithspices said...

wow awesome i love both the snack n the lassi..perfect clicks!!!i love non fried..

chef and her kitchen said...

lovely ghugras..healthy too

Aruna Manikandan said...

wow...
looks health and delicious dear :)

Priya Suresh said...

Baked ghugra looks super guilt free and interesting snacks, both shake and ghugra makes me drool..

Priya Sreeram said...

looks like a samosa stuffed with legumes-yummm- it gets my thumbs up for the baked part !!

Nivedita Thadani said...

Perfect evening snack:-)

Pavani said...

Ghugra look amazing and can't believe (at least from the pics) that they are baked. Yummy snack.

Sravs said...

wowo ghugra baked one !! really grt idea !! very interesting and will surly try !!

KrithisKitchen said...

Ghugra is new to me but totally love it for its filling.. bookmarked right away... Yummmy...
http://krithiskitchen.blogspot.com
Event: Healing Foods - Banana

harini-jaya said...

Surely a guilt free snack and most importantly I love the protein punch!

Unknown said...

That is indeed a great looking snack. Ghughra is a new name for me as well, never heard of it. Interesting filling. Well done by baking it :)

AJ said...

What a great snack!!

loestrin said...

tats really a nice looking snack.pronunciation is difficult for me though.
thanks for sharing

Deepthi Shankar said...

baked makes it so healthy ..

Sensible Vegetarian said...

Lovely snack. Beautiful platter.

Suparna said...

guilt free :P lovely recipe, looks delish!

Cooking Foodie said...

Beautiful platter - and a lovely idea to bake!