Gulab jamun

Gulab jamuns occupy a very popular position in the large family of Indian desserts. I suspect their popularity stems from their simple yet marvelous construction: little, fried balls of a milk-based dough that are soaked in a syrup scented with green cardamom, saffron, rose water, and other spices, served warm or at room temperature. The floral, fruity quality of the syrup is particularly important; “gulab jamun” literally translates to “rose water” and “black plum” (a type of Indian fruit).

Ingredients

For the syrup

●4 green cardamom pods, lightly squashed with the side of a knife

●600g caster sugar

●few drops rosewater

●¼ tsp saffron strands, soaked in 2 tbsp warm water for 1 hr

●2 tsp chopped pistachios

For the gulab jamun

●6 green cardamom pods, seeds removed

●1 tsp caster sugar

●100g full-cream milk powder

●40g plain flour

●½ tsp baking powder

●50g ghee or softened unsalted butter plus 1kg ghee, for frying

●1 tbsp natural yogurt

●Squeeze of lemon juice

●4-5 tbsp whole milk

●sunflower oil

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE GULAB JAMUN

Now, let's quickly talk through the process of making gulab jamun. Here's a quick video walkthrough:

1. MAKE THE DOUGH

You will mix together the wet and dry ingredients separately and then add them to each other to form a dough. Knead it with clean hands for 1-2 minutes. It will feel quite soft and oily, don't worry. Refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes, and then knead it again for a few minutes until it feels smooth and soft, and has no lumps in it.

Kneading the dough is important to ensure the smooth soft texture of gulab jamun. If it feels like the dough is dry and not holding together, add a little milk and see if the consistency improves. If it feels like the dough is too wet or sticky, try refrigerating it for longer and the texture should improve.

You need to knead until the dough feels smooth, but don't knead further as that can make the gulab jamun tough!

2. FORM BALLS

Now you will divide the dough into 20g balls - this recipe should make 12 gulab jamun. These are quite small, about the size of a large grape.

This step is quite important to get right: you need to make sure the balls are perfectly rolled and don't have any cracks in them. If the balls have cracks, the gulab jamun will fall apart during frying.

The best way to form the balls is by gently rolling between your palms, applying a little bit of pressure to bind the dough. Then you alternate between just rolling with no pressure and applying a bit of pressure until you get a smooth ball. You can do it with practice!

3. FRY THE GULAB JAMUN

Heat ~2 inches of neutral oil in a wok. You want the oil to be medium hot, not hot-hot. To test, drop a small piece of dough into the oil - it should take ~5 seconds to rise to the surface. If it takes longer, the oil isn't hot enough. If it takes less time, it's too hot. Once the oil is at the right temperature, turn the heat to medium low.

Fry the gulab jamun in two to three parts depending on the size of the wok. Carefully drop them into the oil, and then gently roll them around while frying so then brown evenly on all sides. There are 2 ways to do this:

Fry for at least 4 minutes until the gulab jamun are a deep golden (almost brown) color.

4. MAKE THE SUGAR SYRUP

While you are frying the gulab jamun, start making the syrup in another pot or saucepan. Mix all the ingredients and simmer on medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Then turn off the heat.5. SOAK THE GULAB JAMUN

Transfer the fried gulab jamun to the syrup. Swirl the pot to coat the gulab jamun on all sides, then cover and let sit for a minimum of 30 minutes. This is when the gulab jamun will soak in the syrup, become larger in size, and soft and squishy inside!

6. SERVE & ENJOY!

These are best when still warm!