The copper-brown deep-fried balls dunked into the saffron and rosewater flavoured sugar syrup can make anyone drool. It is hard to stay away from these warm and soft, melt in mouth gulab jamuns that invite you the most in a sweet shop. You don’t want to stop after one and want more
These gulab jamuns can easily be made at home. The whole procedure is divided into two parts and the result is as sweet as this delectable dessert. I have made them authentically with mawa or khoya which is a milk solid. Some flour is added to it to make dough. Balls are shaped with this dough and then deep-fried to light or dark brown. Finally, these fried balls are dunked into the flavoursome sugar syrup for hours to soak the most of it
Course Dessert Type Traditional Indian Dessert Serves 12
Cooking time 60 minutes Author Bharti Dhawan
INGREDIENTS
• Khoya/mawa – 150 gms
• Maida/
• Baking soda – 1/4 tsp or a pinch
• Oil for deep frying
• warm milk as required for the dough
Ingredients for sugar syrup/chashni
• Sugar – 200 gms
• Water – 1 cup/100 ml
• Rosewater – 1tsp
• Lemon juice – 1/2 tsp
• A few strands of saffron or a pinch of saffron colour
• Cardamom powder or 2 whole
Method for sugar syrup
1– Take a pan and grease its sides with some ghee to prevent the sugar syrup from crystallizing
2- Add sugar, water, cardamoms and saffron strands to the pan and let it boil. Time to add rose water and lemon juice
3- Let the syrup boil for 4-5 minutes. The sugar syrup should not be thick. Switch off the flame before it gets the thread consistency. Keep aside to use later
*The test should be done with fingers. It should feel greasy but not thick to make threads
Method for gulab jamun
1– Heat the khoya a little in the kadahi. It should be warm. Transfer it to a thali or
2- Add maida and baking soda to it and combine well. Knead and mash it with your palm giving some pressure for 5 minutes
Now combine the ingredients and start mashing them with the help of your palm
*The mashing is mandatory to make it soft and lump-free. If you find the dough too hard, add 1 tsp warm milk to smoothen it
3- Divide this into equal portions and make balls rolling with both hands so well that there is no crack in them. Make all balls with the same method and cover with a wet cloth to rest for 10 minutes
* The balls should be small as they will rise in the sugar syrup
4- Heat oil at slow gas. When you feel the temperature increasing to medium, drop 2-3 balls first. After a few minutes add more 2-3 balls
* The important thing to remember is that you should stir the oil continuously without touching the balls. This would prevent the balls from breaking and to get brown colour evenly. Pour the hot oil on the balls with the ladle
5- Continue the same process with the remaining balls. If you feel the oil has become too hot, switch off the flame for a while
6- When the balls get copper brown take them out and transfer them immediately to the warm sugar syrup.
7- Let them remain in it for 2-3 hrs covering with a lid. Slowly they will absorb the sugar syrup and swell up
Notes
1- When you drop the balls into the oil, the oil must be at the medium side hot. Stir the balls in oil to get the even colour
2- When you drop the fried balls into the sugar syrup, it must be warm
3- Leave the gulab jamuns in the sugar syrup for 2-3 hrs to absorb most of it
