Gulab Jamun

Name: Gulab Jamun
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 155 min
Total time: 190 min
Yield: 10 servings
Cuisine: North Indian
Ingredients: 250 g khoya (mawa) (soft, unsweetened, at room temperature); 40 g maida; 1 pinch baking soda; 2 tbsp full-fat milk (add a little at a time); 500 g sugar; 500 ml water; 6 pcs green cardamom pods (lightly crushed); 1 pinch saffron strands; 1 tsp lemon juice (stops the syrup crystallising); 1 tsp rose water; 500 ml ghee (for frying, enough for 5 centimetres depth)

Serves 10 · 190 min · North Indian

Ingredients

250 g khoya (mawa)
40 g maida
1 pinch baking soda
2 tbsp full-fat milk
500 g sugar
500 ml water
6 green cardamom pods
1 pinch saffron strands
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp rose water
500 ml ghee

Method

01
Dissolve the sugar Put the sugar, water and crushed cardamom pods in a wide pan over medium heat and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved and the syrup comes to a boil.
02
Simmer the syrup Lower the heat, add the saffron and lemon juice, and simmer the syrup gently for about eight minutes until it feels slightly sticky between two fingers.
03
Finish the syrup Turn off the heat, stir in the rose water, and cover the pan so the syrup stays warm while you make the dough.
04
Mash the khoya Grate or crumble the khoya into a wide plate and mash it with the heel of your palm for about five minutes until it is completely smooth with no grainy lumps.
05
Make the dough Sprinkle the maida and baking soda over the khoya and bring it together with light hands, adding milk a teaspoon at a time, until you have a soft, smooth dough that does not stick.
06
Rest the dough Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rest for fifteen minutes.
07
Shape the balls Divide the dough into twenty equal pieces and roll each one between your palms into a smooth ball with no cracks.
08
Heat the ghee Heat the ghee in a heavy kadai over low heat to about one hundred and forty degrees Celsius.
09
Fry the first batch Slide in ten balls and fry them on low heat for about twelve minutes, gently swirling the ghee with a spoon rather than touching the balls, until they are evenly deep brown all over.
10
Drop into syrup Lift the fried jamuns out with a slotted spoon, let the excess ghee drip off for a few seconds, and drop them straight into the warm syrup.
11
Fry the second batch Fry the remaining ten balls the same way on low heat for about twelve minutes until deep brown, then move them into the syrup.
12
Soak the jamuns Leave the jamuns to soak in the warm syrup for at least two hours, turning them once halfway, until they are plump and soft right through.
13
Serve Serve two jamuns per person warm or at room temperature with a spoonful of the syrup.

Method

Dissolve the sugar

Put the sugar, water and crushed cardamom pods in a wide pan over medium heat and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved and the syrup comes to a boil.

Dissolve the sugar · 5 min

Simmer the syrup

Lower the heat, add the saffron and lemon juice, and simmer the syrup gently for about eight minutes until it feels slightly sticky between two fingers.

Stop before it forms a thread. Syrup that is too thick will not soak into the jamuns and they will stay hard inside.

Simmer the syrup · 8 min

Finish the syrup

Turn off the heat, stir in the rose water, and cover the pan so the syrup stays warm while you make the dough.

Mash the khoya

Grate or crumble the khoya into a wide plate and mash it with the heel of your palm for about five minutes until it is completely smooth with no grainy lumps.

If you cannot find ready khoya, simmer one and a half litres of full-fat milk in a heavy pan, stirring often, until it reduces to a thick, soft mass, then cool it before mashing.

Mash the khoya · 5 min

Make the dough

Sprinkle the maida and baking soda over the khoya and bring it together with light hands, adding milk a teaspoon at a time, until you have a soft, smooth dough that does not stick.

Do not knead hard. Overworking makes the jamuns dense and rubbery.

Rest the dough

Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rest for fifteen minutes.

Rest the dough · 15 min

Shape the balls

Divide the dough into twenty equal pieces and roll each one between your palms into a smooth ball with no cracks.

Any crack on the surface will split open in the hot ghee. Rub the ball with slightly greased palms until it is perfectly smooth.

Heat the ghee

Heat the ghee in a heavy kadai over low heat to about one hundred and forty degrees Celsius.

Drop in a tiny bit of dough. It should sink, then rise slowly with small bubbles. If it rises at once and browns, the ghee is too hot and the jamuns will stay raw in the middle.

Heat the ghee · 5 min

Fry the first batch

Slide in ten balls and fry them on low heat for about twelve minutes, gently swirling the ghee with a spoon rather than touching the balls, until they are evenly deep brown all over.

The balls will swell as they cook, so leave space between them.

Fry the first batch · 12 min

Drop into syrup

Lift the fried jamuns out with a slotted spoon, let the excess ghee drip off for a few seconds, and drop them straight into the warm syrup.

Drop into syrup · 00:30

Fry the second batch

Fry the remaining ten balls the same way on low heat for about twelve minutes until deep brown, then move them into the syrup.

Fry the second batch · 12 min

Soak the jamuns

Leave the jamuns to soak in the warm syrup for at least two hours, turning them once halfway, until they are plump and soft right through.

Soak the jamuns · 120 min

Serve

Serve two jamuns per person warm or at room temperature with a spoonful of the syrup.

Gulab Jamun

Ingredients

Method

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