Gulab Jamun is a popular Indian dessert made from milk solids, typically khoya or mawa, which are kneaded into small balls and deep-fried until golden brown. These fried balls are then soaked in a sugary syrup flavored with cardamom, rose water, or saffron. The result is a sweet, syrupy treat that is soft, melt-in-your-mouth, and often enjoyed during festivals, celebrations, and special occasions. Its rich flavor and delightful texture make it a favorite among dessert lovers.
Ingredients:
1 cup milk powder (condensed milk)
1/4 cup All Purpose flour (Maida)
1/4 cup room temperature whole milk (Buffalo or cow milk any)
3 tablespoons room temperature unsalted butter( sada makhan)
Pinch of baking soda (Khane ka soda)
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup water
4 coarsely grounded cardamom seeds (Ilaichi powder )
Oil for deep-frying
Preparation Method:
For Sugar Syrup:
- In a large pan, add water, sugar, and ground cardamom seeds (for nice aroma) and bring it to boil.
- Keep stirring the syrup until the sugar is dissolved.
- Keep the syrup aside and prepare for dumplings.
For Gulab Jamun dumplings:
- In a bowl, mix milk powder, flour and baking soda(baking soda in proportion not more else it will cause cracking of gulab jamun dumplings)
- Add the butter and mix well.
- Now add milk to make soft dough(dough will be bit sticky)
- Let the dough sit for a few minutes. Milk powder will absorb the extra milk. If the dough is dry, add more milk, as the dough should be soft.
- Knead the dough. Grease your hands with butter before starting on dumplings.
- Divide the dough in equal portions and roll them into round balls.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium heat. The frying pan should have at least 1 ½ inch of oil. To test if the oil is the right temperature, place a small piece of dough into the oil; it should take a minute to rise. If dough rises faster, oil is too hot; if dough just sits without rising, oil is not hot enough. If the gulab jamuns are fried on high heat, they will not get cooked fully and become hard from inside.
- Take a large pan for frying dumplings as they are going to expand double the size you made.
- It should take about 7 minutes to fry the gulab jamuns. While frying keep rolling the gulab jamuns around so they are evenly browned. Fry until the gulab jamuns become dark brown.
- Let the gulab jamuns cool off for a few minutes before placing in the hot syrup. Otherwise they will lose their shape.
- The gulab jamuns should sit in the hot syrup for at least 20 minutes prior to serving. Gulab jamuns can be kept at room temperature for about a week and up to one month when refrigerated.