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Gulab Jamuns
By
DK
on Nov 15, 2009
How do you describe the sensation when something just melts in your mouth and while it travels down your windpipe "esophagus" (updated for the critical bunch out there who just don't get it!), it leaves a feeling of warmth and coziness as if you are the most special person in this world? How do write or even portray that soft fluffiness of the jamuns oozing with that delicious sweetness? Being a food blogger, these Gulab jamuns became a downright writer's block for me. And what more - it made a frantic and hopeless photographer out of me too. B'cos try as I might, I couldn't think of the right words to explain how I felt and also failed to capture that velvety smoothness of these famous Jamuns having prominence in the "Most Wanted" list of Indian desserts.
I have hammered the point enough in this blog about my lack of craziness for sweets. Very select few escape into my liking, with the Baklava being a recent addition. But Gulab Jamun was the King (or is it queen?) and almost the only participant in this list for a long time. My mother knew that Gulab Jamuns were the only sweets that I would have no control over and hence made it rarely. She, being an owner of sweet tooth ( should say teeth!), they were quite common in my household. I would never touch even one small piece of it. But the day she makes Gulab Jamuns, they would inevitable disappear the same day. She feared those moments cos the next few weeks, she would have to hear my laments of gaining weight, over poor wardrobe and other inexplicable tantrums.
When Srivalli announced Gulab Jamuns as the theme for this months ICC, I was ecstatic. We were given 3 different recipes to try. Only lathamma from Yumblog had a recipe which was v v similar to mine. Hence, I thought why not try some other recipe. Actually I am of a belief that as far as Indian Sweets go, few recipes literally adopt you. So, suppose one dish has say 5 different recipes, may be only one of it will literally beck and call you and would dance to your tunes while another recipe may do so likewise for some other person. Like that, the other 2 recipes given to us for the challenge, did not dance to my tunes. I was very dissapointed with the results. Agreed they were decent, but they were not of the same quality and taste, I had gotten spoilt on.
Hence I went back to mine (i.e to lathammas recipe) and VIOLA, my good old soft and fluffy jamuns came back me :). You can use store bought Khoya or even go for the instant made ones ( I will do a post on that later), but trust me when I say this - fresh homemade traditional Khoya is the main reason for the amazing texture for the Gulab jamuns. It may sound time consuming and hard, but its not as bad as its made out to be. You can make Khoya the previous day while you are cooking your day to day meals. It takes 1-2 hours to make and needs only occasional stirring. On the day of making the Jamuns, it becomes a breeze to have these khoya on hand since making the jamuns themselves takes like 30 minutes totally!
Ok Lets go to the recipe and step by step instructions shall we? Though I have given the recipe given to us for the challenge, you will find few changes here and there with tips on my end to get perfect Jamuns.
When Srivalli announced Gulab Jamuns as the theme for this months ICC, I was ecstatic. We were given 3 different recipes to try. Only lathamma from Yumblog had a recipe which was v v similar to mine. Hence, I thought why not try some other recipe. Actually I am of a belief that as far as Indian Sweets go, few recipes literally adopt you. So, suppose one dish has say 5 different recipes, may be only one of it will literally beck and call you and would dance to your tunes while another recipe may do so likewise for some other person. Like that, the other 2 recipes given to us for the challenge, did not dance to my tunes. I was very dissapointed with the results. Agreed they were decent, but they were not of the same quality and taste, I had gotten spoilt on.
Hence I went back to mine (i.e to lathammas recipe) and VIOLA, my good old soft and fluffy jamuns came back me :). You can use store bought Khoya or even go for the instant made ones ( I will do a post on that later), but trust me when I say this - fresh homemade traditional Khoya is the main reason for the amazing texture for the Gulab jamuns. It may sound time consuming and hard, but its not as bad as its made out to be. You can make Khoya the previous day while you are cooking your day to day meals. It takes 1-2 hours to make and needs only occasional stirring. On the day of making the Jamuns, it becomes a breeze to have these khoya on hand since making the jamuns themselves takes like 30 minutes totally!
Ok Lets go to the recipe and step by step instructions shall we? Though I have given the recipe given to us for the challenge, you will find few changes here and there with tips on my end to get perfect Jamuns.
Basic Information
Cook Time: Under 30 min
Serves: 4 people
Yield: Makes about 20-25 jamuns depending on the size
Ingredients
- Khova – 1-1/2 cups
- Maida (all purpose flour) – 1 cup
- Sugar – 3 cups
- Water – 1 cup
- Cooking/Baking Soda – 3 pinches ( 1 pinch would be 1/8th of tsp )
- Cardamom – 4 pods ( I used 1/4 tsp cardamom powder )
- Saffron – a few
- Rose water/essence - 2-3 drops
- For the Khova/Khoya
- See how to make Khoya here
Method
1
Method- to Make Khoya
Making Khoya at home is extremely simple and a satisfying process. I find that freshly made Khoya is the best for this recipe and store bought ones do not work as well as home made ones. See how to make Khoya at home.
2
Method - For the Jamuns
Combine sugar and water in a flat bottomed broad pan and simmer on a low heat until sugar dissolves.
3
Add cardamom powder, rose essence and saffron and keep the sugar syrup on v low heat. We want the syrup warm not hot. Make sure it is near to where you are deep frying Jamuns. You want to make it easy to drop the jamuns directly into the syrup.
4
Heat oil on a medium flame. For that traditional rich taste, I used Ghee and oil 50-50 to deep fry.
5
Now mix the homemade Khova, all purpose flour (maida) and the cooking soda.
6
Knead all of them together. You might need few tsp. of water to form a smooth dough.
7
Add tsp at a time until you reach the correct dough consistency.
8
Form small balls of this dough. Make sure they are less than say small limes. This is important since they will become large while deep frying and larger when soaked in syrup. Another important point to note is to shape smooth balls. No cracks should be visible since this will cause the jamuns to disintegrate while soaked in the syrup. To make a smooth dough, one simple technique would be to grease your palms, either with ghee or oil while making the balls. ( Water works too but it would cause the oil to splutter all over)
9
Fry the jamuns till golden brown over a low to medium flame, keeping oil temperature uniform. Oil should not smoke.
10
You will find the jamuns go down, then in about 10 seconds or so, floating to the top. Its a wonder to see them rotating on their own in the oil. It seems that they like to brown uniformly well ;)
11
Once they get uniformly brown on all the sides, remove them from the oil making sure to drain the excess oil and
12
drop it straightaway on the warm syrup on the side. The hot jamuns in the warm syrup (not hot) helps them to soak the syrup well making them incredibly soft. And if you made sure to keep the size and the smoothness intact, they will not fall apart either and hold their shape.
13
You can of course deep fry 3-4 jamuns together depending on the size. But make sure not to crowd them since it would bring down the temperature of the oil/ghee and the result would not be that good and the jamuns wont be cooked inside and might end up being soggy!
14
Drop all the fried jamuns in the syrup and let it soak for at least 1 -2 hours for them to soak the syrup. You can increase the syrup in the original recipe if you want the Jamuns to float in the syrup. Also if you live in a cold place, you will find the sugar syrup thickening up if you keep it for some time. I find that increasing the water to another 1 cup (that's 2 cups water for 3 cups sugar), makes a thinner syrup in such cases. You know you have made the perfect jamuns when you see them absorbing the syrup but continuing to float in the syrup. If they are dense or heavy, they will sink to the bottom!
Gulab Jamuns can be stored in room temperature for a week. Store them closed with a plastic wrap.
More than that, then fridge is a good idea. Though they are good cold, they are best warm (not hot). If you have refrigerated them, warm them up in a microwave for few seconds before serving.
More than that, then fridge is a good idea. Though they are good cold, they are best warm (not hot). If you have refrigerated them, warm them up in a microwave for few seconds before serving.
Common Questions when it comes to Gulab Jamuns ( Tips and Tricks )
I have been getting many queries/doubts about Gulab Jamuns. Here are few more tips, I learnt from my exp. and also from other online source to get perfect spongy jamuns. Hope these help.
What are you still in this page for? Don't you feel like making some now in your kitchen? Oh well suit yourself , while I enjoy these delicious soft Jamuns ;) ( Did I hear you just cursing me??? ;) )
- If the jamuns are fried on high heat, then they will become hard on the inside though they may look perfect from outside and firther more they may not cook completely inside. Heat the oil on high and then reduce to medium high. Make sure you drop only enough jamuns to maintain this heat throughout the cooking process.
- Too much baking soda can cause the Jamuns to disintegrate in the oil and then in the syrup.
- While one set of experts warn you against dropping the jamuns immediately in the syrup, another says its a must. I usually drop it as soon as I fry them and have never faced issues till date.
- While kneading the jamuns into smooth balls, if you find lots of wrinkles on the surface of the jamuns, then you know that your dough is too tight. Add a little more fresh Khova ( if you have on hand) or otherwise few tsp. of milk. Knead the dough again until smooth.
- This tip is from a friend of mine -If you find that sometimes your finished gulab jamuns are hard, then microwave them for few seconds. This helps to make the jamuns spongy.
- Another possible reason for the Jamuns to get hard is if you have rolled out your jamuns hard. They should be rolled out v smoothly without giving pressure and gently.
What are you still in this page for? Don't you feel like making some now in your kitchen? Oh well suit yourself , while I enjoy these delicious soft Jamuns ;) ( Did I hear you just cursing me??? ;) )
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57 Responses to “Gulab Jamuns”
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this is d best recepie to make yummy nd healhty gulab jamun .
Plz reply what should i do
My Gulam jamuns r shrinking
Please mention the quantity by weight also.
can i add crushed dry fruits while kneading the dough?
I guess u can – it wont be smooth on the surface like regular gulab jamuns. You can also try stuffing it inside the balls – that will keep the surface better looking —DK
I made these yesterday and they are fabulous!! Pretty fool-proof. I did have to add a bit more water to the sugar syrup than recommended (about 1/4 cup) since the syrup seemed too thick even before I dropped the jamuns in. Also, I made it with store-bought khoya (Nanak brand) and it’s still very very tasty. I can’t wait to try it with home-made khoya. Thanks again!
The gulab jamuns turned out to be very delicious and smooth and yummy and whatever you can think of!!
Very very thanks for this awesome recipe.
hey..
lovely recipe it helped my mom a lot.Tthis holi Gulab jamuns ..yeeeeeeeeeeyii. 
HAPPY HOLI..
whY does my gulab jamun expand soo huge when i soak it into the hot syrup imediately after frying??
Make very small balls – much smaller than regular Gulab jamun sized balls. It will expand to become the regular size. –DK
I spent the whole morning making khoya, and I just finished my gulab jamuns. They’re having a syrup bath right now, and, even if the balls were not perfect, they’re still floating and looking yummy. I tasted one and it was just awesome. Must say that I had never seen or tasted them before, but I fell in love with them when I came to your blog, so I had to try them. They came out perfect. Thanks!
This is so perfect! Trying out a complicated sweet you never knew before and getting it all right is such a fantastic feeling indeed! I am so glad to hear your feedback. Happy eating! I wish I had some now!:(
Khoya is a partially-caramelized syrup made from milk? It sounds similar to the Mexican “dulce de leche” (another product that may or not be sold in traditional form). Is there a way to substitute a good dulce de leche for the khoya in this recipe?
its gorgeous
Hello, I made gulab jamun today for the 1st time in my life and it came out beautifully. Thanks for the recipe & happy Diwali!
Hi DK,
I tried out my fav desert Gulab Jamun yesterday and it did not turn out as it was supposed to
I prepared khova the previous night and did not store it in the fridge overnight as it was hot.
Also while kneading the dough i had to use more than the required quantity of water that you have mentioned as Khova had become slightly hard. I used baking powder instead of soda as I did not have the former. Hence the jamuns did not flare up. All other instructions were followed as per you recipe.
Were these the cause of the failure?? what else could it have been??
Thank U,Chef,I have made my favorite dessert.I followed the method;made the khova using 2litres whole cream milk.it took about 3hours to 2 bring it to a solid state.
this my very 1st time and was happy with the result.The 1st batch of balls cooked too fast,I knew this then the inside was not cooked and they were hard!I reduced the heat and the 2nd batch onwards became perfect.very happy!
hi chefinyou
dis is really a good way to demonstrate the whole receipe thanx for all dis
Hi, Your recipe looks very authentic. Thanks for posting it. I am planning to make jamun’s for a party this week using your recipe. If i use the measurements you provided, how many jamun’s will it yield approximately?
You are my new hero! I tried it out according to your recipe and it worked like a charm! Thank you!
Very helpful information,I love the recipe of Gulab jamuns.Pictures are also very clear and good .thanks .
Jamoon looks great. How to make it with soy milk powder and what is the ratio of flower to the soy milk powder?
I havent tried a soy version of this…when I do I will update for sure.
Dear Chefinyou,
I am a guy from Dubai, not AT ALL the kind who you’d see cooking but I am going to make this one now just to surprise my MUM! I hope it comes out well, I don’t want one of my first cooking escapades to go phat!
But I appreciate the step by step/ pictures accompanied way in which you have explained things.
Thankyou.
ZAFAR
Hi , I just tried out this recipe step by step. Unfortunately the jamuns have come out hard and are not soaking up the syrup. Any reason why?
Thanks
I have provided possible reasons for gulab jamuns not turning out right at the end of the post. Pls refer
I have given possible reasons for the jamuns to go wrong at the end of the post. Please do refer
you are a goddess!
(imagine this this smiley with folded hands..) i am myself not a good cook but i can make good things if i put my ideas aside and just ape people like my mom and food geniuses like you.. but my darling sis-in-law (my bhaabhi) is a good cook and we have vowed to make indian pav by your recipe once our dieting is over.. and today your jamuns have joined the list! 
i love you both soo much for such a great blog! only if i had good money i would’ve visited US, rung your doorbell, hugged you tight and come back to india by the next flight. seriously! but alternatively you can visit india too!! 
ha ha! hope to meet you in person someday! ta ta.
I was actually searching for a good gulab jamun recipe. Will try it out for this diwali !!