Treat yourself to soft and juicy Gulab Jamun made right at home! These iconic Indian mithais take just 15 minutes and are easy to make with milk powder. The jamuns are fried in ghee and soaked in a syrup flavored with cardamom, rosewater, and saffron. Serve them at festivals, weddings, and to celebrate other special occasions.
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. Add the rosewater and stir everything together. Ensure the syrup stays warm for soaking the jamuns by covering it with a lid or keeping it on the lowest heat. Keep it nearby to the wok which will be used to fry the jamuns.
Jamuns
Sift the milk powder, all-purpose flour, and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Create a well in the middle and add the ghee. Mix the ghee together with the dry ingredients until the flour is a sandy texture with small clumps.
Add the whole milk one tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together to form a soft, smooth ball of dough. This may require more than 4 tablespoons of milk. The dough shouldn't be crumbly, sticky, or have any cracks.
Divide the dough into 12 pieces that weigh 20-25 grams. Roll each piece in between your hands or on a flat surface to form a smooth and round ball.
In the meantime, add enough ghee for deep frying the jamun on a medium-low setting in a wok. Test a small piece of dough to ensure it bubbles and floats to the top. If it does, the ghee is hot enough. It shouldn't be too hot so that the insides of the jamuns get a chance to cook before the outside has browned.
Carefully transfer the dough balls to the hot ghee and immediately start gently stirring the ghee with the slotted spoon to ensure they don't sit at the bottom of the wok. Continue to stir until they're all a proper deep golden brown on all sides, about 3-4 minutes.
Transfer the jamuns into the warm syrup. Let them soak for 2-3 hours at room temperature. Serve chilled or warm with slivered pistachios as garnish.
Notes
IMPORTANT NOTE: Jamun dough is NEVER exact. You can use the exact same measurements to the grams but the type and brand of all the ingredients will make an enormous difference. The most important thing you can do is work with the dough until you get one that is completely smooth and soft. See the section labeled "Tips for the Best Gulab Jamun".GHEE SUBSTITUTIONSUse melted unsalted butter in the jamun dough instead of ghee. For deep frying, substitute ghee with neutral oil or half ghee and half oil. You'll want enough ghee for deep frying so that the jamuns don't touch the bottom of the pan. This amount varies depending on the size of wok or pot used and the size of the jamun.