Gulab Jamun

5 from 8 votes

This Gulab Jamun Recipe is made using milk powder and produces melt in your mouth soft gulab jamuns with the most perfect khoya like texture.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Indian

Servings: People

Calories: 238kcal

Author: Neha

Heat up sugar, water, cardamom pods and saffron strands in a wide mouthed pan with heavy bottom. Allow the syrup to come to a boil. Now simmer and cook for just a minute or two. You are looking for a consistency that's sticky. We do not want the syrup to reach one string consistency.
To test the consistency of Syrup: Take just a small amount of syrup on a spatula or between your index finger and thumb. When you move your finger away from that drop of syrup, it must feel sticky and shouldn't be runny or forming strings.
Set the syrup aside when it gets ready. Add rose water too and keep it covered.

Add and mix well milk powder, all purpose flour, semolina and baking soda in a mixing bowl.
Next add in ghee and room temperature yogurt to it. Now slowly add milk in 2-3 additions and form a dough kneading with light hands. The dough will be sticky. Grease your hands with some more ghee and form a large ball.
Divide this dough into 10-12 dough balls with greased hands and roll them. Keep greasing your hands as needed while you roll these dough balls without any cracks. Keep them covered at all times to prevent them from drying out.

Once you have rolled all the balls, it's time to fry them. Heat ghee/oil moderately, it shouldn't be too hot. Dropped dough balls should stay inside the ghee for a few seconds before rising up.
As the dough balls rise up slowly you will notice small bubbles all around them. Turn the flame low-medium and keep stirring ghee/oil using a small stainless/wooden spoon at all times. This will rotate the ghee in pan and dough balls will get a uniform color as they fry.
Frying one batch should take anywhere between 7-8 minutes. Once you notice a reddish brown color on each one of them, strain the balls of excess ghee/oil and they are ready to soak the syrup.

Drop the strained dough balls directly into moderately hot sugar syrup. The fried balls will float on the top surface of syrup for a few minutes. Then as they begin soaking syrup, these balls will submerge into the syrup. Allow fried balls to soak for 4-5 hours in the syrup before serving.
Top with slivered pistachios and almonds. You can also garnish them with dried rose petals. Enjoy!

Troubleshooting:

If your syrup turn too thick or starts forming strings, add about 2-3 tablespoons of water to it. Stir and reheat to obtain the right consistency again.
If the dough sticks too much, grease your hands with ghee as needed while rolling each dough ball between your hands.
The dough must not be too wet, but just soft enough for you to be able to roll crack free balls from it. If there are cracks on dough balls, they might burst opened when put into hot ghee.
To check if the ghee/oil for frying is at right consistency, drop a small dough ball into it. If if doesn't rise instantly and browns too quickly, you are good to go. If you notice the oil is too hot, turn the flame off for a minute or two and then begin frying.
Reheat the syrup till it gets moderately hot again before dumping hot fried dough balls into it.