Gulab Jamun- the stuff dreams are made of!
Gulab Jamun are basically the Pakistani/Indian version of donut holes. They’re small balls of fried dough that are soaked in a cardamom and saffron infused syrup. This recipe is a no-fail and results in perfectly soaked and soft little balls of heaven 🙂
Enjoy!
Gulab Jamun
Ingredients
Syrup/ Sheera
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 6 green cardamoms
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Dough/ Gulab Jamun
- 1 cup full-fat dry milk powder
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup whole milk
- Neutral flavored oil, to deep fry
Instructions
Prepare Syrup/ Sheera
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Combine sugar, water, cardamoms, and lemon juice in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and cook until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and set aside.
Prepare Dough/ Gulab Jamun
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Heat enough oil to deep fry the Gulab Jamun in a large vessel over medium heat.
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Prepare the dough by mixing dry milk powder, all-purpose flour, baking soda, and melted butter. Slowly drizzle in the milk in small additions, gently kneading with the tips of your fingers to form a cohesive dough. The dough shouldn’t be too hard nor too soft. To check if the texture is right, roll a small amount of dough between your palms for 30 seconds. The ball should be smooth and firm. If you notice cracks in the ball, knead more milk into the dough (a teaspoon at a time).
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Roll the dough (about 2-tablespoons worth) into small balls by applying gently pressure between the palms. The balls should be smooth, and without any cracks. Cover with a damp paper towel and set aside.
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Fry the gulab jamun, taking care not to overcrowd the pan. Gently agitate the gulab jamun to ensure even browning. Each batch should take approximately 3 to 4 minutes to cook.
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Transfer the fried gulab jamun directly to the sugar syrup, and cover.
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Allow the gulab jamun to soak for a few hours for best results.
Recipe Notes
Only regular full-fat dry milk powder will work for this recipe (brands such as Nido and Carnation are excellent choices); avoid brands such as Everyday and Coffeemate, as they are formulated differently. Also, when purchasing a brand such as Nido, please make sure you are getting the basic milk powder, and not the infant/toddler formula. Lasty, it is essential to use a full-fat (whole milk) powder; nonfat will not work.
If the dough seems too dry out while rolling into balls, add a splash of milk to the dough and gently knead it.
Gulab Jamun can be served warm, cold, or at room temperature.
This was my first time ever deep frying anything, let alone making a desi dessert. I tried the recipe the first time using the wrong type of milk powder, but once I used the right one the end result was awesome! Will definitely be making these again!
So happy that you didn’t give up and kept trying! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave feedback!
Used this recipe for my first time ever making gulab jamun and it was so easy to follow and make! They turned out delish! I definitely had to add lots more spoons of milk to make the dough smoother, and I think I’m going to stick with 3 minutes of frying because 4 seems to make them too dark. Otherwise, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy this was to make! I printed this recipe using your print option (which is super helpful, by the way, because it condenses the text and you’re not printing 10 pages for a recipe, lol), and am keeping it on hand! Thank you!
Thank you so much for your feedback! I’m so happy that it went well for you!
Tried making gulab jamun for the very first time. I have a child with food allergies and unfortunately that means that we can’t usually get any Desi desserts for him. I was so grateful that Henna’s recipe made it easy for me to surprise my son with a safe dessert that he could eat at home.
The recipe was easy to follow and I had most of the ingredients already so that was a win too!
The gulab jamuns turned out soft and fluffy… even my 97 year *tough critic* grandmother said I did a good job! Thanks, Henna!
Samar, thank you from the bottom of my heart ❤️ Hearing that the boys enjoyed them is honestly the best compliment I can get ❤️ My heart is bursting with joy!
Great recipe.. turned out to be superb in one go.. Thanks for sharing a wonderful recipe..
Thank you so very much!