Gulab Jamun

In a medium bowl, soak the semolina and saffron in the milk and set aside for 5-10 minutes.

In a separate mixing bowl, mix the dry ingredients: milk powder, baking soda, all-purpose flour, saffron, and cardamom.

Once all the dry ingredients are fully incorporated and the semolina looks thickened in the other bowl, combine the wet and dry ingredients together into 1 bowl, along with the ghee and mix well till you have a soft dough.

Once dough forms, cover with a plate or dry, clean cloth and let the dough rest for 20-25 minutes. (The dough will soften more, and the semolina will absorb all the wet ingredients more, increasing the size of the dough portion.)

After resting period is over, knead dough again for 2 minutes, until it is no longer sticky to the touch.

Shape the mixture into 35-38 small balls (1 tsp size of dough ball or 1/2 inch)

Heat the oil to a low setting. When oil is hot, but not smoking, add 4-5 dumpling balls at a time into the fryer/wok. Turn constantly until they are golden brown in color. It should take about 5 minutes to cook fully. (When the dumpling is placed into oil, it will drop to bottom of fryer/wok for 2-3 seconds and then immediately rise to top of oil to puff up.)

Drain all dumplings on a plate lined with paper towels.

To make the syrup - dissolve the sugar in the water in a large saucepan. Bring to a slow boil on medium-low heat till it starts to gently bubble. Once bubbles begin, turn off heat and leave aside for 10 minutes to cool a bit.

Very gently, drop a few of the dumplings at a time into the sugar syrup and turn over with a spoon several times to make sure all sides are coated.

Take out the soaked dumplings and place them in a large heat-proof serving dish.

Pour the remaining syrup into the serving dish very slowly, to avoid any of the Jamun dumplings breaking.

Allow the Gulab Jamun to sit in serving dish at least 1-2hrs at room temperature before serving because the dumplings will soften more in the sugar syrup and like a "sponge" - they will increase in size a bit as they absorb the liquid.

Just before serving, you may warm up in microwave or oven slightly, so they are warm to taste...not hot.