Gulab Jamun Recipe: Guide To Making Soft & Perfect Gulab Jamun At Home

One of the most popular Indian afters, Gulab Jamun, never fails to win hearts. This delectable dessert with delicate flavours can be served at any event. It is loved by people with sweet teeth irrespective of their age. A huge favourite amongst Indians, this dessert is also very versatile in terms of preparation. There are multiple ways to modify and prepare it. It is also incredibly easy to make, which works for those of you who have just started in the kitchen. In addition to its ease of preparation, these days, you will also find instant mix packages of Gulab jamun that can also be used if you want to cut corners a bit. So, let’s take a look at how to home-make this soft and melt-in-your-mouth ball of sweetness called Gulab Jamun.

List of ingredients

There are different approaches to preparing a Gulab Jamun, but the fundamental motley list of ingredients never changes. Get ready with a pen and paper to jot down the ingredients and do keep them ready before you make your attempt.

For the dough

1.      Ghee

2.      Maida

3.      Sugar

4.      Milk

5.      Cream

6.      Milk powder

7.      Baking soda

Other items (vary as per the recipe)

1.      Rava

2.      Khoya

3.      Suji

4.      Cream

5.      Paneer

6.      Curd

For the syrup

1.      Sugar

2.      Cardamom

3.      Saffron

4.      Water

5.      Lemon juice

6.      Rosewater

7.      Cardamom

For stuffing (required as per the recipe)

1.      Almond

2.      Cashew

Cooking procedure

The general procedure to make Gulab jamun involves two steps – making the dough and the sugary syrup.

Procedure to make Gulab jamun syrup

Warm up the non-stick pan and pour in 250ml of water. Now add 1/2 cup of sugar to this water. Cook over medium flame and allow the two ingredients to mix well to gain a good consistency. This should ideally take 5 to 8 minutes. After this, add a few strands of good quality saffron and 1/4^th tsp of lemon juice. Let the syrup simmer for a few minutes and then you can turn off the gas. Take it off the burner and keep it aside to cool.

Procedure to make Gulab jamun dough

Turn on the gas on a low flame and warm up the non-stick pan. Immediately add 1 tbsp of ghee (you may do oil too) to the pan. Next, add 3/4th cup of milk into the ghee. Start mixing the two well with your spatula. Make sure that the mixture remains consistent throughout. Now depending upon which particular recipe you have in your mind, add either the milk powder or the semolina or the instant Gulab jamun mix into the milk and ghee mixture. Keep mixing continuously. It will turn creamy within a few minutes, followed by a thick dough formation. Add about 1/4 tsp of cardamom powder. Once the milk is boiled perfectly, turn off the gas. Now divide the dough into small sections and roll with greased palms into small balls. Fry them in medium hot oil till they turn brown and dip them into the syrup. They are ready.

Recipes of different versions of Gulab Jamun

The ingredients may vary for the below-mentioned recipes, but the preparation style remains unchanged; hence, follow the above-stated instructions.

1.      Suji Gulam Jamun

       Dough

-        1 cup suji (dry roast)

-        1 tsp ghee

-        3 cups milk

-        2 tbsp milk powder

-        2 tbsp sugar

       Syrup

-        2 cups of sugar

-        2 cups of water

-        1/4^th tsp saffron

-        1/4^th tsp cardamom powder

-        1 tsp rosewater

*For the suji, you need to roast it before starting.

     Gulam Jamun with instant mix

Dough

-        1 cup of instant mix

-        1 - 2 tbsp(s) milk

Syrup

-        ½ cup sugar

-        ½ cup water

-        Pinch of saffron

-        1tsp lemon juice

3. Gulab jamun with stuffing

Khoya

-        1tbsp ghee

-        ½ cup milk

-        1/4^th cup cream

-        1 cup milk powder

Dough

-        ½ cup paneer

-        1 cup khoya

-        1/4^th cup maida

-        Pinch of baking soda

-        1tbsp water

Syrup

-        1 cup sugar

-        1 cup water

-        3 pods of cardamoms

-        1tsp lemon juice

Stuffing

-        A little bit of the final dough mix

-        2 tbsp chopped almond

-        2 tbsp chopped cashew

-        1 tbsp saffron water

-        Few drops of food colour to your liking (optional)

Put aside a little section of the dough. Add the above-listed ingredients. Mix them well, and roll into mini balls. Each of these balls will be placed securely inside your Gulab jamuns before they are plopped into the oil for frying.

3. Dry Kala Jamun

Dough

-        1 cup milk powder

-        1 tsp Rava

-        ¼ cup maida

-        Pinch of baking soda

-        1 tsp ghee

-        1 tsp curd

-        1/4^th cup warm milk

Syrup

-        ½ cup sugar

-        ½ cup water

-        Pinch of saffron

-        1/4tsp of cardamom powder

-        1 tsp lemon juice

*Roll the Gulab jamuns over small sugar crystals before serving

Recipe for Gulab Jamun with Khoya

Khoya (200gms) 

-        1 tbsp ghee

-        3/4th cup milk

-        1 cup of milk powder

Dough

-        Khoya

-        ½ cup maida

-        Pinch of baking soda

-        3 tbsp warm milk

Syrup

-        ½ cup sugar

-        3 pods of cardamoms

-        1/4^th tsp saffron

-        ½ cup water

-        1 tsp rosewater

-        ½ tsp lemon juice 

Put a non-stick pan over low flame and add a tbsp of ghee. Once the ghee warms up, pour 3/4th cup of milk into the pan and heat it. Let the two blend well into one, after which you add one cup of milk powder. Keep stirring the mixture through and through to make sure no lump is formed. Within the next five to eight minutes, it will turn creamy. Keep stirring till it thickens showing you the early signs of dough formation. Add about 1/4 tsp of freshly ground cardamom to the warm milk. Once the milk is boiled perfectly, turn off the gas. This is your khoya.

Once the khoya dough cools off, mash and break the lumps with your hand to achieve a crumbly texture. Into this, add ½ cup plain flour, a pinch of baking soda, three tsp of milk. Combine all into one to form the final dough. Now start rolling small sections from the dough into balls. There must be no crack in any of the jamuns. Deep-fry them in medium hot oil till they turn golden brown. Take them out and immediately put them into the syrup. And your Gulab jamun is ready to serve!

Calorie count

Now, let’s take a look at the calorie count of this dessert. This will help you get an idea of how much you should consume ideally at one go. 

Kitchen tools and utensils required

Being an easy recipe, one does not need a great variety of cooking tools or items to make Gulam Jamun. There are just a few utensils that are required, and most of them you are already likely to own. Barring a few that can be purchased any time during your next errand to the closest supermarket, find below a list of kitchen utensils needed to make any of the Gulam jamun recipes shared with you as follows:

-        Non-stick pan and lid

-        Non-stick frying pan

-        Mixing bowl

-        Measuring spoons

-        Spatula

-        Skimmer

Quick summary of the cooking process

The cooking process is divided into two parts—dough making and syrup. You need to remember that the syrup must be made earlier and set aside to cool down a little. Once the syrup looks ready, take a spoonful and taste it. This will help you understand if it is adequately sweet, or else you may add more sugar. You must follow the quantities correctly for the dough, or else it can become either soggy or dry. Also, while frying, pay attention to the flame. If you do not turn the balls at regular intervals, they might blacken and taste bitter.

In conclusion, Gulab jamun is one of the best traditional Indian dessert recipes for you to try out. Despite there being multiple variations of Gulab jamun, none of the recipes is hard to follow. In addition to that, it is also a time-efficient dessert recipe, especially if you are running out of time or happen to be new to the whole business of cooking. So, next time if you plan to host a house party or want to engage in self-indulgence, try out any of the recipes cited above and have a good time.

FAQ

·      The word ‘Gulab’ comes from two Persian words ‘gol’ and ‘ab’ meaning flower and water, respectively. It is rose water. The other word 'Jamun' is Urdu for Indian Black Plum.

·      Gulab jamun is similar to Luqmat-Al-Qadi, an Arabic dessert that Mughal emperors introduced to the Indian cuisine.

Bengal’s ‘Ledikeni’ and ‘Pantua’ are two famous variants of Gulab jamun invented by Bhim Chandra Nag, to mark the occasion of Lady Canning’s visit, wife of Charles Canning, the then Governor-G