Apple Jalebis are a fun fall twist on regular jalebis that are special for any festival or occasion! They are made with rings of honeycrisp apples, deep fried until the apples are tender on the inside but crispy on the outside, and soaked in a sweet saffron rosewater simple syrup.
pistachios and dried edible rose petalsfor garnish
Instructions
Apple Jalebis
In a large bowl, mix the all-purpose flour, instant yeast, corn starch, and pinch of salt. Give it a good whisk and pour in the lukewarm water. Whisk again until smooth. (Optional) Add a very small amount of orange food coloring. Whisk again until fully combined and set aside for 15 minutes.
In the meantime, cut two apples into rings by turning the apple on to its side and cutting straight down with a sharp knife. Use a small circular object, like a lid, to remove the middle of the apple slice and form a ring. At this point, make the saffron simple syrup.
Whisk the batter again, and then drop the apples in. Fully coat them in the batter.
Heat the ghee in a skillet on medium heat. It should be about an inch high in the skillet, otherwise add more ghee. Test a small amount of batter to ensure it's hot enough - it should bubble and solidify.
Carefully lower four apple rings into the ghee at a time, being careful not to crowd the skillet to prevent the apple jalebis from sticking. Fry on one side until the batter solidifies, darkens, and becomes translucent 1 to 3 minutes. Flip to the other side and continue to fry.
Immediately transfer to the pan with the warm saffron simple syrup and soak them for 1 - 2 minutes. Do not oversoak, otherwise the jalebis will be soggy. Transfer to a cooling rack over a sheet pan to drain excess syrup.
Serve warm immediately on a serving platter with pistachios and edible rose petals for garnish.
Saffron Sugar Syrup
In a sauce pan on low to medium heat, pour in the water and sugar. Stir until the sugar melts. Rub the saffron between the palms of your hands over the pan to crush them a bit. Smash the cardamom seeds under the flat edge of a knife and add them into the sugar water as well.
Simmer the syrup until it reaches one strand consistency. To do this, dip your pointer finger into the sugar water and rub it between pointer and thumb and slowly pull your fingers away from each other. You should see one strand of syrup.
Remove the syrup from heat and remove the cardamom seeds. Add the rosewater and stir everything together.
Ensure the syrup stays warm for soaking the jalebis.
Video
Notes
To make Apple Jalebis without yeast:In a bowl, mix together 1 cup of all purpose flour and ¼ cup of dahi. Slowly add in lukewarm water as needed, around ½ cup. It should form a thin paste-like batter. Rest the batter for 1 to 2 hours.If the batter won't stick to the apple rings, coat it in all-purpose flour first and then dip it into the batter.