Best Gujiya Brands in India To Try Out This Holi – Mishry

Fried, flaky, flavorful Gujiyas make the festival of colors undeniably better! But what if your box of gujiya sweet is overly sweet, subtly flavored, or worst of all-all crust with no filling?

Mishry reviewed FOUR brands to find the Best Gujiya in India. Who are you rooting for?

What were we looking for? A flaky crust, a flavorful filling, an inviting aroma, and the festive look- this is what makes a perfect readymade Gujiya. Which of our contenders from the most popular Gujiya Brands in India stood out? 

1. Packaging

In a carry bag or just a box, how does the brand deliver this delicacy? Stacked in slots or placed randomly? A sheet of cling wrap or foil to preserve freshness and crunch? Who did it best?

2. Main Ingredients

This sweet, deep-fried dumpling has a crust made of suji or maida (refined wheat flour) or a blend of both. 

The filling is prepared with khoa (roasted/unroasted) with dried fruits and aromatics and spices like cardamom and saffron. 

3. Taste

We were looking for well-flavored filling that showcased balanced sweetness with desirable flavors of cardamom and saffron. 

Saffron being a crucial ingredient, we checked whether the crust had the sweet floral saffron taste.

4. Texture

A crisp crust and a moist filling with an inviting mouthfeel were the main focus points. Was the crust greasy to touch?

The nut bits hold essential significance in the overall texture. Do they have a bite? If yes, was it soggy or crunchy? Slivers or chunks, the style of chopping impacts the texture too. 

5. Appearance 

Silver leaf is commonly used to add a festive touch. In addition to this, did the Gujiyas feature a pleasing saffron color? Garnished with nuts? Saffron strands?

Has visual consistency been maintained? What about broken or cracked pieces?

6. Freshness

Did we notice any rancid smell? 

Any bitter-tasting bites? Did the khoa filling taste fresh and milky?

What about the nuts?

Does the packaging help retain this freshness?

7. Price

A 500-gram box of Gujiyas would be priced between RS 300-450/-

8. Shelf Life

Since Gujiyas contain a milk-based filling, they have a short shelf life of 3-5 days. 

Let’s get into the details: The appearance and texture of the outer cover, the taste and mouthfeel of the filling, the overall taste, and other parameters for the contenders of our extensive gujiya review for Holi are discussed below. 

In addition to these, we gauged the visual uniformity, the aroma, and the crust to filling ratio. 

Two days before starting our review process, we checked food delivery applications like Zomato and Swiggy to ensure brands offered Kesar Gujiyas. More details on packaging and price are discussed.

So which is the best gujia?

1. Haldiram Gujiya

Haldiram Gujiya featured the BEST packaging. The Gujiyas were neatly placed in a slotted box covered with a sheet of cling film to retain freshness. The box was further placed inside a brown bag. This box held 21 pieces.

As the contents were unveiled, we saw almost identical pieces that had an aesthetic appearance. The crescent-shaped delicacy had some saffron water and saffron strands sprinkled on them with powdered pistachios. The silver leaf (chandi warq) added a festive touch.

The Gujiyas look like they’ve been dipped in sugar syrup adequately. They don’t look too dry or highly moist. This emits a sweet aroma, where cardamom is the identifiable ingredient.

Step one was cutting the Gujiya in half to gauge the crust to filling ratio. Haldiram offers a great portion of filling in the Gujiyas. There were no empty pockets!

The outer cover showcases balanced sweetness and has a desirable flaky texture. The filling is mildly roasted, as signified by the appearance and mouthfeel. 

Slightly browned and crumbly, Haldiram’s Gujiya filling is flavored with cardamom and saffron. Almond and pistachio bits and chunks are added generously. The nuts add a unique bite to this dessert. 

Overall, the crispy cover and rich filling taste great together!

2. Bikanervala Gujiya

Bikanervala Gujiya is packed just like the former contender. A 500-gram box holds 11 identically sized Gujiyas.

Silver leaf, saffron strands, and pista bits are used to garnish the Gujiyas. A strong sweet saffron aroma was observed. 

The crust to filling ratio was quite good. The thickness of the outer cover was just right. It wasn’t too thick or too fine. The filling had an impeccable texture. It had been well roasted and had a crumbly, melt-in-the-mouth texture. This filling had some nuts that weren’t crisp but they added a bite. That said, the nuts taste fresh. 

The overall flavor of the filling was dominated by saffron and laced with a subtle nutty pista taste.

3. Kaleva Gujiya

A 500-gram box priced at Rs 320 holds nine pieces. Visually, this Kaleva dry Gujiya was garnished with almond and pista slivers. A layer of the sugar syrup coating was visible. It had a saffron-like amber appearance.

While we did not find any empty pockets, the crust to filling ratio was average. 

This saffron-dominant filling was unroasted and had some nuts. No one Gujiya had more than two nuts. On the other hand, the filling tastes quite good. The sweetness is varying and there’s a desirable ghee flavor.

The outer cover is unevenly coated with sugar. Half of the Gujiya feels sweet and moist, the other half is dry and barely sweet. A bold flavor of some type of fat can also be tasted on the flaky crust.

4. Om Sweets Gujiya

There are 10 pieces in a 500-gram box that is wrapped with a sheet of cling film. This box was delivered in a bag.

This features a THICK crust. It tastes crisp and fresh. Though the sweetness is fairly decent, the taste of ghee is overpowering and undesirable.

The filling is skimpy. There’s barely any filling. We tasted several empty flour pockets.

The filling, by itself, is quite delicious. It comprises well-roasted khoa that is adequately sweet with SUPER crunchy bits of almonds and pista. But when tasted with the crust, this experience comes down significantly. 

The cardamom flavor. The taste of saffron. The fresh nuts. These three aspects gave Haldiram Gujiya an edge over the other three contenders, making it our Top Pick this year.

We also recommend Bikanervala Gujiya for the impeccable tasting stuffing it was filled with.

We were looking for crisp, flaky Gujiyas with a toothsome filling, and some textural interplay. Our Top Pick- Haldiram Gujiya offered this and more! 

Right from the packing to the filling, everything has a touch of premium to it. 

What’s your favorite Holi delicacy? Is it Gujiyas?