Instant Gulab Jamun

Gulab jamun is a popular Indian dessert made with milk powder dough balls deep fried and soaked in sugar syrup. You can find this in most of the Indian restaurant menu and it is also made at home during festivals especially Diwali. Come, let’s see how to make this perfect recipe at home with easy method and step by step pictures.

Author: PRIYA SRINIVAS

Cuisine: Indian

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Resting time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Makes: around 25 gulab jamuns

Ingredients

For the dough:

Instant Gulab Jamun mix – 200g packet (I used MTR brand)
Milk- as required for making the dough (Little less than 1/2 cup)
Oil- for deep frying
Oil- about 2 tsp (for greasing your palm)

For sugar syrup:

Sugar- 3 cups
Water- 3 cups
Cardamom powder- a pinch
Rose essence- few drops

Method:

1. Sieve the instant Gulab Jamun mix into a large vessel to break the lumps.

2. Add milk (at room temperature) little by little and mix well to make a soft sticky dough as shown. (Note: You can add water instead of milk but adding milk gives super soft Gulab Jamun.)

3. Close the dough and rest for 30 minutes.

4. Add sugar and water in a pan and heat in medium flame until the sugar dissolves.

5. Add cardamom powder and rose essence and boil for 10 minutes until it resembles the colour and consistency of cooking oil (not too thick or watery) and switch off the flame.

6. After 30 minutes of resting the dough, grease your palm with little oil and mix the dough well. The stickiness would have gone by now. Grease your palm again and make small perfect round balls without any cracks and keep them on a plate.

7. Heat enough oil in a kadai in medium flame.(Note: the oil should not be too hot, otherwise the balls will turn dark and crack). When the oil is medium hot, add a small portion of dough to check, if the dough rises immediately and doesn’t turn dark, the oil is ready. Now slowly drop 4 balls into the oil. Keep the flame in lowest. Gently stir the oil near the balls for even cooking and never stir the balls directly as they will break.

8. When the bubbles disappear and the balls are golden, remove from oil and place on absorbent paper towel. The balls would have increased in size.

9. Repeat the process with the remaining balls. Meanwhile, when the balls have cooled for 5 minutes, add them to medium hot sugar syrup and soak for at least 2 hours. After 2 hours, you can take out the soft and spongy Gulab Jamun and add little syrup and store the syrup separately. You can add remaining while serving, this ensures that they don’t absorb too much syrup and break.