If you have been doing the rounds in the food blogosphere, I am sure you have come across Sinfully Spicy. And if you have come across Tanvi’s site, then I am sure you have stuck around and visited her blog again and again.
It was her Gulab Jamun picture on Foodgawker that had caught my attention the first time. And that’s what I will be sharing with you today on GMT.
In the past whenever I have made Gulab Jamuns, its been from a packet mix. Had I known they would be so easy to make from scratch, I would have never bought a packet.
Now, I am not a big fan of Indian sweets. Don’t mistake this statement to mean that I am not fond of sweets. I love sweets but am more inclined to the baked kinds. And since most Indian sweets are not baked, they have never made it very high up on my taste buds. But there are two Indian sweets that I would pick over any cake/chocolate and the likes.
One is Jalebi (and that too only the thin crispy kinds).
And, the other- Gulab Jamun, the quintessential Indian dessert!
It’s difficult to describe something that just melts in your mouth once bitten into, something which travels through your food pipe filling it with its warmth and leaving you with a kind of satisfaction that only really good food can give. And that is exactly how gulab jamuns make you feel. These soft pillows of syrup laden fried dough, that are a favorite of Indians all over, give you the kind of comfort that you feel when you are around family. No wonder they top my list of all-time fav desserts. And if you haven’t tried them yet, I have just one thing to say to you: you really are missing out on something!
So if you don’t want to miss out on these heavenly pieces of fried dough, try them out today! Tanvi’s recipe gives not only a quick and easy method to make them at home from scratch, but also result in really addictive Gulab jamuns.
Everyone at home loved them.
After my dad had 3 (!) Gulab Jamuns in one sitting, this is what he had to say.
He told us how while growing up, the Indian Government had come up with this food scheme where they would give big tins of milk powder to villages. Since there used to be tins and tins of milk powder and not much use in the day to day cooking of villagers, all the women in the villages would mix the milk powder with Khoya and make Gulab Jamuns. My father along with all his cousins and friends would devour them. The Gulab Jamuns I made today reminded him of those ones and that to me, is the biggest testimony to the success of a recipe.
SINFULLY SPICY’S GULAB JAMUN FROM SCRATCH
Traditionally, Gulab jamuns are made with Khoya. But these days with market bought khoya you are unsure of it being adulterated. You can of course make Khoya at home, but that means a day long wait to make them. This recipe from Tanvi is a quick way to make Gulab Jamuns with excellent results. I doubled the recipe as there were many takers for these heavenly delights. On hindsight it was a good thing- I made them today and from an initial 40 plus jamuns, am left with only 10-12 in the refrigerator.
Makes about 20 Gulab Jamuns of the size shown
Ingredients
For the dough balls:
- 1 cup milk powder
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp fine crushed nuts (see notes)
- 1/4 tsp green cardamom powder
- 3 tbsp ghee, should be melted and the cooled to room temperature
- 1/4 cup whole milk, at room temperature (or as required for kneading)
- Oil for deep-frying
- Nuts for garnish (optional)
For the sugar syrup:
- 1.5 cups granulated sugar ( I used a little less than the mentioned amount and found the syrup sweet enough)
- 3/4 cup water
- Few saffron strands (optional)
- 4 green cardamom pods, cracked open
Directions
For the Syrup
- In a large pot, add water, sugar along with cardamom pods and bring it to a boil. About 6-8 minutes on medium heat.
- Let the syrup simmer for a minute and then put off the stove. The syrup should still be a little liquidy and not too thick. If you follow the recipe and the time mentioned, you should get the perfect consistency for the syrup. After 5 minutes when the syrup has cooled down a bit, add saffron strands to the syrup.
- Set the syrup aside.
For the Jamuns
- In a bowl, sift together the milk powder, flour, baking powder, soda, green cardamom powder & nuts powder and mix thoroughly.
- Add the melted ghee to the mix and rub between hands so that the whole flour mix is moistened. Start adding milk and mixing simultaneously to make a soft dough. The dough will be quite sticky. Cover the bowl with a cloth & let the dough sit for 5 minutes.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan/kadhai on medium heat. The frying pan should have enough oil to cover the balls completely while deep-frying. To test the oil temperature, immerse a small piece of dough in the oil. If it slowly rises up, the temperature is perfect for frying.
- While the oil is heating, with greasy palms pinch the dough into 18-20 equal parts and roll into small, smooth balls. As far as possible, roll out such that there are no cracks on the balls.This will give the jamuns a smooth look.The balls will double up after frying & soaking in syrup so do not make big balls. The bigger the balls, the more likely they are to cook completely from outside and remain uncooked on the inside. Line the balls on a plate & keep covered with a moist cloth till ready to fry.
- Meanwhile if your sugar syrup is cold or luke warm, put it on stove again so that it warms up.We want the sugar syrup warm (not hot) when the fried jamuns are tipped into it. Once warm , transfer the syrup to a bowl big enough to accommodate all the jamuns & keep them soaked. Also keep the sugar syrup nearby because the fried jamuns will go straight from frying pan into the syrup.
- Once the oil is hot, tip in the rolled jamuns into the oil. Do not over crowd the pan/kadhai. While frying keep flipping the balls gently for even browning all around. Fry until the jamuns become golden brown. About 4-6 minutes depending on size. Also make sure that between batches, the oil doesn’t become too cold- putting the balls in cold oil will result in the Jamuns to crack open.
- Once browned, using a strainer, transfer the jamuns straight to the warm sugar syrup.The jamuns should sit undisturbed in the hot syrup for at least 30 minutes before ready to serve.
- Once soaked, serve in bowl with few tablespoons of syrup & nuts garnish.I like them slightly warm.
NOTES:
- To make the nut mixture, I soaked 10-12 almonds in warm water. After about 15 minutes, I removed the skin and patted them dry with a paper towel. Once completely dry, I added the almonds, pista and 2-3 tbsp of flour in the grinder. The flour helps ensure that the nuts grind to a dry powder. I also added the cardamom seeds in it and ground all together into a fine powder.
- Traditionally, jamuns are fried in pure ghee. However, like Tanvi I add 2-3 tbsp of ghee to the oil to add the rich aroma. If you don’t have ghee, just use vegetable oil or canola oil, as you prefer.
- DO not overwork the dough. You just want to mix all the ingredients together till they combine to form a dough. It will be a sticky dough. A slightly wet dough will ensure smoother balls that won’t crack when you fry them.
- Do not fry the gulab jamuns too much or on very high heat. Keep the flame on medium heat. Frying them for long or on high heat will harden the jamuns & they won’t soak up the syrup.
- Gulab Jamuns can keep well in the fridge for up to 20 days.Whenver you want to serve, just microwave for 10-15 seconds.They can be frozen for 3-5 months.
- As a gift idea or for your own home, you could make a Gulab Jamun Mix with all the dry ingredients (flour, milk powder, nut mix, cardamom, baking powder/soda) together. When ready to make, just add a part of the mix with ghee and milk and proceed as mentioned above.
What a coincidence,Shumaila – just posted Gulab Jamun recipe on my blog yesterday!So great souls do think alike – whaddya say;) The Jamuns looks absolutely delectable and love the way you’ve presented them – lovely clicks!
Oh yes the do!!! Thanks for the lovely comment! 🙂
When ever an occasion there is always the Gulab Jamun, it’s one sweet which I enjoy eating. I have, in the past, attempted to make my own, but never succeeded in doing so. This recipe you have here might tempt me to make them again this weekend.
Mouth watering post.
I hope this recipe helps ypu recreate some delectable gulab jamuns!
So funny… we have the same exact taste in Indian sweets! The only things I eat are gulab jamun, jalebi, the yellow laddus, and ras malai (sometimes). Your gulab jamuns look so perfect! I tried this same recipe a few days ago and mine failed miserably 🙁 Most of my balls fell apart when I put them in the oil… they just separated. I wonder if my milk was bad. Also, did you make these in India? What milk powder did you use? The only thing I could find was the Nestle creamer or something. It was in the same aisle as the tea. Let me know. Thanks. And I love your blog! Will definitely keep in touch 🙂
Thanks for the kind words! I did make these in India. I used Amulya dairy whitener but I think Nestle creamer is kind of the same thing and I dont think that could be the reason for the balls breaking. One thing to make sure when making jamuns from milk powder is to have a sticky/wet dough. If its dry, then the balls tend to crack. Also after shaping the dough balls keep them covered with a wet dish towel. While shaping make sure the dough balls are as smooth as possible- any crack will double when fried. Also the oil should be kept on medium heat- too hot the gulab jamuns will burn from the outside and remain uncooked in the inside and if the oil is cold, then also the jamuns tend to break. These are the reasons I can think of that might be why your jamuns cracked open in the oil. Maybe taking care of these steps might ensure intact jamuns next time, whatsay?
I just saw your beautiful photo on Tasteologie and so glad I stopped by. These treats are really delicious. We had them for the first time at a local Indian restaurant but couldn’t remember the name to look up a recipe. So glad to have found you. Lovely story and recipe.
I have never tried this dish and it sounds so lovely with cardamon. Take Care
Those look absolutely yum !! And such a pretty bowl !!
Thanks a ton for trying these out and the kind words 🙂 I really think yours turned out bettee than mine & absoultely love your tips &details here and there.I will link back to your post. I think using milk powder is way hygenic, quick & healthy compared to khoya when making at home. So glad that our family loved them …thanks again
-xoxo
Look amazing! Love your blog!
I know that I should be looking at the gulab jamun, and I am! But I have to add that I love the beautiful silver bowl. 🙂
Bowl are Owsam………………Gulab Jamun To main kha he lon ga!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, yours look so perfect!
I just tried out your recipe (but had to replace ghee with butter, since I am from Serbia and we don’t have it here)… and mu gulab jamuns failed miserably! When I dropped them into the oil, they just disappeared! Literally! They melted away and I was left with only a layer of burnt something floating on oil! If you have any idea why this might happened, please let me know… Would love to try again… 🙁
You should make sure that the mixture is not too dry. If it is they will definitely fall apart. Plus they should be as smooth as you can get them. As Sara mentions below, ghee can be made form butter by heating it for sometime. This recipe to me sounds good -http://justhomemade.net/2010/10/27/homemade-ghee/
And after shaping, make sure you cover them with a wet dish towel, because if they dry out, they will break. Add additional milk, if required to get a wetter but workable dough. I hope this helps. It does take some practice to get them right. So don’t wonrry if they did not turn out ok the first time.
you can just heat butter for some time… and then let it cool… you can use that as a butter substitute…
Thanks for the tip Sara! 🙂 My friend makes ghee like that, but I have never tried it.
I tried it today….and it was a huge disaster. The balls started tompeel off in laters when i dropped them in oil. The dough was really smooth and oily coz of the ghee and was really easy when i made the round balls…. But failed pathetically when i fried. Then added some more flour to all the balls and made them into balls again… But anyways lost the texture and softness of the jamuns…. Such a waste of time… 🙁 not sure where did it go wrong… Maybe the brands dint suit the measurements….
my hubby is coming home from a 1 month business trip and i dont have a sweet now to welcome him….
Dang! I am so sorry that the recipe did not work for you! I will have a look at it again and see if something is amiss. Will update soon.
I searched for a Gulab Jamun recipe online last week to make for Eid and when I saw the step by step pictures on your blog, I thought the recipe was a really good one. I tried it and made 5 batches for Eid and I will say it is the BEST gulab Jamun recipe I have ever used! I am in love with this recipe. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Lovely detailed recipe. I liked the way you categorized it into sections. The pictures too were beautiful. Well done!
Great explanation! For how long should the balls stay in the syrup?
Mm. I love gulab jamuns and ras malai… I had ras malai with my last Indian meal, which was really a feast. Lamb biryani, chicken vindaloo, onion kulchas, saag paneer, pakoras, samosas..
But I do love gulab jamun especially when piping hot~ gulab means rosewater so I always thought they contained rosewater… and the words ‘gul’ and ‘ab’ for both “rose” and “water” are Persian in origin, so it is possible this dish could have come about in India through the Persian influence of the Mughal courts? Do other recipes for gulab jamun contain rosewater? It seems like the place for rosewater would be in the syrup, not the dough.. Hm.
Very nice explanation and pictures. Gonna try this out..