During Diwali, the five-day festival of lights that coincides with the Hindu new year in October, revelers light fireworks and enjoy family feasts, where mitha, or sweets, are ever-present. One commonly made sweet is ghughra, a hand pie filled with a mixture of khoya (ground nuts and jaggery, a type of cane sugar).
In her new cookbook, “Milk & Cardamom: Spectacular Cakes, Custards and More, Inspired by the Flavors of India” (Page Street Publishing Co; $22), Belmont’s Hetal Vasavada, founder of the Milk & Cardamom blog, offers up a galette version, where the pie crust is filled with a frangipane-like mixture using the ingredients found in ghughra.
Ghughra Galette
Makes one 9-inch galette
Pie crust ingredients:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ tablespoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 egg
¼ cup cold milk
Ghughra filling:
2½ tablespoons raw almonds
3 tablespoons raw shelled pistachios
2½ tablespoons raw cashews
1⁄3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1⁄3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten, reserve a tablespoon to brush the pastry
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1½ tablespoons semolina flour
Ice cream, fresh fruit or powdered sugar, for serving
Directions:
To make the pie crust, mix the flour, granulated sugar and salt together in a large bowl. Add the butter and use your fingers to rub the butter and flour together until you get a wet-sandy texture. Add the egg and milk and use your hands to bring the dough together. Do not knead the dough too much, otherwise you’ll end up with a tough crust that isn’t flaky. Shape the dough into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for 30 minutes.
To make the ghughra filling, place the almonds, pistachios and cashews in a blender and blend until you have a sand-like powder.
In a separate bowl, cream the butter and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg — reserve a tablespoon to brush on the crust — and vanilla and whisk well. Stir in the nut powder, all-purpose flour and semolina. Set aside.
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the dough on the baking sheet. Roll the pie crust out into an 11-inch circle that is 1⁄4-inch thick. Spoon the ghughra filling into the center of the pie crust and spread it into a thin layer, leaving a 2-inch border of pie crust. Gently fold the edges of the crust over the filling.
Brush the pie crust with the reserved 1 tablespoon of beaten egg. Bake for 10 minutes, turn the temperature down to 375 degrees and bake for an additional 30 to 35 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. If the crust starts to brown too much, place a sheet of foil on top of the galette to prevent it from burning.
Serve warm or at room temperature with a big scoop of mango pista ice cream, fresh fruit or dusted with powdered sugar.
— From “Milk & Cardamom: Spectacular Cakes, Custards and More, Inspired by the Flavors of India” (Page Street Publishing Co; $22) by Hetal Vasavada
