Gulab Jamun

Gulab jamun is a common Indian dessert, made of milk powder, flour, and using rosewater flavoring. The word gulab means rose.

Ingredients (Serves 4 to 8) :
For balls (Jamun)

• 4 cups milk powder
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda (not baking powder)
• 2 cups yogurt (Vary according to the firmness of yogurt to get soft dough)
• Vegetable shortening or ghee for frying

For Syrup

• 3 cups sugar
• 1 and 1/2 cups water
• For flavor (a) Rose water 1/4 cup, OR (b) Cardamom powder 1/4 tsp and 1/8 tsp saffron

Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix the milk powder, flour, and baking soda.
2. In a cup, beat yogurt to make it uniform.
3. Add yogurt gradually to the mix and make a dough that should be soft to touch.
4. Make 1/2 inch diameter balls (use ghee on palm to reduce dough sticking).
   
5. In a frying pan with ghee on medium heat, deep fry 4-5 balls at a time till they turn brown. Put balls in strainer to get out the excess ghee.
   
6. In a pan, mix sugar and water. Heat until sugar dissolves completely and mixture starts boiling. Turn off heat.
   
7. Float the balls in syrup and cover them completely with the syrup.

Several variations are possible. While making the jamun balls, one can put at the center a variety of ingredients such as saffron, nutmeg, cardamom, sugar cube, or pistachios. Or, you can try the jamun-within-jamun approach: mix a small portion of dough with powdered spices of your liking and place this at the center of a larger jamun ball.


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