Gulab
Jamun is one of the favorite Indian desserts. They are golden brown
balls in flavored sugar syrup. They are served warm or at room
temperature.
They
are also available ready-made here in the US either in Indian grocery
stores in cans or if you are in the major US cities you can go to the
sweetmeat shops and buy them fresh. You also, get them in the famous
GITS (brand) easy to make packets.
- 1 cup
Carnation Milk Powder
- 1/2 cup
Bisquick - Pancake mix
- (Instead
of Bisquick Pancake mix, use 1/2 cup all purpose flour and 1/2
tsp baking soda)
2
tablespoons butter -melted
- Whole
milk just enough to make the dough
-
- For the
Sugar Syrup
- 2 cups
Sugar
- 1 cup
water
- Oil for
frying
Make
the dough by combining the milk powder, Bisquick, butter. Add just
enough whole milk to make a medium-hard dough. Divide the dough into
18-20 portions. Make balls by gently rolling each portion between your
palms into a smooth ball. Place the balls on a plate. Cover with a
damp yet dry kitchen towel.
Heat
the oil on high and then lower the heat to medium. Slip in the balls
into the hot oil from the side of the pan, one by one. They will sink
to the bottom of the pan, but do not try to move them. Instead, gently
shake the pan to keep the balls from browning on just one side. After
about 5 mins, the balls will rise to the surface. The Gulab Jamuns
should rise slowly to the top if the temperature is just right. Now
they must be
gently and constantly agitated to ensure even browning on all
sides.
If
the temperature of the oil is too high then the gulab jamuns
will tend to break. So adjust the temperature to ensure that the
gulab jamuns do not break or cook too quickly.
The
balls must be fried very slowly under medium temperatures. This
will ensure complete cooking from inside and even browning.
Sugar
Syrup
The
syrup
should be made earlier and kept warm. To make the hot sugar syrup add
mix the 2 cups of sugar to 1 cup of water. Add 4-5 cardamom pods,
slightly crushed and a few strands of "Kesar". Mix
with a spoon and then heat at medium heat for 5-10 minutes until sugar
is all dissolved in water. Do not overheat, that will caramelize the
sugar.
Transfer
this hot syrup into a Corning serving dish. Keep warm on stove. Add
the fried gulab jamuns directly into the warm syrup. Leave gulab
jamuns in syrup overnight for best results. They can be served warm or
at room temperature.
