Khopraye ki poori : Crispy sweet dumplings with coconut fillings. GUJIA/ KAJJIKAI

Hath hateli, champa ki kali, bhari nadi mein ther te chali.... Bolo kya ? Poori .... 

OMG! Im nostalgic. My mom used to ask me this riddle and i would wonder, what would this be and my brother used shout poori... And i would be like oh, how?.. and my mom used to explain the riddle to me.. last night when i made these, i asked my brother do you remember the riddle and he at once started reciting the line like a poem... oh cute was that. 

khopray-ki -poori : This is very famous sweet made during different occasion in our community.   No wedding in community would be complete without the ladies of the household and relatives getting together for the pre-wedding preparation of  which making poories was the main one. About 300, 500 or even 1000's of these would be made and decorated. They would served and gifted to the grooms family and friends. 

I remember we children would be asked to make design on the outer dough shell and we would try to pull the filling out and eat. 

The stuffing (pooran )in these poories can be of  different kinds and the poori gets its name based on the stuffing like.. Daal ki poori, Khopra ki poori ( dry coconut poori), aloo halwa poori and the more ... 

These poories are called by different names in diffrent parts of India Gujias in North India, kajjikayalu in Andra, Karchikkai in Karnataka, neureos/ nevris in Goa and pedakiya in Bihar. At all dhanki hoseholds its called poori ;) 

Ingredients : 

For the Cover :

1. 500 gms Maida (All purpose flour) 
2. 6 tblsp Ghee (melted) 
3. Pinch of salt.
4. Oil for deep frying 

For the Filling (pooran) : 

1. 3/4 dry coconut ( khopra) grated / shredded 
2. 1/2 tsp green Cardamom Powder 
3. 25 gms chopped Almonda 
4. 25 gms Raisins (Kishmish) 
5. 250 gms Sugar  or as per taste 
6. 25 gms poppy seeds
7. 25 gms dates chopped
8. 25 gms roasted peanuts 
9. 25 gms of chopped cashews
10. 2 tblsp Ghee

Method : 

Dough divided into small balls

Dough rolled into 4'' round

Filling or the pooran 

Half the round filled with pooran 

Folding the dough 

sealing the edges and designing 

Designing the sealed edges 

deep fry the poories 

• Sieve the flour
• Add the ghee and pinch of salt in the maida.
• Using fingers, mix well so that the mixture takes the form of breadcrumbs and binds to a certain extent.
• Now add some water and knead lightly.
• Keep adding water as required and knead into a soft but tight dough.
• Set aside and cover with a damp cloth.
• In a pan heat 2tbsps add almonds, cashews, dates, peanuts and raisins. 
• Fry for 2 minutes and remove from the heat. Allow them to cool.
• Add sugar, the roasted dry fruits, poppy seeds and cardamom powder to the grated Khopra and mix well... keep aside 
• Divide the dough into small balls and roll each ball into a small round of 4 inch diameter.
• Fill half the round with the khora mixture, fold it and seal the round, twisting the edges inwards, or you would make designs by making impression ( optional)
• Take care that the filling does not come out.
• Prepare all the poories and spread on a cloth.
• Heat oil in a wok and deep fry the poories in batches on a medium flame..
• When golden brown in colour, drain and remove.

Yummy gujia/kajjikai/poori 

Hope you tried them and like them? do let me know