Best and Perfect Gulab Jamun Recipe

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Best and Perfect Gulab Jamun Recipe

Ingredients

Please reduce the quantity to suite your needs
This recipe is used in many Indian Restaurants around the world.

3 Cups of Dry Milk Powder (do not use any low fat options)
1 Cup of Self Raising Flour (Self Raising Flour is nothing but Maida/Plain Flour with Baking Powder added to it)
3 Pinches of Baking Soda (Only if you are using plain flour or Maida instead of the Self Raising Flour)
1/2 Cup milk
1/2 cup water
Thickened Cream 200 grams
Oil for Deep Frying
3 Cups of White Sugar
3 Cups of Water
2 Green Cardamoms

Preparation

This recipe will give you good results if you follow the quantities, use very low heat while frying and you would be rewarded by restaurant quality Gulab Jamuns.

To make Sugar Syrup

Take a pot and add 3 cups of water and add Sugar.
Add the Green Cardamoms in the water.
Bring the water to boil.
Let it boil for 15 minutes. (Keep the pot covered with a lid, just leave a bit of a room for steam to escape.)
Once the syrup has thickened a bit then keep it aside.

To fry the Gulab Jamuns

Take a mixing bowl
Add the Milk Powder
Add the Self Raising Flour (or Add the Plain Flour and the baking Soda)
Add 1/2 cup of milk (Milk is important as it will bind the flour )
Add the cream
Knead the mixture into a dough.
Adjust the quantity of cream which you add to keep a tight dough.
Put the pan on very low heat with the oil for deep frying. ( Very Low Heat please )
Make small balls of the dough and use some oil on your hands to make a smooth and shiny ball of the size of a cherry. ( Remember that it will swell up while frying and while in the syrup as well)
Once the balls have turned dark brown then transfer them in the sugar syrup.
The Gulab Jamuns are ready. If the syrup has not penetrated into the center of Gulab Jamuns then keep them dipped in the syrup.
You can actually store the Gulab Jamuns in the fridge in the syrup itself.

TIPS:

If you want to make Kala Jamuns then let the balls fry in the oil for bit longer till they turn almost dar brown coloured.
It is important that when you roll the ball you smear it with some oil so that the outer surface is rounded and shinny.
If the Gulab Jamuns are very tight to eat that means that you have not used enough Baking Powder.
Remember to use Baking Powder and do not substitute it with Baking Soda. See another article on this site to familiarise yourself between the difference of Baking Powder and Baking Soda.

As a rule of thumb if your recipe has some citrus or spices then Baking Soda will do the job as it needs some acid action to react. Therefore in recipes like cakes and sweats Baking Powder is used as it contains Baking Soda as well as some agent so that it can work on its own.

It is important to add some milk or water while kneading the dough, if you only use the cream to knead the dough then your dough would be very crumbly, the water or the miik will help you to get the glutton in the flour to work and it will bind the dough.

Do not leave the dough for a long time on the shelf, just make the dough when you are ready to fry the Gulab Jamuns.