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Gulab Jamun  

Gulab Jamun

The recipe for one of the most renowned Indian dessert: Gulab Jamun, soft balls of fried dough in rosewater syrup.

Course Dessert
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Author Recipe adapted from Manjula’s Kitchen

Ingredients

Syrup

  • 1 ¾ cup sugar
  • 1 ½ cup water
  • ½ tsp cardamom powder
  • 1 pinch saffron
  • 1 tbsp rosewater not in the picture

Gulab Jamun

  • 1 cup skim milk powder
  • 1/4 cup all purpose flour maida
  • 3 tbsp ghee
  • 1/4 cup whole milk at room temperature
  • 1 pinch of baking soda
  • 1 tbsp sliced almonds and pistachio
  • Vegetable oil for deep-frying

Instructions

Syrup

  1. In a large pan, combine the water, sugar and cardamom powder and bring to a boil. Let the syrup boil for another minute to completely dissolve the sugar.
  2. Add the saffron and rosewater and turn off the heat.  Keep aside.

Gulab Jamun

  1. In a bowl, mix the milk powder, flour and baking soda.
  2. Add the ghee and mix well.
  3. Add the milk and knead well until you get a soft and sticky dough (the milk powder will slowly absorb the extra milk).  If the dough is dry, add more milk to make it soft. Let the dough sit for a few minutes.
  4. Grease your palms with ghee and knead the dough again.
  5. Divide the dough into ten equal parts and roll them into round balls.
  6. Heat the vegetable oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. To test, place a small piece of the dough into the oil: the oil should sizzle and the dough should take a minute to rise. If the dough rises faster, the oil is too hot; if the oil does not sizzle, it is not hot enough.
  7. Place the gulab jamun in the sauce pan. Do not overcrowd the pan, as the gulab jamun will expand.
  8. Fry the gulab jamun on medium heat for about seven minutes, rolling them around for even browning.
  9. Let the gulab jamun cool a few minutes before placing them into the hot (but not boiling) syrup.
  10. Let the gulab jamun sit fully submerged in the syrup for at least 20 minutes before serving. They should double in size.
  11. Gulab jamun can be served warm or at room temperature.  They can also be served with ice cream.

Recipe Notes

If the gulab jamun are fried on high heat, they will be hard inside and not fully cooked.

Too much baking soda will make the gulab jamun too soft or cause them to break when frying.

Don’t place the gulab jamun in the syrup immediately after frying, or they will lose their shape and be too chewy.