The most well known dessert of Indian cuisine is called Gulab Jamun. The word “Gulab” means rose water while “Jamun” is some Indian fruit that has a shape similar to the Gulab Jamun balls. But why rose water? the sugar syrup in which the balls or soaked includes rose water and gives the Gulab Jamuns their unique flavor.
Like many other Indian desserts Gulab Jamun is based mainly on milk. Milk?! yep, apparently there is a tedious procedure in which you place milk in a pot and cook it while stirring for eternity and a little more and at the end the milk suddenly solidifies and turns into a dough. This weird but tasty dough is called Khoya (or Khoa) and it’s a great base for various sweets. In India you can buy Khoya in any supermarket and maybe you can find it in Indian grocery shops outside of India. However, if you can’t buy it you can make it at home, but in my opinion this is only for brave cooks since you really have to keep stirring milk for a very long time.
Sounds complicated? don’t worry! There is a simple and fun alternative 🙂 A very common and quick version for Gulab Jamun is one that is based on “milk powder”. This product is practically milk that is dried and than processed to a powder. You can buy it in Indian grocery shops but it can also be founds in other ethnic kitchens (Arab, Russian and more) so it is pretty easy to come across. Although the Khoya version is the best version for Gulab Jamun the powder milk version is really good – the balls turn out a little more dense and smoother outside and they require longer soaking time in the sugar syrup.
In both versions the end result is very sweet, soft with roses and cardamon aroma. This is a great desert that you eat in small doses and it fits beautifully with a cup of tea or black coffee. Think of Baklava but Indian and special.
Prep + cooking time: 2-3 hours for the Khoya and 40 minutes for everything else
Ingredients (for 16 chubby Gulabs) – Khoya version
For the balls:
- 1 cup Khoya
- 2.5 tbs flour
- 2 tbs milk
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
For the syrup:
- 1.5 cup sugar
- 1.5 cup water
- 3-4 cardamon pods
- 3 drops rose essence (optional)
Directions
Start with preparing the Khoya. Place 1 liter of milk in a wide and heavy pot. The wider the pot the less time it will take to prepare the Khoya. Light a low-medium heat when the milk is already in the pot and start stirring and scratching the sides. Practically you have two options here – you can prepare it on high heat and keep stirring continuously and the Khoya will be ready in about 1 hour, or you can let it cook on low heat and stir every 5-10 minutes and at the end (after about 2.5 hours) turn up the heat and stir continuously for about 10 minutes until it is ready. You can also combine both methods, it is totally up to you and according to your time and patience.
While the milk is cooking it looks like nothing is happening and the milk stays completely liquid but it will suddenly become thick and then the Khoya will be ready in few minutes. The last few minutes determine the softness of the Khoya – as long as you’ll keep cooking the Khoya will lose more liquid and become harder. For this recipe you need a texture of soft dough.
Still here? Well done! The long and exhausting stage is behind you and you’ve got yourself a soft and magical Khoya. You can store it in the fridge for a few days and let it come to room temperature before using it, or just use it immediately.
And now to the syrup – place 1.5 cups of water and 1.5 cups of sugar, add 3-4 squashed cardamon pods and a few drops of rose essence (or any other ingredient that adds rose taste). Stir and cook on medium heat until the sugar completely dissolves. Turn off the heat.
Add the flour, baking powder and a tbs of milk to the Khoya. Mix with your hands and add another tbs of milk if necessary – the dough should be easy to work with, soft and not sticky. Roll into a long roll, cut into 16 pieces and make balls shape
And now we’ve arrived at the fun part of frying the Gulab balls – heat a pan or a wok with deep oil (at least 5 cm high). Place a really small piece of the dough in the oil and once you start seeing bubbles around it and the piece starts to rise the oil is hot enough. Do note that the dough piece might stick to the bottom of the pan so release it carefully with a spoon if necessary.
When the oil is hot gently add the Gulab balls to the oil. Make sure they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan and release if necessary. Fry for 7 to 10 minutes. The frying time is critical here – if the oil is too hot the balls will brown quickly but won’t cook inside, they need at least 7 minutes in the hot oil without burning on the outside, so if you think the oil is too hot lower the heat or even turn it off for a while until the oil cools down a little. While frying roll the balls so all the sides will get cooked evenly.
When the Gulab balls are golden and fancy and at least 7 minutes has passed take them out and place them in a bowl with paper towel. Let them cool down for at least 10 minutes and then add them to the sugar syrup. It’s OK if the balls aren’t completely covered in syrup, just turn them over once in a while so all the sides will get their time in the syrup.
The balls should soak in the syrup for at least 20 minutes before serving , the more soaking time the merrier 🙂 They can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 weeks as long as they are soaked in the syrup. Take one or two out and heat in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. The Gulab Jamuns are served warm or at room temprature.
Ingredients (for 16 chubby Gulabs) – Milk powder version
For the balls:
- 1 cup milk powder (full fat)
- 1/4 cup flour
- a little less than 1/3 cup cream
- 1/8 tsp baking powder
For the syrup:
- 1.5 cup sugar
- 1.5 cup water
- 3-4 cardamon pods
- 3 drops rose essence (optional)
Directions
In general the procedure is identical to the Khoya version Gulab Jamuns apart from the making of the dough. Place the milk powder, flour and baking powder in a bowl. Mix well. Add the cream and mix. At this stage the dough will be very sticky. If the dough looks too hard add one or two tablespoons milk. Cover the bowl with a plate or plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes on the counter. This wait time is critical and it makes the dough easy to work with.
Oil your hands, take out the dough and knead it until it is smooth and easy to work with. Roll into a long roll, slice into 16 equal parts and make balls shape.
From here the procedure is identical to the Khoya version – prepare the sugar syrup, heat oil, deep fry the balls for 7-10 minutes, cool down for 10 minutes and soak the balls in the syrup. The main difference here is the soaking duration – in the milk powder version the Gulab Jamuns need at least an hour or two in the syrup in order to soften and absorb the syrup. Remember to roll them over so all the sides will get their share of the syrup. The Gulab Jamuns will get better the longer you soak them in the syrup.
This version can also be kept for 2-3 weeks in the fridge soaked in the syrup. Take one or two out and heat in the microwave for 10-15 minutes.
Comments and suggestions
- Cardamon. If you are cardamon addicts like me you can add a pinch of grounded cardamon to the dough and/or add one or more cardamon pods to the sugar syrup.
- Sugar syrup. You can prepare a larger amount of the syrup (as long as you maintain the 1:1 ration of water and sugar) and then keep the balls in a box when they are completely covered in the syrup. If you do this the balls can be kept in the fridge much longer then few weeks, more like 3 month and even more.
- I’m vegan! yep, this recipe is indeed non-vegan and can’t be made vegan. However I’ve encountered recipes for potato or yam based Gulab Jamuns. I promise to try this out and post if it turns out nice 🙂
In short
Khoya version – boil 1 liter milk in a wide and heavy pan. Simmer on medium heat and stir every few minutes (or on high heat and stir continuously) until the milk reduces and eventually solidify to a dough like texture. This will take 1 to 3 hours. Mix the Khoya (the solid milk dough) with 2.5 tbs flour and 1/8 tsp baking soda. Mix and add one or two tbs milk if necessary.
Milk Powder version – mix 1 cup milk powder (full fat), 1/4 cup flour and 1/8 tsp baking powder. Add a little less than 1/3 cup cream. Mix, cover and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.
Both versions – Place 1.5 cup sugar, 1.5 cup water, 3-4 squashed cardamon pods and 2-3 drops of rose essence in a wide pan. Cook on medium heat until all the sugar dissolves. Turn off the heat. Roll the dough into a long roll, slice into 16 even pieces and make balls shape. Heat deep oil in a wok/pan, deep fry the balls from all sides for 7-10 minutes and place in a plate with paper towel. Let the balls cool down for 10 minutes and then move them to the syrup. The balls should soak in the syrup for at least 20 minutes (an hour in the milk powder version) before serving. Serve warm or in room temperature with tea or black coffee.
