Gulab jamun (also spelled gulaab jamun) is a milk-solid-based South Asian sweet, particularly popular in India, Myanmar, Nepal (where it is known as lalmon), Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is also common in Mauritius and the Caribbean countries of Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname and Jamaica. It is made mainly from milk solids, traditionally from freshly curdled milk. It is often garnished with dried nuts like almonds to enhance flavour.
The word "gulab" is derived from the Persian words gol (flower) and āb (water), referring to the rose water-scented syrup. "Jamun" or "jaman" is the Hindi-Urdu word for Syzygium jambolanum, an Indian fruit with a similar size and shape. The Arab dessert luqmat al-qadi is similar to gulab jamun, although it uses a completely different batter.
PREPERATION:
Preperation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
INGREDIENTS:
-1 cup milk powder
-¼ cup
-2 tbsp all-purpose flour / maida
-1 tsp ghee
-1 tsp ghee for greasing
-1 tbsp milk
-1 tbsp curd/ yogurt
-1 pinch of Baking soda
-Ghee for deep frying
-1 tsp chopped pistachios
FOR SUGAR SYRUP
-1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups Sugar
-1 ½ cup water
-4 green cardamom pods
-Few drops of rose water
STEPS:
1. Add 1 ⅓½ cups sugar and lightly crushed 4 green cardamoms to a pot.
2. Add 1 ⅓½ cups water.
3. Boil this until the syrup turns slightly sticky. It should not reach one string consistency. If you reach at oe string consistency then in that case, add little water and stir. Check again. Switch off. Add rose water.
4. Add 1 cup milk powder, ¼ cup, 2 tbsps plain flour / maida, pinch of soda.
5. Mix them up very well. Add 1 tsp of ghee. Again mix them well.
6. Take 1 tbsp of yogurt and 1 tbsp of milk. Mix both together.
7. Add this to the flour and mix it well. Make a dough of it.
8. If the dough turns slightly sticky and refuses to leave the fingers. Grease your fingers and make a stiff dough. If by chance it turns sticky sprinkle another tsp of plain flour.
9. Divide the dough to 13 to 15 equal portions and make balls. Check your syrup if it is still hot. The syrup must be hot and not very hot.
10. Add ghee to a hot pan.
11. Add the balls gently and fry them. While frying they will increase in size, so provide them enough space in the pan.
12. Keep stirring gently to fry them evenly.
13. When they turn golden, take them off the pan using a deep fry skimmer or a strainer. Drain them very well.
14. Add them directly to the hot sugar syrup. The sugar syrup must be hot, not very hot or steaming hot.
15. Garnish with chopped pistachios and serve hot.