A classic ball-shaped Indian dessert using khoya or mava. The khoya balls are deep fried and then soaked in sugar syrup until it turns moist. This festive-special Indian dessert is famous all over the world. You can easily make jamuns using ready mixes, but the authentic recipe yields much better gulab jamuns. Follow the step-by-step picture instructions to get halwai-style gulab jamuns at home. Keep reading the blog below to know the tricky part while making them and how to handle them. Follow the exact proportions for perfect gulab jamuns each time. You can half the recipe or even double the recipe according to your requirements. I hope you'll find this detailed blog post helpful. Keep reading till the end for tips to make better jamuns.
INGREDIENTS:
For the Jamuns:
Khoya- 300 gms
All-purpose flour- 1 cup
Milk- 2 tbsp (adjust accordingly)
Baking soda- a pinch
For the sugar syrup:
Sugar- 500 gms
Water- 750 ml
Cardamom pods- 2 nos (optional)
PROCEDURE:
Take a wide plate, and add a portion of the mava to it. Don't take all of it, take a portion, knead it and then use the rest. Make sure to use room-temperature mava.
Start kneading it with the help of your palm. You have to break the milk solids using your palm to make the mava smooth and lump-free. This process may take 15-20 mins. It is sure a time-consuming and tiring process, but I ensure you that you'll make halwai-style gulab jamuns. This process is really important. Don't knead it with your fingers, knead it with your palm. This step ensures softness to the jamuns and makes it crack-free, so don't skip it.
After kneading it for 15-20 mins, the mava will look something like this. I mean, It'll feel non-sticky and the texture will be smooth. This is an indication that he mava is ready to use.
Now add baking soda to it along with 2 tbsp of maida. Don't add all the maida in one go. Mix the maida and soda added and add 2 tbsp again and incorporate it the same way. Sprinkle milk when the dough feels dry and cracky.
Knead the dough well and cover it let it rest for 10-15 mins.
Add the sugar, water and cardamom pods to a wide vessel and let it boil.
Let it boil for 10 mins.
Shape the jamuns well. Use a 1/2 tbsp measure and remove out even-sized balls, then you can shape them correctly and get jamuns of the same size.
Heat oil in a kadhai. A hack from youtube which I have mentioned earlier, which works best for me and I use it everytime is swirling the oil in the kadhai while dropping the jamuns. This way the jamuns will not stick to the bottom of the kadhai. Also, sometimes a part of jamun gets a darker shade and a part gets lighter shade, This step ensures you'll get even colour for the entire batch. While doing this step, Swirl only thw oil, don't touch the jamuns using the spoon as they'll be delicate and may break.
Fry the jamuns till they turn golden. Another problem is sometimes the inside of the jamun is hard and raw. To prevent that, heat the oil well before adding the jamuns, Then lower the flame and add the jamuns to itand fry them in low flame, You can keep the flame in medium for a sec or two. After that lower it again. This way the jamuns will be cooked evenly throughout.
Drop the hot jamuns in the sugar syrup. The syrup should not be boiling hot nor luke warm.
Cover and add the jamuns after frying.
Let them soak and absorb for 5-6 hours.
Delicious, moist Gulab Jamuns are ready. Serve them and enjoy!
Jamun Problems and their Solutions:
Jamuns which disintegrate in oil/ Sugar syrup: This happens due to either less flour or two much baking soda. Make sure to not add too much baking soda. Follow the exact proportions to get the perfect texture.
Any substitute for Soda: Add 1 tsp of Baking powder instead.
Jamuns with hard centers: *Use the spoon method while frying.
*Don't make big jamuns, make smaller balls as they double up after soaking up.
*Adjust the flame as mentioned above.
Jamun not soaking up the syrup: This happens if you add it to syrup which is cold. Add the hot jamuns directly from the kadhai to syrup which is not hot nor luke warm.
