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Gulab Jamun

Gulab Jamun

Golden-fried milk dough dumplings soaked in a warm cardamom and rose-infused syrup. Soft, sweet, and irresistibly indulgent, this traditional dessert is served warm for the perfect finish to your meal.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Course Dessert, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine Indian
Servings 35 dumplings

Ingredients
  

Dumplings:

  • 1 cup Gulab Jamun Dry Flour
  • 1 cup of dry non-fat milk powder OR full fat milk powder
  • 1/2 tsp of baking soda
  • 4 Tbsp semolina
  • 4 Tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp ground cardamom powder
  • 5-6 threads saffron
  • 2 tsp of melted ghee
  • 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 4 cups of oil for frying any type except olive oil

Simple Syrup:

  • 3 cups of sugar
  • 4.5 cups of water

Instructions
 

  • 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.
Keyword class recipe, Dessert