Gulab Jamun-The King of Indian Sweets!!

Who hasn't heard the name of our king of Indian sweets, #GulabJamun? I don't think there will be anyone. #GulabJamun is milk-solid (khoya) based sweet from Indian subcontinent which is also extremely popular not only in South Eastern Asia, but also worldwide! For us Indians, it's the #Maharaja of sweets. No one can say no to dessert after any meal when it's Gulab Jamun. Drenched in flavored sugar syrup, these beauties are just addictive. Depending on personal preference, Gulab Jamun can be enjoyed hot, warm, cold, or at room temperature. I personally love'em at room temperature.

This is not the first time I made Gulab Jamun. I've tried several ways to make them - by mixing paneer in khoya, making khoya from ricotta cheese, mixing sooji/rawa in khoya to get grainy texture, & a couple other methods. With every trial I felt they were good but not perfect. That's the reason I never shared the recipe with you guys before today. I was waiting for that perfection in my recipe where Gulab Jamuns are soft, syrup has seeped in to the core and they do not get hard even after resting in refrigerator. So, after umpteen efforts, here I am super excited to share this flawless and the perfect Gulab Jamun recipe with y'all. I'd used store bought khoya. If you want, you can make khoya/milk-solid at home too. If you wanna know 'How', read this amazing recipe of Til Ke Laddu for which I had made khoya at home.

I still remember the first day at my workplace when one of my American colleagues and I were chatting about Indian food and the moment she said 'Oh, btw I loovee Gulab Jamun!' made me so proud like we own it, it's our delicacy and people love it all over the world!

This recipe will make around 26 pieces . Do try it. I'm certain that you'll love it!

List of Ingredients:

For Gulab Jamun

1. Khoya/Milk- Solid - 400 gms.

2. Maida/All Purpose Flour - 8 tbsp.

3. Milk Powder - 8 tbsp.

4. Milk - 5-6 tbsp. (Usage depends upon how dry or wet your dough is).

5. Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp.

6. Refined oil or Ghee - for frying.

For Sugar Syrup/Chaashni

1. Sugar - 3 cups

2. Water - 3 cups

3. Kesar/Saffron Strands - 8-10

4. Elaichi/Cardamon (crushed) - 5-6

5. Rose flavor - 2 drops (totally optional).

6. Milk - 2tbsp ( to remove any scum in sugar syrup).

Easy to follow steps:

First we will make the dough. Take khoya in a plate or wide bowl. Knead it for around 5-7 minutes with the heel of your palm to soften and smoothen it. Add all the dry ingredients (maida, milk powder, baking soda) and mix everything very well by kneading it again. If you feel the dough is dry, add 1-2 tbsp of milk intermittently to bring everything together and keep kneading. If khoya that you are using is fresh, then you might not even need milk to bind everything. For me it was getting difficult to knead the entire dough altogether so I just divided it in two parts and kneaded each part one by one. Total kneading time will be around 20-25 minutes. So, if you also get tired like I did, take help, or break the dough in smaller parts. The more you knead, the better your Gulab Jamuns will turn out. My husband was kind enough to lend me help here :). I would recommend that you take out the dough on clean counter top or a large surface and then knead it. It provides ample space to work with the dough as compared to a bowl or a plate. Once the dough is nice and smooth, cover it and let it rest for 15 minutes. To make balls out of the dough divide dough into equal sections and start making lime sized balls. Roll it between your palms. Do not apply pressure at all otherwise it'll have cracks. Also, ensure that there are no cracks in the dough balls that you make. The best way is to keep your palms spread out instead of cupping them while rolling the Gulab Jamun balls.

We'll make sugar syrup/chaashni now. Of course, you can make it while you knead the dough. I just want to be clearer on the steps so mentioning one by one. Take sugar and water in a pan. Put it on moderate flame. Sugar will start melting. Bring it to a boil and add 2 tbsp of milk. It will bring all impurities to the surface for you to skim easily. Add cardamom, saffron and rose flavor. Let it simmer on low flame for 8-10 minutes. We don't want any thread consistency in syrup. It should be sticky but not thick. Turn off the flame.

Only frying is left now. Take oil in a deep pan/kadhai. If you prefer you can use ghee to get the extra flavor. Heat oil on moderate flame. Feel the temperature by placing your palm over kadhai. You can also test by dropping a pinch of dough in oil, it should not get burned immediately. When oil is hot, reduce the flame to low and drop gulab jamun balls one by one carefully into the oil. Do not over crowd it. As soon as you drop'em, start moving them very gently so that they do not get a spot on one side. Continuously rotate them so that they get even color on all the sides. Once they are golden brown from all the sides, take them out and transfer them in sugar syrup directly. Let them soak in syrup for 1-1.30 hrs.

Note: If rolled gulaab jamuns have rested for a while on plate, then they might get flat from bottom so just roll them slightly again before putting them in oil for frying. Use a big enough pan to dip them in sugar syrup so that they don't lose their shape with each other's pressure. Sugar syrup has to be slightly warm when you put gulab jamuns in it.

And, Here you go! Can you say 'No' to these on your dessert plate? I bet not !!

Happily Stay Home!

Hope you liked the recipe and didn't find it too difficult. Let me know if this got you high on flavors. Don't forget to subscribe for more updates. Leave a comment for any questions/thoughts. Talk to you in my next mouthwatering recipe!

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