The gulab jamun post has been there in my recipe archives since 2011. I am reposting it with some pictures this time around. Amongst all the Indian mithais, gulab jamun can be labelled as the king of them all, especially in the north India. You are most likely to find a recipe for gulab jamuns without fail on almost every blog or website dedicated to Indian food. I think rasogullas and gulab jamuns will win hands down as almost everyone’s favourite Indian confection.

In the year 2006, my husband was posted abroad for almost a year and to cater to one’s sweet tooth to traditional Indian sweets, one had to either rely on the Indian cooks working in some Indian restaurant or dish them out by ourselves. I didn’t quite like the preparation of the cooks who charged a bomb and still the taste was nowhere near satisfaction. I was at loss on how to make gulab jamuns at home since khoya/ mawa (reduced milk) was not available anywhere and making my own was too cumbersome a job. I usually avoid cooking very elaborate recipes. Indian traditional sweets, especially, are mostly quite elaborate and involve a lot of time and effort in either the preparation or the cooking. Exasperated I surfed the net for an easy gulab jamun recipe. Lucky for me, I happened to stumble upon a recipe that used milk powder. This recipe has been with me for over 10 years and after some heavy tweaking it has proved to be a fool proof one.

I had never before made any Indian sweets at home except for halwa or kheer. And at that point of time I wasn’t that confident about pulling it off. But making gulab jamuns with powder milk proved to be an absolute cakewalk! It is simple, easy and yields almost professional results. The gulab jamuns are soft and grainy, exactly the way they are supposed to be. For the syrup instead of using rose water (I can’t stand roses, rose flavour or rose water in my food or drink) I have used saffron and cardamom. On a closing note I can definitely claim that whenever I served the gulab jamuns at the parties, they were always a hit and I was bombarded with requests for its recipe. So go ahead and… INDULGE!!

Here is the recipe:

Syrup  

400 gm Sugar

400 ml Water

1 tsp Lemon Juice

½ tsp Cardamom Powder

A few strands of Saffron

Gulab Jamun Dough

1¼ C Milk Powder (unsweetened)

4 tbsp Maida (Flour)

¼ tsp Baking Soda (Bicarb of Soda)

50 ml Whipping Cream

1 – 2 tbsp milk (as required)

Ghee to deep fry the dough

Mix sugar, lemon juice and water in a pot and place it on high heat. Bring to a boil while stirring to ensure that the sugar does not stick or crystallise at the bottom of the pan. Let t be on a rolling boil for 4 – 5 minutes yet careful not to bring the syrup to one string consistency.

Remove the pot from the heat and sieve the water to a casserole warmer and add the cardamom powder and saffrom strands. Close the lid and keep it aside.

Heat the ghee in a kadai (wok) or pan on medium low temperature. (I prefer a wok)

While the ghee is heating, whisk together the milk powder, maida and baking soda in a mixing bowl. Add whipping cream and very gently mix it into flour. Add a tablespoon of milk to make soft sticky dough. DO NOT knread the dough. You just need to bring everything together. (Add the other table spoon of milk only if the dough looks dry)

Grease a plate with a little ghee and make 28 balls. Ensure that the balls are smooth else they will break or split while frying. Cover them with damp cloth.

In three to four batches fry the dough balls turning them gently every now and then to ensure even cooking and browning.

Once the dough turns brown, remove them from oil with slotted spoon and drop them in the syrup. Close the lid of the casserole warmer to allow the balls to soak the syrup.

Fry rest of the balls in a similar fashion. Allow the balls to remain in the syrup for atleast an hour or till the balls have absorbed the liquid and softened.

You can serve them with their syrup or drained. The gulab jamun is ready! Serve hot garnished with nuts. ENJOY!

Yield: 28 Gulab Jamuns (medium size)

Thanks for visiting and see you soon again with another exciting recipe!

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