Saturday 21 June 2014

Gulab Jamoon

The smooth, sweet jamoons soaked in sugar syrup. That invariably mouth-watering dessert in most Indian Buffets. Well I cannot think of anyone who would dislike this lovely dessert, except for calorific reasons ofcourse. But a celebration calls for some highly calorific dishes on the menu and we are sure to have practice sessions a couple of times atleast before the occasion to get the dish right. I am sure most of us have tried the packaged instant mix for gulab jamoon. The ingredients are anyone's guess.

Ingredients
Khova/dry evaporated milk - grated, 1 1/2 cups 
Maida/Corn Flour - 1/2 cup 
Water - just to blend

Sugar syrup
water - 1 1/2 cup
sugar - 1 1/2 cup
Cardamom - 2, crushed and powdered with the pestle
Rose essence - 3-4 drops
Lemon juice - a few drops

Method
Use your fingertips lightly  and mix the khova and maida to make a crumbly mix. Add just enough water to make a smooth dough very lightly with your fingers. Do not knead or the jamuns will turn out hard.

With this quantity of ingredients  you can make 40 medium sized jamuns. 

Place the balls of dough on a plate. 

Prepare the sugar syrup in the meanwhile. Heat the water and add the sugar, stirring slowly. Keep stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved for about 10 minutes. Do no overheat or the sugar will caramelize. 

Add the lemon juice to the syrup, to avoid the sugar from crystallizing after it cools down. Take the sugar syrup off the flame when it is of the right consistency (pourable but thick) and add the cardamom and rose essence. 

While the sugar syrup is still hot, start frying the jamun balls in oil. Keep tossing them around in medium flame, so all sides cook evenly and the jamuns do not crack. 




Drop the hot jamun balls directly into the sugar syrup.









Allow the jamuns to soak. The syrup will cool down in a couple of hours. You could serve the jamus warm or cold with a few spoons of syrup.


Verdict
Something incredibly satisfying about making something from scratch. This is one of those satisfying endeavours, to all senses including your palette ;)

priya's signature image at photobucket

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