Gulab Jamun

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gulab Jamun is a milk-solid based pastry popular in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. It is a popular dessert during festivals and other celebrations like birthdays and weddings. Unlike most sweet pastries, gulab jamun gets all its sweetness from a sweet soaking syrup which is flavored with cardamon, rose water, lemon and saffron. It is best made the day before and left to soak in the syrup overnight. The texture is firm but moist. There are several ways of making this dessert. Here, I will be sharing a simple version which is a variation of a recipe by Show Me The Curry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

For Dough:

(1) 1/2 Cup powdered milk

(2) 2 Tbsps All Purpose Flour

(3) 2 Tbsps Yogurt

(4) 1 Tbsps Ghee or Melted Butter (Recipe for ghee here)

(5) 1/4 Tsp Baking Soda

For Simple Syrup:

(1) 2 Cups Water

(2) 2 Cups Granulated White Sugar

(3) 1 Tsp Rose Water/Few Drops Rose Essence

(4) 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

(5) 5 Crushed Cardamon Pods/1/2 Tsp Cardamon Powder

(6) Few Strands of Saffron

For Frying:

(1) Oil in a deep pan.

METHOD:

(1) Place all the ingredients for the syrup in a pot and heat until it starts boiling. Once it begins to boil, let it simmer on medium heat for 5 minutes and switch off the heat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2) While the simple syrup is heating, make the milk dough. Combine all the ingredients together and knead until a dough forms. It helps to allow the dough rest for a couple of minutes during the kneading process to allow the dry ingredients absorb moisture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(3) Once the dough is ready, shape the dough into small balls. Note that this dessert almost doubles in size after soaking in the syrup. The balls should thus be small or to your preference. Make sure the dough balls are very smooth with little or no cracks. It helps to grease your palms with a bit of oil or ghee while shaping them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(4) Heat the oil on medium heat and fry the dough. You do not want the oil to be very hot or the gulab jamun will get brown on the outside and remain raw inside. Stir the gulab jamun when frying so it browns evenly. Depending on the size of your balls, they should take about 5 minutes to cook. Scoop them out and place on a plate lined with a paper towel. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(5) Reheat the syrup and transfer the gulab jamun to the syrup. Turn off the heat. Leave them in the syrup to soak for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(6) Serve the gulab jamun with a bit of the soaking syrup. This dessert can remain in the soaking syrup for a couple of weeks or longer in the fridge. Any leftover syrup can be thinned and used to soak cakes and other desserts.