Gulab Jamuns Recipes

Steps:

• In a large bowl, stir together the milk powder, flour, baking powder, and cardamom. Stir in the almonds, pistachios and golden raisins. Mix in the melted ghee, then pour in the milk, and continue to mix until well blended. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.
• In a large skillet, stir together the sugar, water, rose water and a pinch of cardamom. Bring to a boil, and simmer for just a minute. Set aside.
• Fill a large heavy skillet halfway with oil. Heat over medium heat for at least 5 minutes. Knead the dough, and form into about 20 small balls. Reduce the heat of the oil to low, and fry the balls in one or two batches. After about 5 minutes, they will start to float, and expand to twice their original size, but the color will not change much. After the jamun float, increase the heat to medium, and turn them frequently until light golden. Remove from the oil to paper towels using a slotted spoon, and allow to cool. Drain on paper towels and allow to cool slightly.
• Place the balls into the skillet with the syrup. Simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes, squeezing them gently to soak up the syrup. Serve immediately, or chill.

Steps:

• For the gulab jamun: Sift the milk powder, flour and baking soda together in a large bowl. Add the cream, lemon juice and ghee. Use your hands to make mix lightly into a stiff and slightly sticky dough. Add more cream if too dry or more flour if too wet. The dough should be smooth(ish). Try not to over knead the dough as that will make the balls dense. Cover the bowl and let it rest while you make the simple syrup.
• For the syrup: Combine the sugar, 1 1/2 cups water, cardamom seeds and saffron in a medium saucepan. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the alcohol, if using, rosewater and lemon juice, bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the consistency of a light syrup, 15 to 20 minutes. If using whole cardamom, remove the pod from the water.
• Fill a large Dutch oven halfway with oil, attach a deep-fry thermometer to the side of the pot and heat over medium-high heat to 280 to 285 degrees F. (It is important that the oil be kept at this temperature, if too hot the gulab jamun balls will brown on the outside but remain uncooked inside.)
• Meanwhile, grease your hands with ghee or oil. Roll the dough into sixteen 1-tablespoon size balls (walnut-sized balls), making sure there are no cracks. (The dough will double in size when fried and will grow some more when soaked in the simple syrup.)
• Once the oil is at the right temperature, gently add one ball at a time to the hot oil, making sure there is enough space for the balls to expand in size and not stick to each other. Gently stir the balls to make sure they are not sticking to the bottom of the pot or to each other. Fry the balls, turning every minute or so, until golden brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove and transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet or plate. Repeat with the rest of the dough balls.
• Put the warm gulab jamun in a glass baking dish large enough to hold all the balls with a little space around them and pour the warm syrup over them.
• It's better to make the gulab jamun 1 to 2 hours before to let them soak the syrup. I like to zap or warm the jamuns before serving, but they can be had cold or at room temperature also. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container. Garnish with nuts just before serving.

Steps:

• First make a simple sugar syrup. Put the sugar, 3 cups of water, the cardamom seeds, and rose water into a deep-sided pan, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn the heat down and simmer for around 10 minutes, until it thickens into a light, cordial-style syrup, stirring every now and again. Take off the heat, leave to cool, then taste and add more rose water (sparingly) if needed.
• To make the jamuns, mix together the milk powder, flour, semolina, and ghee in a bowl. Little by little, add the warm milk to the mixture to bind it together into a dough-you might not need all the milk, so add it slowly until you get a soft, pliable dough. Don't overwork it, just knead it until it comes together.
• Pour the oil into a deep-sided pan and heat it to around 275°F. Meanwhile, place a large plate or tray covered with paper towels on the side. Roll the dough into little balls the size of a marble (around ½ ounce each) and lay them out on another tray. These will inflate in the hot oil, so don't panic if you think they're a little small. When rolling, you might need a dab of warm ghee or oil to get a good ball. Try not to press too hard, and do your best to smooth out any cracks so the balls don't split in the hot oil. But equally, be gentle on yourself if this is your first time.
• Fry 4 to 6 jamuns at a time for 5 to 7 minutes, until golden brown, or the color of almond skin. Remove to the plate covered with paper towels and drain. It's worth testing the first batch. They'll be firm on the outside and cakey inside but not gooey. (If they're gooey, increase the cooking time.) Fry the rest. After they have cooled a little, put them into the syrup and leave to soak for a day or at least a few hours. To serve them warm, place the gulab jamuns and their syrup in a saucepan over gentle heat. Serve drained of all but a couple of tablespoons of the syrup. Sprinkle over the pistachios. If not serving straight away, refrigerate.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Combine milk powder and flour in a bowl. Add butter; beat together until creamy and blended. Add just enough milk to make a firm dough. Shape dough into 18 small balls and arrange on the baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until gulab are lightly browned, 12 to 20 minutes.
• Combine confectioners' sugar, white sugar, and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until sugars dissolve and consistency is syrupy, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Transfer gulab to the saucepan; let soak in the warm syrup, at least 10 minutes. Let cool before serving.

Steps:

• To make the syrup, heat the cardamom, sugar and 500ml water in pan, not letting the water boil before the sugar has dissolved. Simmer for 10 mins, then leave to cool.
• Add the rosewater, saffron and some of its soaking water, gradually adding to give a subtle flavour. Set aside in the pan.
• To make the gulab jamun, grind the cardamom and sugar with a pestle and mortar.
• Sieve the milk powder, flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl and stir in the ground cardamom. Rub in the homemade ghee or butter using your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Add the yogurt, lemon juice and enough milk to form a soft dough - take care not to overwork the mixture.
• Oil your hands with a little sunflower oil and shape small portions of the dough into balls the size of a small walnut, about 3cm in diameter and 20g each. You should have 16 balls. Take care that the dumplings are smooth and have no cracks or folds.
• Reheat the syrup. Once it comes to a boil, turn off the heat and cover with a lid.
• Heat the ghee in a wok or karahi to 130C. When a small piece of dough dropped into the oil turns golden in about 40 seconds, fry the balls in batches over a medium heat, moving them around until they are an even, deep brown, about 5-7 mins. Remove from the pan using a slotted spoon, then drain on kitchen paper. Add to the warm syrup, leaving them to soak for 2-3 hrs or preferably overnight.
• When ready to eat, warm the gulab jamun through in a wide pan, spooning over the syrup. Serve piping hot.