Holi Recipe- Delicious And Easy To Make Gulab Jamun

Gulab Jamun is the most popular Indian dessert. Gulab Jamun's are deep fried donut-like balls, soaked in sweet rose flavored syrup. They are so delicious and taste absolutely heavenly. Learn to make the best gulab jamun's with khoya along with all the tips and tricks to get them melt-in-the-mouth soft.

Ingredients

2 cups Khoya finely grated or crumbled, about 6oz
½ cup All-purpose flour (maida)
½ teaspoon Baking powder
¼ teaspoon Cardamom powder (Elaichi)
1 tablespoon Ghee
⅓ cup Milk warm, add little at a time, use more if needed
Ghee or Oil for frying
1 tablespoon Almonds or Pistachios sliced, to garnish

For Sugar Syrup

2 cups Granulated Sugar white refined
3 cups Water
3 pods Green Cardamom (Elaichi)
1 pinch Saffron (Kesar)
1 teaspoon Rose Water
1 teaspoon Lime juice

Method

Making the dough

- In a large bowl, grate or crumble the khoya. Add all-purpose flour (maida), baking powder and cardamom powder to it. Mix it well.

- Now add ghee and mix again. Add milk little at a time, so the dough starts to form. You don't want the dough to be sticky. We just want enough milk for it to come together. Don't over mix the dough. You just want it to be smooth and soft.

- Cover with a damp cloth and let the dough rest for 30 mins.

Making sugar syrup for Gulab Jamun

- While the dough is resting, in a bowl, add sugar, water, cardamom pods and saffron.

- Bring to a boil. Then simmer for 7 minutes. Do not overcook the syrup. The sugar syrup thickens when as it cools, so it shouldn’t look too thick.

- Add lemon juice, rose water and stir well. By adding lemon juice, sugar syrup doesn’t form crystals.

Making Gulab Jamun balls

- Grease your palms with some ghee. With your hands, knead the whole dough once.

- Make small balls from the dough. When rolling to balls, make sure the balls are smooth with no cracks, else they might break when frying. Squeeze the dough between your palms to make it smooth and crack-free. If there are cracks, add a few drops of milk to make it smooth.

- The balls will increase in size after frying & soaking in syrup. Make equal sized balls, about 15 from this dough.

Frying and soaking the Gulab Jamun

- Heat the ghee/oil well in a fry pan/wok before starting to fry the balls. Fry on medium-low heat. On high heat, they will get dark from the outside, but will not be cooked well from the inside.

- Add them to the syrup while the syrup is warm (not boiling hot), so they soak in all the sweetness and become soft. If syrup is too hot, the balls might break. If it is cold, then the balls will not soak the syrup well. Soak for at least 30 minutes before enjoying. Soaking for up to 2-3 hours works great too.

- Gulab Jamun's are ready to be enjoyed.