GULAB JAMUN

Jump to Recipe

Gulab jamun is a classic, melt-in-mouth sweet that’s hugely popular across India and South Asia. It is known for its soft texture and rich, sugary flavor. Gulab jamoon is usually served warm or at room temperature, and is commonly enjoyed during festivals, weddings and celebrations.

Gulab jamun consists of small, round dumplings made from milk solids (khoya or milk powder), which are deep-fried until golden brown and then soaked in a fragrant sugar syrup. It is deep golden to dark brown in color, with a soft, spongy and slightly stick texture. It is juicy on the inside from absorbing syrup and when bitten into, they almost dissolve in the mouth.

ABOUT THE RECIPE:

Gulab jamun can either be made with khoya or milk powder. I’ve made this recipe using unsweetened khoya. Sweetened khoya doesn’t really work well for this recipe.

Khoya is usually made by slow cooking milk over low heat until most of the moisture evaporates, leaving behind thick milk solids. It can either be made at home, or it is commonly available in any stores. I’ve used store bought khoya for this recipe. Making it at home generally takes at least 1~2 hours.

This recipe makes around 50 medium size gulab jamun.

INGREDIENTS FOR GULAB JAMUN:

TO MAKE JAMUN:

• UNSWEETENED KHOYA – 250 GMS
• MAIDA – 85 GMS
• GHEE – 2 TBSP
• BAKING SODA – 1/8 TSP
• WATER – 2 TBSP
• OIL – 1 CUP (FOR FRYING)

TO MAKE SUGAR SYRUP:

• SUGAR – 500 GMS
• WATER – 500 ML
• CARDAMOM POWDER – 1/2 TSP
• ORANGE FOOD COLOR – 1~2 DROPS

HOW TO MAKE GULAB JAMUN:

• To a clean and dry mixing bowl, add 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda and 1 tablespoon of ghee.

• Mix it well using clean and dry hands. Do not use whisk or spatula.

• Once it is completely mixed, add 250 grams of unsweetened khoya and 85 grams of maida to it.

• Mix it using the tips of your fingers. Do not use whole finger or your palm. It should be light, fluffy and crumbly.

• Sprinkle little water (about 2 tablespoon), and roll it to a soft dough. It has to be mixed gently without much pressure.

• Once it is rolled to a soft dough, cover it and let it rest for about 30 minutes.
• After about 30 minutes, open it. Divide the dough into 50 equal portions and roll it into a smooth ball. Each balls should have a maximum of just 1.5 ~ 2 cm.

• Heat a kadai, and add 1 cup of oil and 1 tbsp of ghee to it.

• At the same time, add 500 gms of sugar and 500 ml of water to a cooking pot.

• Turn on the flame, and place the cooking pot over it. The sugar has to dissolve completely and the water should boil.

Frying the jamoon and preparing the sugar syrup has to be done at the same time, using two different burner. The sugar syrup takes around 10 minutes to get prepared. Frying all the jamun takes about the same time as getting the sugar syrup ready. Adding freshly fried hot jamun to the freshly prepared hot sugar syrup helps the jamun to soak up the sugar syrup really well.

• Once the oil and ghee is heated, add the rolled dough to it. Fry them in batches. Do not overcrowd. Add as much as the oil could hold.

• Fry them on medium-low flame, until they turn deep golden brown in color. Once it turns deep golden brown in color, transfer it to a bowl or plate.

• Repeat the process with the remaining rolled dough.

• After about 10 minutes, check for the consistency of the sugar syrup. It should have a slightly sticky, syrup consistency. At this stage, add 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom powder and 1~2 drops of orange food color to it.

• Mix it well and turn off the flame. Sugar syrup for gulab jamun is ready.

• Now add the fried jamun to the syrup and gently mix it. All the jamun should be completely submerged in the sugar syrup.

• Cover the cooking pot and let it rest. The jamun gets completely soaked in the sugar syrup, and will be ready to be served after about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

AFTER ABOUT ONE HOUR, YUMMY AND DELICIOUS GULAB JAMUN IS READY TO BE SERVED.

VARIATIONS:

• Adding food color is optional.
• Jamun can be fried with just oil. Adding ghee for frying is completely optional.

PRO TIPS:

• Use only unsweetened khoya. Sweetened khoya doesn’t work for this recipe.
• Mix the baking soda and ghee using hands, until the ghee turns pale. Do not use whisk or spatula.
• Mix the dough using finger and not your palm. It has to be mixed without much pressure. Adding a lot of pressure might make the jamun hard.
• Do not use too much of water to make the dough. Add a maximum of just 2 tablespoons of water.
• The dough must be rested for at least 30 minutes.
• Roll the dough into small balls with a maximum of 2 cm in diameter. It puffs up when it is fried in oil and also when it is soaked in the sugar syrup.
• Frying the jamoon and preparing the sugar syrup has to be done on two different burner, at the same time. The sugar syrup take around 10 minutes to get prepared. Frying all the jamun takes about the same time as getting the sugar syrup ready. Adding freshly fried hot jamun to the freshly prepared hot sugar syrup helps the jamun to soak up the sugar syrup really well. Once they turn cold, the jamun won’t really soak up the sugar syrup, and might have a hard center.
• Fry the jamun on medium flame. It might burn easily when fried on high flame.
• Take a drop of the syrup between thumb and middle finger. Try to pull the fingers apart gently. It should form a small string. This is the perfect consistency.
• Add all the fried jamun to the sugar syrup and gently mix it. Jamun has a soft and tender texture and might break easily.
• Covering the cooking pot and resting it for about 45 minutes to 1 hour helps the jamun to soak up the sugar syrup really well.
• Sometimes, the jamun might start to separate, when added to the oil. This is due to the improper texture of the dough. After 30 minutes of resting, roll a small portion and add it to the oil. If it starts to separate, then add little maida to the dough, mix it and then roll it into small portions.
• Maximum of 100 gms of maida can be used for this recipe. Adding too much of maida makes the jamun really hard, and might not soak up in the sugar syrup really well.

NOTE:

Gulab jamun can be stored at room temperature for a maximum of about 4 to 5 days.