Many moods, many moons

Kandla Nijhowne

Holi is here and the shops are stacked with pichkaris, colours and the ubiquitous pyramids of gujiya that greet us at every mithaai shop. Today, I bring you gujiyas with an interesting twist. They are similar in shape, baked, not fried, and are the savoury end of the spectrum. The western world calls them half-moons for obvious reasons.

Savoury moon pies

• 4 cups maida
• 1/2 cup ghee (melted)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2- 2 cups chopped ham
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• Salt, pepper and mustard to taste
• 1/2 cup boiled green peas (optional)

Method

• Mix maida and salt in a shallow wide bowl then sprinkle melted ghee over it.
• Lightly rub the mixture with your fingertips till it looks mealy.
• Sprinkle just enough water on it and knead it into a soft dough. Cover and rest for 20 minutes.
• In another bowl mix together the chopped ham, cheese, peas and salt and pepper.
• Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C, then roll out the dough and cut into circles (4 inches across).
• Lay out the discs on the worktop and smear with mustard.
• One by one, place each disc into a gujiya mould, fill with some ham mixture, wet the edges and close to crimp the edges.
• Arrange on a tray, prick with a fork and baste with ghee.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping them over halfway during this time.
• Remove from oven and serve with a dip or sour cream or tartar sauce.

Note: If you don’t possess a mould, simply wet the edges of the dough, fold in the filling and press down with the tines of a fork. Any cooked meat or vegetable can be used to make the moon pies. Just make sure the filling is not wet, or the resulting crust will be soggy.

(Nijhowne is a Chandigarh-based culinary expert)