gulab jamun image server in bowl

Gulab Jamun Recipe With Milk Powder & Khoya

Gulab Jamun Recipe this mouth-watering delicious dessert adds that extra joy to your meals. Let’s see how to make gulab jamun step-by-step.

ABOUT GULAB JAMUN

Gulab Jamun is a very popular Indian sweet. These soft sugar syrup-soaked balls are a treat always. 

The word “gulab jamun” means rose berries. In the Hindi language, the word “gulab” means rose and “jamun” is a darkish purple berry (java plum, black plum) available in India.

The sugar syrup for gulab jamun is flavoured with rose water and the fried dough balls have a size similar to jamun berries – hence the term Gulab Jamun.

It is made traditionally with dried milk solids. These dried milk solids are also called as khoya or mawa in Hindi. An easy version is also made with milk powder.

 

More Similar Recipe 


KHOYA GULAB JAMUN INGREDIENTS

For The Dough

  1. 1 cup khoya or mawa – 200 grams
  2. ¾ cup grated paneer – 100 grams of paneer (Indian cottage cheese)
  3. 3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  4. 2 tablespoon fine sooji (rava or semolina)
  5. 4 green cardamoms – powdered in a mortar-pestle or ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
  6. 1 tablespoon milk or add as required
  7. ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  8. oil for deep frying – as required

For Sugar Syrup

  1. 1.75 cups sugar – 250 grams
  2. 1 cup water
  3. 1 tablespoon rose water
  4. 1 tablespoon milk (optional)

 

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS 

Making Dough

  1. Take khoya (mawa or evaporated milk) in a bowl. Mash it very well. There should be no lumps. You can also grate and then mash the khoya.
  2. Then add grated paneer, rava (sooji), all-purpose flour (maida), baking powder and cardamom powder to the mashed khoya. There should be no lumps in both the mawa and paneer. If any lumps are not properly mashed, you will find the texture of the gulab jamun not so smooth.
  3. Mix well. Add milk and gather it together to form a dough. Don’t knead.
  4. Just gently mix. If you are unable to form balls or if the mixture appears dry, then add a few teaspoons of milk. Cover the dough and keep it aside for 30 mins.
  5. Take a small portion of the dough and gently roll it in your palms to make small balls. Cover the balls and keep them aside.

Making Sugar Syrup

  1. Dissolve the sugar in water. 
  2. Heat the sugar solution till it becomes sticky. Switch off the gas when the syrup reaches a one-third consistency.
  3. Add rose water and stir. 
  4. Keep the sugar solution aside. On cooling, if the sugar syrup crystallizes, then just add 2 to 3 tbsp water and warm the syrup again. It will again return to a liquid state.

Frying

  1. Meanwhile, while the sugar syrup is cooking, heat oil till its medium hot. Lower the flame and wait for a minute. Then gently place the dough balls in the oil.
  2. Once they start to have tiny golden spots, keep on rotating them in the oil so that the jamun are evenly browned.
  3. Remove the fried jamun and then drain them on kitchen paper towels to remove excess oil.

Making Gulab Jamun

  1. Then place the hot fried dough balls in the sugar syrup. Continue frying the rest of the dough balls in batches.
  2. When all the jamuns are placed in the sugar syrup, then keep the whole pan with the sugar syrup and the gulab jamun, on a low flame for 1 to 2 minutes till the jamuns become soft.
  3. Heating helps the gulab jamun to absorb the syrup and become soft. The jamuns increase in size a little bit. Don’t overcook, or the jamuns can break.
  4. Use a large pan, so that the jamuns are not overcrowded and you can easily stir them gently while they are simmering.
  5. Serve gulab jamun warm or at room temperature. You can also chill them and serve them cold. Garnish with rose petals or almond slivers.

MILK POWDER GULAB JAMUN INGREDIENTS

For The Jamun

  1. 1 cup milk powder
  2. ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  3. 1 teaspoon oil OR ½ teaspoon ghee
  4. 1 pinch salt (optional)
  5. 1 pinch of baking soda
  6. 1 to 2 tablespoons of curd (yoghurt)
  7. some blanched pistachios or almond slices for garnishing

For The Sugar Syrup

  1. 1 cup water
  2. 1.5 cups sugar
  3. 3 to 4 green cardamoms – husked and crushed or powdered or ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
  4. 1 pinch saffron – optional
  5. 1 tablespoon rose water – optional

 

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS 

Making Dough Balls

  1. First stir the sugar, water, cardamom powder and saffron in a pan.
  2. Gently bring to a boil and continue to stir occasionally.
  3. Add some pistachios to the syrup. An optional step but tastes good. Make a thick syrup and switch off the gas much before the sugar solution reaches a one-third consistency.
  4. You can cook the sugar syrup till it reaches a half string consistency. On cooling, if the sugar syrup crystallizes, then just add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water and warm the syrup again. It will again return to a liquid state.
  5. Mix the 1 cup milk powder, ¼ cup all-purpose flour or maida, a pinch of baking soda, and a pinch of salt (optional) in a mixing bowl. Add 1 teaspoon oil OR ½ teaspoon ghee and 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh curd or yoghurt.
  6. Just mix everything lightly. Add some more curd if the mixture looks dry. Don’t over mix or knead.
  7. You don’t want gluten to form, so just mixing well is enough. The all-purpose flour is just added to bind the mixture. If gluten forms then the dough balls become dense. They won’t absorb any of the sugar syrup and the jamuns won’t be soft.
  8. The mixture will be sticky but smooth. Apply some oil to your palms and make small balls from the dough. These dough balls almost double when frying and also increase when soaked in the sugar syrup. So don’t make large-sized balls.
  9. There should be no cracks on the dough balls. They should be smooth. If there are cracks, then just add some 1 or 2 teaspoons of curd or milk to the mixture and continue making the balls. Once done, cover the balls with a kitchen towel.

 

 

Frying

  1. Heat oil for deep frying in a kadai or a pan. When the oil becomes medium hot, lower the flame.
  2. Add a small ball to the oil. The ball should slowly rise to the top from the bottom. If it does not rise then, the oil is not hot enough. If it rises quickly and browns also quickly, then the oil is too hot to fry.
  3. If the small ball does not crack or break while frying, you are alright to proceed further. If it cracks, then just add some 1 or 2 teaspoons of flour to the dough and form the balls again. In an ideal case, the dough ball should not crack and should rise slowly to the top and should not get browned quickly.
  4. When you know the oil is hot enough and on a low flame or medium-low flame, then add 3 to 4 balls or more depending on the capacity of your kadai or pan.
  5. The balls have to be stirred with a slotted spoon frequently to get even browning. If there are handles on the pan, you can just lightly shake the pan so that the balls are evenly fried without using the spoon. 
  6. Keep on turning the balls until they become golden. If the oil becomes cold, then don’t fry the balls. Increase the temperature and then fry. Otherwise, the balls would have a hard crisp thick cover when fried in less hot oil and they won’t absorb the sugar syrup. Plus they would absorb a lot of oil too.

 

Soaking Jamun In Sugar Syrup

  1. When the balls are evenly golden and browned, remove them from the slotted spoon and add them directly into the sugar syrup.
  2. Keep the fried golden balls in the sugar syrup for at least 1 to 2 hours before serving. This is done so that the jamuns soak up the sugar syrup which will make them soft and sweet. 
  3. If you feel the jamun is not soaking in the sugar syrup, then warm the whole gulab jamun along with the sugar syrup on the stove-top for a couple of minutes. Cover and set aside. Just warm them, don’t heat.
  4. Gulab jamun can be served warm or cold. If they are at room temperature, then warm in the microwave and serve them topped with sugar syrup and garnished with pistachios or almond slices.

Enjoy your delicious dessert!

 

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