Crispy jalebi recipe

Name: Jalebi recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 3
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 1 jalebi making cloth or sauce bottle; 200 gm all purpose flour ( maida); 1 teaspoon yogurt; Water as required; For the sugar syrup; 2 cup sugar; 1 cup water; one drop orange food colour (optional; 1/4 teaspoon elaichi powder

Mobasir hassan

23 April

How to make jalebi recipe

Crisp jalebi recipe can be made at home with very less ingredients. This jalebi recipe will give you a perfect jalebi that is super crisp and tasty like the one you buy from stores or mithai shop. Here is the simple and easy recipe that gives you the perfect jalebi that you are looking for.

Jalebi is often serve with a glass of hot milk or topping with some rabdi which is more popular. It is such a delicious dish that you even don't need anything as a side dish to serve it.

Jalebi serving temperature is either hot or warm. And you can even serve them at room temperature also. Jalebi with fafda is one of my favorite serving combination.

Serving hot crisp Jalebi with nuts for jalebi recipe

This Jalebi recipe with step by step photos and video will help you to make the perfect traditional jalebi recipe at home. There is also a short description about instant or quick recipe for it to make at home.

What is Jalebi

Jalebi is a spiral shape sweet ( dessert) which is crisp from outside and full of juice from inside. Overnight fermented batter is piped in spiral shape over medium hot ghee and fry till both sides become crisp golden. These are then drained and soaked in a fragrant sugar syrup. And finally served hot either by topping with some nuts or rabdi.

Jalebi is a very popular dessert in festival seasons here in India be in Diwali, Puja and other festivals. These delicious dessert is often served in breakfast also with a cup of hot milk or rabdi. If you love jalebi recipe then I am sure you would love gulab jamun recipe as well.

I think this is the only dessert that is hugely popular in every parts and region of India. Jalebi is known by few other regional names like jlebi, Jelebi jilebi, jilepi and jaleb also. Whatever the name, we just can not resist our self to bite a crispy and juicy jalebi. We love it from the bottom of our heart.

Origin of Jalebi

The history of jalebi is rich and dates back to many centuries, making it a beloved dessert in the Indian subcontinent and beyond. While the exact origins of jalebi are debated, it has a fascinating historical journey: Jalebi's origins can be traced back to ancient India. Some believe that it has roots in the Middle East and Persia, where similar sweet dishes made from fried dough soaked in syrup were prepared. These culinary influences likely made their way to the Indian subcontinent through trade routes. References to a sweet called "Kundalika" can be found in ancient Sanskrit texts, suggesting the existence of a sweet dish resembling jalebi in ancient India. These early sweets were made from fermented rice batter and had similarities to modern jalebi. If you are looking for more Indian breafst menu list or ideas then this post of Indian breafast menu with a pdf file help you.

Over the centuries, the recipe for jalebi evolved. It is believed that the traditional jalebi we know today with its distinctive spiral shape was developed in medieval India. The process of fermenting the batter and frying it in ghee or oil likely developed during this period. Jalebi became a versatile dessert with regional variations across the Indian subcontinent. Different regions began to add their own unique flavours and techniques, resulting in variations like "Imarti" and "Paneer Jalebi

Flour, sugar, ghee, water, orange colour and cardamom powder for jalebi recipe

Ingredients required to make it.....

Maida ( all purpose flour)
Curd
Sugar
Ghee or oil
Cardamom powder
Orange food colour
Water

What to serve with jalebi

Jalebi is often serve with a glass of hot milk or topping with some rabdi which is more popular. It is such a delicious dish that you even don't need anything as a side dish to serve it.

Jalebi serving temperature is either hot or warm. And you can even serve them at room temperature also. Jalebi with fafda is one of my favorite serving combination.

How to make jalebi at home

It is one of the simple dessert recipe that requires very few ingredients maida, curd, sugar and ghee only. First make a thick batter by mixing curd, maida and water. Keep the batter in room temperature or in a light warm place for overnight to ferment. Next morning you can notice some bubbles appears over the batter. This is a sign for a good fermentation process. Now whisk or knead the batter for sometime to make it smooth and free flowing. If it is thick then add some water and similarly if it is thin then add some more flour to adjust the free following consistency of the batter. Add this batter in a sauce bottle or jalebi making cloth and pipe over a light hot ghee in spiral shape. Make four to five Jalebi in these way and fry them till both sides become crisp golden. After that remove and drain any excess ghee from them and dip in light warm sugar syrup for one or two minutes or till all the Jalebi become full of syrup. You can now serve them hot.

How to make Crispy Jalebi

Crispy and thin Jalebi can made by using traditional fermented method only. There is no short cut for that. Here are some few tips you can follow to make crispy jalebi

Use only curd with flour to ferment the batter
Keep the Jalebi batter in a warm place or room temperature for good fermentation.
Try to use a jalebi making cloth to pipe the batter.
Keep the Ghee temperature to medium low to fry them.
Fry slowly on both sides till become golden.
Drain any excess ghee before dipping them in light warm sugar syrup.

Different methods to make it....

You can make jalebi by using either

Instant jalebi making method
Traditional jalebi making method

In instant jalebi making method you won't get the perfect flavour and crispness of jalebi. It only give you the shape and syrupy taste.

Instant jalebi recipe can made with ENO. For that make a thick batter by mixing maida, curd and water. Add few drops of vinegar and a pinch of ENO. And knead or whisk everything together to make a thick free flowing batter.

Now add this batter in a sauce or piping bottle or in a jalebi cloth to proceed further to make the jalebi.

Instant jalebi without yeast

This is another method you can use to make instant jalebi recipe. For that mix baking powder and baking soda with curd and maida in a mixing bowl. Add water and make a thick free flowing batter for Jalebi without yeast.
If you want to make jalebi then why don't you try the traditional method which is more simple and can be made with less ingredients.
We are making jalebi with traditional method by fermenting the flour.

How to make jalebi batter

Mix maida with curd. Add water little by little to make a semi thick dough. Make sure it should not be watery because after the fermentation, the batter become smooth.
Cover and place the dough at a warm place for 10 - 12 hours or overnight. During the fermentation process the pH of the batter decreases from 4.4 to 3.3, but so does nitrogen and free sugar. The main bacteria that are involved in our jalebi batter are Lactobacillus fermentum, L. buchneri, Streptococcus lactis. Next day you can noticed that some bubbles are formed over the dough. Now whisk the dough nicely for about 2 minutes. It will become smooth and free flowing.

Consistency of jalebi batter should be free flowing not watery. If it become watery then add some flour to adjust the thickness of the batter. Similarly if the batter is not a free flowing then add little more water. This way you can adjust the thickness of jalebi batter. That's all for making the batter for Jalebi.

How to make Sugar syrup for jalebi

Light sugar syrup is used to dip jalebi. Ingredients like Sugar, water, elaichi powder, lemon juice and a small pinch of food colour are required to make the sugar syrup for jalebi. The consistency of the syrup should be one string. And the temperature should be light warm before dipping the jalebi. If you want to know more about Parsley and it's benefits then here is a article for you Parsley in Hindi.

Tips to make perfect tasty jalebi

You need a thick and free flowing batter. It should neither be too thick nor thin.
Sugar syrup with one string consistency.
Low temperature of oil or ghee while frying the jalebi.
A good jalebi cloth or a piping bottle or sauce bottle with a medium large opening.
A thick curd or yogurt to mix with maida.

What is Jalebi making cloth?

With jalebi making cloth you can make perfect shaped crisp jalebi at home that we buy from shops. Jalebi cloth is made from high grade raw materials and is hygienic. You can wash it after using. It has a opening hole in the middle. The cloth is kept over a bowl or container and jalebi batter is poured over it. Then bring the edges of the cloth at centre and close it with the grip. A popular choice of many chef's.

Steps to make the recipe

Preparation

1. As we are making jalebi with fermented batter, so first prepare the batter to ferment it.

2. Take maida in a mixing bowl and add the curd .

3. Mix them and pour water slowly to make a rough thick batter. As after fermentation the batter with automatically become soft and smooth.

4. Foil the bowl and keep at a warm place or room temperature for 10 - 12 hours.

5. After the said time you can notice that some bubbles appears over the batter. These are the sign that the batter has fermented. Sometimes the batter may come out from bowl.

6. Now whisk the fermented batter nicely for 2 minutes to make it smooth.

7. If the batter looks thin then add some flour to make it little bit thick. Keep the batter aside

Making sugar syrup

1. Take the sugar and water in a pot and heat over medium flame fire. Stir continuously till the sugar melts.
2. Cook the sugar syrup till it become thick and attain one string consistency.
3. You can check by removing one teaspoon sugar syrup and place one drop between the index finger and thumb. Move your finger away from each other and it should form a single thread.
4. Mix cardamom powder and a drop orange colour, remove the sugar syrup in a container.

Making the jalebi

1. Heat ghee or oil in a flat pan or kadai over medium flame heat. You can mix ghee with oil as well.
2. If using a sauce bottle then transfer batter into it.
And if using a jalebi cloth then place the cloth over a bowl and pour the batter over it. Bring the edges to centre and close gripping by the palm of hand.
3. Squeeze the batter in hot oil making a spiral motion from inside to outside.

4. Keep the oil temperature at low otherwise you can't make the spiral shape. And if the batter is dispersing in the oil then the batter is thin.

5. Fix it by adding some extra flour into the batter.
6. Similarly make more jalebi continuously adjusting the space of the pan.

7. Flip them to another side when one side become crisp golden.

8. Remove them when both sides become crisp golden and drain extra oil from them.

9. Dip them into the sugar syrup for 2 minutes to absorb the syrup.

10. Keep the sugar light warm while dipping the jalebi.

11. Remove them from sugar syrup and serve hot topping with some nuts.

Drained jalebi from sugar syrup for jalebi recipe

Fruit jalebi ( pineapple jalebi)

You can even make apple jalebi and pineapple jalebi by using this jalebi batter. Cut apple and jalebi into thin round shaped.

Thin slices of pineapple pieces for pineapple jalebi recipe

Dip them into the batter and coat well. Remove excess batter and fry till crisp golden on both sides.

Dipping pineapple slice into batter for pineapple jalebi recipe

Frying pineapple jalebi in ghee or oil for pineapple jalebi recipe

Soak in sugar syrup and ready to serve.

Soak pineapple jalebi into sugar syrup for pineapple jalebi recipe

You can read more traditional Indian dessert recipes

Frequently asked questions

1. What does Jalebi taste like?

jalebi has a sweet and slightly tangy taste due to the fermentaion process in the batter. It is crunchy and syrupy.

2. Is Jalebi served hot or cold?

Generally Jalebi is served warm or at room temperature. It is best to enjoy shortly after frying.

3. Can Vegan enjoy Jalebi?

Traditional jalebi is not vegan due to yogurt and ghee in the batter. However Vegan version can be made using plant based yogurt and with oil.

4. What colour is used in jalebi?

Most common colour are red and orange. It is good to use natural food colour in jalebi. We used lemon orange colour in sugar syrup. Some people used colour in the batter.

5. What is the use of hydro in jalebi?

Hydro makes jalebi crispy from outside which does not get soggy quickly. It is also known as Rangkat ( sodium hydrosulfite). A vat reducing/ bleaching agent.

6. What can we use instead of hydro in jalebi?

Hydro is a chemical product and has some carcinogenic effect in long term uses. So it is better not to use it.

You can follow the traditional jalebi recipe with curd to ferment the batter. A good fermented batter always give you a perfect crisp jalebi.

So use curd with maida instead of hydro while making jalebi.