Gulab Jamun is a well-known handed-down Indian sweet recipe that has taken the culinary world by storm. Slumbering beautifully in aromatic sugary syrup, these are little fragile, spongy, and melt-in-your-mouth luscious milk balls that will win your love forever. ‘Gulab’ means rose, the flower, and ‘Jamun’ means black plum, which is also known as purple Indian berry and broadly available to Indian agricultural lands. Gulab jamuns may have got their name from the fact that they are jamun or plum-shaped, round, and soaked in a rosewater scented syrup. The gorgeous glossy shine on these astonishing, delightful balls reminds me nothing but the beauty of rose petals. I hope you find this gulab jamun recipe as delightful as the mental image it creates.
You will find Gulab Jamuns enjoyed on a grander scale during celebrations, weddings, and festivals like Rakshabandhan, Holi, and Diwali. You can make gulab jamuns in many ways. However, my favorite recipe remains the traditional one made out of khoya or mawa. Making gulab jamun is very simple. The only thing which you may find tricky is making the dough perfectly. Once you figure out the smooth dough-making technique, you will never think of buying gulab jamuns from the market again. You will be exploring the other stunning ways of using gulab jamuns in your culinary adventures. For example, my favorite being the Gulab Jamun Bundt Cake with lovely lustrous rosy frosting. The opportunities for fusing this legendary Indian dessert with other desserts are endless if you think deeply. You can also try my Mango Shrikhand with Pineapple recipe for a fun twist to shrikhand.
Some important considerations to keep in mind while making this gulab jamun recipe:
- The balls will double up after frying & soaking in syrup, so do not make big sized balls. If the jamuns are hot, make sure the sugar syrup where you will be adding the fried jamuns into is at room temperature.
- Add lemon juice and rose water in the end after removing the sugar syrup from heat. Remember, the syrup should be just above warm but not very hot. By adding lemon juice, sugar syrup won’t form crystals.
- If the jamnus are at room temperature, then the syrup should be hot but not boiling when you add the hot fried gulab jamuns to it. If you add hot jamuns to a very hot syrup, then they will lose the texture, shape, and will become tight or shrink.
- Too much baking powder/soda might cause the gulab jamuns to get too mushy, and they break apart while frying. To avoid this course, I would suggest you to use self-raising flour instead of plain all-purpose flour. But if you can’t access a good quality self-raising flour, then pay extra attention while adding baking powder or soda.
- Make sure you roll out gulab jamuns evenly, free of cracks. If your dough balls have cracks, then they will tend to break apart while frying in hot oil.
- Also, achieving the perfect temperature is crucial here. The temperature of the oil you will be frying in gulab jamuns should be neither too hot nor too cold.
- Do not fry the gulab jamuns on high heat, or else they will become hard from outside while remaining uncooked from inside. Also, they won’t soak up the syrup properly, resulting in awkward texture and taste. Cooking on medium to low heat setting will give the gulab jamuns a smooth look.
- Make sure that the jamuns fully submerge into the oil while frying into the pan. After some time, when the quantity of oil gets less, add more to make sure other jamuns gets evenly browned. Please follow only the deep-frying method for cooking all the jamuns. Initially, I didn’t add oil to cook my second batch of dough balls, and I must confess that they looked the ugliest of all. All the turning and touching the uncooked bottom part of dough balls made the gulab jamuns lose smooth texture and even color.
- Don’t add gulab jamuns to the syrup immediately after frying. It might cause the gulab jamuns to lose their shape, and they might turn chewy.
- The gulab jamuns will also turn hard if the dough is very stiff. So make sure that the dough is soft enough, and so you can roll it easily. Grease your palm before shaping balls. This way, you’ll be able to shape the balls softly. Also, this step would ensure that the dough doesn’t stick to your hands. Sticky dough on your palms can create cracks and unevenness in the dough balls.
- Do not overwork the dough. You want to mix all the ingredients until they combine to form a paste. It should be a sticky and slightly wet dough. You want to assure smoother balls that won’t crack while frying them in hot oil.
Ingredients
- For Dough:
- Soft Khoya (mawa) 1 and 1/2 Cup Or 250 g
- All-Purpose Flour (Maida)- 4 Tbsp
- Semolina – 4 Tbsp
- Milk At Room Temperature – 5 Tbsp (Add more if needed)
- Baking Powder – 1 Tsp
- For Sugar Syrup:
- Sugar – 1 Cup
- Water – 2 Cups
- Green Cardamom – 3-4
- Rose Water/Essence – 2 Tsp (Optional)
- Lemon Juice – 2 Tsp
- 5-6 Saffron strands
- Coconut Oil/ Ghee For Frying
- For Garnish:
- Chopped pistachios and almonds, rose petals, edible silver or varq
Instructions
- FOR SUGAR SYRUP:
- Add 1 cup sugar, 2 cups water, and cardamom pods to a large pot and stir with a spatula. (The ratio of sugar water should be 1:2)
- Let the water boil till sugar syrup is slightly thick and forms almost one string consistency, but it should not be very thick.
- Now add lemon juice and stir well. By adding lemon juice sugar syrup doesn't form crystals.
- Add rose water and presoaked saffron strands mix well. Crush and soak the saffron strands in a tablespoon of hot boiling water. It will help to get most of the color from saffron strands.
- Turn off the heat and cover it with a lid and set it aside. Later if you notice the syrup too thick, then add little water to adjust the consistency.
- FOR GULAB JAMUN:
- Add five tablespoon milk to semolina and let it soak for ten mins.
- Add soft khoya/mawa to a large mixing bowl and knead it well for about three minutes.
- Add self-raising/all-purpose flour and knead to mix well.
- Now add baking powder(don't add if using self-raising flour) and soaked semolina.
- Knead again to make a smooth dough. Add some milk if needed.
- It should not be too dry or too dry or too wet. You should be able to roll out smooth balls with your palms. Grease your palms well
- Fry dough balls on medium-low heat until gulab jamun become golden from all the sides. Cook them until you get even color, however, don't over touch or stir vigorously. It might result in uneven texture of gulab jamuns
- Remove them with a slotted spoon and place them on a dish lined with a paper towel that would soak excess oil.
- Add gulab jamun to warm sugar syrup. Make sure the syrup is not too hot.
- Let them soak in the sugar syrup for at least 2-3 hours or overnight.
- Garnish with pistachios, almonds, rose petals, and edible silver or varq. Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold.
Notes
- The balls will double up after frying & soaking in syrup, so do not make big sized balls. If the jamuns are hot, make sure the sugar syrup where you will be adding the fried jamuns into is at room temperature.
- Add lemon juice and rose water in the end after removing the sugar syrup from heat. Remember, the syrup should be just above warm but not very hot. By adding lemon juice, sugar syrup won't form crystals.
- If the jamnus are at room temperature, then the syrup should be hot but not boiling when you add the hot fried gulab jamuns to it. If you add hot jamuns to a very hot syrup, then they will lose the texture, shape, and will become tight or shrink.
- Too much baking powder/soda might cause the gulab jamuns to get too mushy, and they break apart while frying. To avoid this course, I would suggest you to use self-raising flour instead of plain all-purpose flour. But if you can't access a good quality self-raising flour, then pay extra attention while adding baking powder or soda.
- Make sure you roll out gulab jamuns evenly, free of cracks. If your dough balls have cracks, then they will tend to break apart while frying in hot oil.
- Also, achieving the perfect temperature is crucial here. The temperature of the oil you will be frying in gulab jamuns should be neither too hot nor too cold.
- Do not fry the gulab jamuns on high heat, or else they will become hard from outside while remaining uncooked from inside. Also, they won't soak up the syrup properly, resulting in awkward texture and taste. Cooking on medium to low heat setting will give the gulab jamuns a smooth look.
- Make sure that the jamuns fully submerge into the oil while frying into the pan. After some time, when the quantity of oil gets less, add more to make sure other jamuns gets evenly browned. Please follow only the deep-frying method for cooking all the jamuns. Initially, I didn't add oil to cook my second batch of dough balls, and I must confess that they looked the ugliest of all. All the turning and touching the uncooked bottom part of dough balls made the gulab jamuns lose smooth texture and even color.
- Don't add gulab jamuns to the syrup immediately after frying. It might cause the gulab jamuns to lose their shape, and they might turn chewy.
- The gulab jamuns will also turn hard if the dough is very stiff. So make sure that the dough is soft enough, and so you can roll it easily. Grease your palm before shaping balls. This way, you'll be able to shape the balls softly. Also, this step would ensure that the dough doesn't stick to your hands. Sticky dough on your palms can create cracks and unevenness in the dough balls.
- Do not overwork the dough. You want to mix all the ingredients until they combine to form a paste. It should be a sticky and slightly wet dough. You want to assure smoother balls that won't crack while frying them in hot oil.