Cakes By Catriona
- Sep 23, 2020
- 4 min read

Gulab Jamun - Indian Style

Updated: Nov 14, 2020

Gulab Jamun (For 24 Gulab Jamuns)

For making the Gulab Jamuns

90g full cream milk powder

45g flour

3g baking powder

1g salt

45g of ghee

125g of ricotta cheese (refer photo step 2 - Purchased at Intermart Ebene at ~Rs150)

600ml of oil for deep frying

For making the syrup

300g brown sugar (refer photo step 4 - Purchased at Intermart Ebene at ~Rs50)

600ml water

4g Cardamom powder (Elaiti)

15ml Vanilla essence

1 teaspoon of corn flour dissolved in 2 tablespoons of water

For decoration and packaging

25g of chopped almonds (refer photo step 18)

Cling film

Transparent cellophane or plastic bags

Ribbons and tags (optional)

Disposable plastic cups (refer photo step 16 - Purchased at Tangs B.Bassin at Rs50)

Disposable plastic spoons (refer photo step 16 - Purchased at Tangs B.Bassin at Rs65)

Procedure

Step 1 : In your mixing bowl, add your flour, salt, baking powder and milk powder and mix well together.

Step 2: Weight and add your Ricotta cheese and your ghee to your dry ingredients from step 1.

Step 3 : Knead well until you obtain a firm and uniform dough as in the picture below (right). Allow to rest for 15-20 minutes.

Step 4: While your dough is resting peacefully, let`s prepare the syrup ! In your pan (on medium to high heat) add your water as well as your brown sugar and allow to boil.

Step 5: Stir from time to time to ensure that all sugar crystals are dissolved.

Tip: I normally prefer using brown sugar to make my syrup because of the beautiful golden color and special taste it adds to the final Gulab Jamuns

Step 6: While waiting for your syrup to boil, weight your cardamom and vanilla essence and dissolve your teaspoon of corn flour in your 2 tablespoons of water.

Tip: To make the syrup become a bit consistent or a bit thick, original recipes ask to add much sugar, however for me too much sugar can sort of 'hinder' the taste of the other ingredients such as the milk, so I use the corn flour mixture to ensure that the syrup will become slightly thick while not being overly sweet !

Step 7: As soon as your syrup starts to boil, add your cardamom powder, followed by your vanilla essence and finally add your corn flour mixture . Allow to simmer for 2 more minutes while stirring continuously then cover the pan and put it aside for use in step 14.

Step 8: About 20 minutes are over now (resting time of Gulab Jamun`s dough from step 3) so time to cook our Gulab Jamuns ! In a pan, add your oil and allow to heat up on a small to medium heat. Get your dough set aside in step 3 (it should be very easy to handle and shape at this stage) !

Step 9: Make small balls of about 12g each by rolling between the palm of your hands.

Tip: Creases on the balls may cause your Jamuns to break during frying . So to ensure that there are no creases at all on the surface of the balls, you can apply some pressure while rolling the balls as well as you can spread a little bit of oil on the palm of your hands prior to shaping your Gulab Jamuns .

Step 10: Prior to deep frying your Gulab Jamuns, it is extremely important to test your cooking oil first ! Roll a small ball of the dough (test dough) and release it in the oil. If it falls at the bottom, starts to bubble and slowly/ gracefully rise to the top while still bubbling, then your cooking oil is ready so you can add your Gulab Jamuns !

Tip: If while testing the cooking oil your test dough remains at the base and does not bubble, it means that your oil is not hot enough (Gulab Jamuns might break apart). If the test dough instantly/ quickly rise to the surface while bubbling, then your oil is too hot, your Gulab Jamuns will cook outside but not inside (hard/ raw center). Normally to be more precise, the perfect temperature range for cooking Gulab Jamuns is between 175 to 180 degrees Celsius.

Step 11: Add your balls (Gulab Jamun balls ) to your cooking oil.

Tip: Do not stir at this stage.

Step 12: When your Gulab Jamuns start to brownish, then you can stir to ensure a uniform color as far as possible

Step 13: Have a look at your Gulab Jamuns and tell them that you love them !!!

Step 14: When your Gulab Jamuns have turned to the color of your preference (some like them pale brown, I personally prefer them dark brown ), transfer them to a plate covered with some kitchen paper towel to absorb the excess oil and to cool down a bit for about 5 minutes. During this time allow your syrup that you put aside in step 7 to heat up again on a medium to high heat and as soon as it restarts boiling, switch off the heat, add your Gulab Jamuns, cover the pan and leave aside for 15-20 minutes the time for the Jamuns to absorb well the syrup !

Gulab Jamuns after soaking in the hot syrup for about 20 minutes !