I recently came across a recipe called Gulab Jamun from India, which includes some ground green cardamom, deep fried dough balls, and a sweet syrup—I tried to make this for the first time, and was excited by the unique flavors and sweetness.
Gulab Jamun
I recently came across a recipe called Gulab Jamun from India, which includes some ground green cardamom, deep fried dough balls, and a sweet syrup—I tried to make this for the first time, and was excited by the unique flavors and sweetness.
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk powder
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp green cardamom powder
- ¼ tsp Kosher salt
- 2 Tbsp ghee, or clarified butter
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 cups sunflower seed oil
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 cup of water
- ¼ tsp green cardamom powder
- 12 Saffron threads
Instructions
- Whisk together the milk powder, all-purpose flour, baking powder, green cardamom, and Kosher salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the ghee, or clarified butter to the dry ingredient mixture, and mix until fully incorporated.
- Add the milk to the mixture, and mix to thoroughly combine.
- Knead the mixture until it forms a smooth dough.
- *If your dough is too wet after kneading for a minute or two, add a touch more flour. If you find your dough is too dry, add a bit more milk.
- Divide the dough into small balls, slightly smaller than the size of a golf ball.
- Heat some sunflower seed oil in a small frying pot until the oil is 350F.
- Drop the dough balls into the hot oil and deep fry them in batches until they are golden brown on all sides, turning the dough balls gently so that they cook evenly in the oil.
- Remove the dough balls from the oil when they are golden-brown in color, and allow them to drain on paper towels.
- To make the syrup, combine the 1 cup of white granulated sugar with the 1 cup of water, the green cardamom, and the saffron strands in a small stove pot.
- Stir the contents to mix the water with the sugar.
- Increase the heat to medium-high, and bring the contents to a gentle simmer.
- Simmer the syrup on medium-low heat for roughly ten minutes.
- When you have simmered the syrup for roughly ten minutes, remove from the heat.
- Add the fried balls to the syrup to allow them to soak in the liquid for at least 20-30 minutes.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
This dessert can be eaten warm or cooled down, but I love it when the fried dough balls and syrup are still slightly warm.