Gulab Jamun

Any festivities in our household is incomplete without Gulab Jamuns! These deep fried and sugar soaked deliciousness, can be had hot or cold. When I had to make them for the first time I got so many instructions on how to softly knead the dough, how not to get cracks, so on and so forth. I’ll share all the tips I know to ensure you also get a smooth, round Gulab Jamun, which isn’t hard.

Tips

DON’T KNEAD THEM HARD – This was the first tip I got from my mother. This doesnt mean that we don’t knead them well. What this tip means is not to knead the dough hard like a chappathi dough, or a bread dough. The dough shouldn’t form a tight ball, but should be firm enough to hold shape.

DON’T SHAPE THEM TOO MUCH – Now this is a bit tricky. When you take a small portion and roll it between your palms you have to get a soft, round ball without any cracks. Don’t press and roll them between your palms. That would lead to a hard jamun. And when the jamun is hard the sugar syrup wont seep in.

NO CRACKS – For this your dough shouldn’t be too dry nor too wet. Once you knead the dough try rolling it between your palms. If you find the there are cracks or that the dough is dry sprinkle little more water or milk and knead lightly. Roll again and check for cracks.

DON’T BROWN THE GULAB JAMUNS – Fry the Gulab Jamuns in low to medium heat. If you fry it in high flame then the exterior would darken and it won’t be cooked inside.

ONE STRING CONSISTENCY OF SUGAR SYRUP – If the syrup is too watery then the Gulab Jamuns would be over-soaked. When oversoaked the shape of the Jamuns would not be good. If the sugar syrup is too thick then the Jamuns won’t get soaked well as the syrup won’t seep in. Thus the best consistency is the one string consistency.

This is a recipe that my mother uses to make Gulab Jamuns and its tastes so much better than the store bought Gulab Jamun mix.

Gulab Jamun

Lejna

Any festivities is incomplete without this delicious dessert. An easy recipe with tips to get the perfect Gulab Jamuns.

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Total Time 30 mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine Indian

Servings 15 numbers

Ingredients

  

Gulab Jamun

• 1 cup Milk powder
• 2 tbsp All-purpose flour
• 1 tsp Ghee
• 2-4 tbsp Milk
• 1 pinch Baking soda
• Oil for frying

Sugar Syrup

• 2 cups Sugar
• 1½ cups Water
• 5 nos Green cardamom pods
• 1 tsp Rose water

Instructions

 

Sugar Syrup

• In a milk pan or thick bottomed pan add the sugar and water along-with the cardamom pods.
• Boil the syrup till it turns sticky or a one string consistency.
• Add the rose water and set aside.

Gulab Jamun

• Sieve the milk powder, all-purpose flour and the baking soda into a wide vessel.
• Add ghee to this and mix well, till the mixture looks crumbly.
• Start sprinkling the milk little by little and softly kneading it into a dough.
• The dough must not be hard, but must be able to hold shape.
• Lightly grease your hands with ghee, take a small portion from the dough and gently roll a gulab jamun without cracks.
• Repeat the process till the dough is over. Keep the gulab jamuns covered till you fry them.
• Heat oil in a kadai or deep vessel for frying the jamuns.
• Check the heat of the oil by dropping a small piece of dough into it. If it rises slowly, then the oil is ready.
• Lower the flame of the oil and gently drop the gulab jamun balls. Fry till they become golden brown.
• Remove them with a slotted spoon and drop in to the warm sugar syrup. Soak for 3 hours atleast or even overnight. Enjoy your delicious Gulab jamuns!

Keyword Diwali, Diwali Sweets, Gulab Jamun, Gulab Jamuns, Indian Sweets