How to make Gulab jamun recipe

According to a popular story, Gulab jamun was invented by Bhim Chandra Nag when Lady Canning wife of then Governer Lord Charles Canning visited india in the late 1850s. In gulab jamun, gulab translates to rose flower and jamun to black berry. Thus you can define it as berry size balls dunked in rose flavoured syrup.

For perfect gulab jamun recipe you need khoya, chena, maida, corn flour and elaichi powder or nutmeg powder. Below I am sharing the perfect and best gulab jamun recipe from scratch.

Types of gulab jamun

Among the types of gulab jamun, the most popular one is kala jamun. Others are bread gulab jamun, gulab jamun with khoya, paneer gulab jamun and gulab jamun with milk powder.

If you love gulab jamun recipe I am sure you would love the jalebi recipe and rasmalai as well.

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 Step by step method for the recipe

1. Making Sugar syrup for gulab jamun

The consistency of sugar syrup for gulab jamun is light sticky without any string.  Take sugar and water in al large pan and heat on slow flame. Stir continuously untill the sugar dissolves. You can add cardamom pods while cooking the sugar syrup.

Cook the sugar syrup till it become light thick and sticky without any string. If it become more sticky then add water and cook further. Remove the sugar syrup and keep aside to cool down. You can even add  rose water for flavour it. 

You can add 1 or 2 teaspoon milk while boiling the sugar syrup to remove impurities from it. Always cook sugar syrup in slow flame heat. For gulab jamun the temperature of the sugar syrup should be low. You can even dip the gulab jamun in cold sugar syrup but never dip them in hot sugar syrup. Otherwise the resulting gulab jamun become odd shaped.

The temperature of sugar syrup is important for a perfect gulab jamun recipe.  The idle temperature for sugar syrup should be very light hot. If the temperature is high hot then the resulting gulab jamun become odd shaped.  It is okay if the sugar syrup is cold while dipping the gulab jamun. We can heat them after sometime. There will be no issue with that.

2. Dough for gulab jamun

You can make gulab jamun recipe either by following given methods

• Gulab jamun recipe with khoya
• Gulab jamun recipe with instant mix 
• Gulab jamun recipe with milk powder

If using ready made gulab jamun mix (instant mix) like gits then follow the instructions given in the pack to make the dough. It is usually instructed to use milk with the mix powder to make the dough. Sure to make the dough a palpable one. Rest of the gulab jamun mix recipe is same as below after making the dough. You can add little bit of maida flour if the dough become watery or loose or if you have some extra mix powder then add into the watery dough. Otherwise maida will fix the watery texture of the dough Keep it rested for 10 minutes to set. After that make small round shaped balls. Follow the below steps to fry them and dip into sugar syrup to make gits gulab jamun recipe or instant mix gulab jamun.

And for best gulab jamun recipe  use khoya (mawa). The gulab jamuns we buy from store or mithai shops are made by using khoya.

In this recipe I am making gulab jamun with khoya like halwai made  Khoya is also known as mawa is a milk product made of either dried whole milk or thicken evaporated milk. Generally khoya comes in two types  sada mawa (plain mawa) and hariyali mawa.

Hariyali mawa is used to make gulab jamun or kala jamun and sada mawa is used to make gajar halwa or dudhi(lauki) halwa. Hariyali mawa (khoya) comes in solid form so we need to grate them nicely. If the khoya is fresh then it will be little bit sticky (chikna). So you need to add little bit more maida for the dough and if the khoya is refrigerated one then add less amount of maida. So that the resulting dough become a palpable one.  

 In this recipe chena is used along with khoya. Chena makes gulab jamun soft melt in mouth and more tasty. You need to rub the chena nicely to make it smooth before mixing and making the dough. In place of chena you can use grated paneer. But chena yields one of the best gulab jamun. This is how you can make gulab jamun recipe with chena.

In a mixing bowl add grated khoya, chenna , maida, corn flour, baking powder and nutmeg powder. 

Now start  to knead them nicely to make a smooth dough without adding any water or milk. In place of nutmeg powder you can use cardamom powder but nutmeg powder gives more aromatic flavour to gulab jamun. Traditional halwai use nutmeg powder instead of cardamom powder to make gulab jamun. 

Cover the dough and rest for 10 minutes to set. After that divide the dough into equal small size parts. Roll them in between the palm of hands to make round shaped balls. 

Make sure there are no lines or cracks in the balls. So roll them evenly from all sides. Otherwise gulab jamun may break down while frying.

Chena can be made by adding lemon juice or vinegar in hot milk. The resulting curdled milk is then drained using a muslin cloth or cheese cloth to remove any excess water. It is then rub to make smooth and mixed with khoya and maida to make gulab jamun.

3. Frying gulab jamun

This is the most important step for a perfect gulab jamun recipe. Gulab jamuns are fried in a slow flame heat so that they get cooked properly from inside as well. If you cook them in high temperature then the resulting gulab jamun become uncooked from inside.

Heat ghee or oil in a large deep vessel pan in medium heat flame. When the ghee become hot lower the flame to low and wait for one minute.

Then drop one gulab jamun ball in the ghee. If the ball start to rise slowly without changing color then the temperature of ghee is right  to fry the gulab jamun. Similarly if it come to rise quickly changing its color then don't add further any gulab jamun balls. Wait further till the oil become cool to right temperature.

Add them into the ghee and wait for 30  seconds then slowly start to stir them. This will help not to get burnt on lower side of the balls. 

The balls slowly start to float. Gently stir then continuously to evenly cooked from all sides.

Cook them on slow flame for around 8 - 10 minutes till golden brown and completely cooked.

You can check  by removing one gulab jamun ball and press with index finger. If it get pressed completely and bounced back then it is cooked completely from inside as well.

Remove and drain any excess oil from them.

 Dip into the sugar syrup.

4. Dipping into sugar syrup

This is the last step for gulab jamun and quite tricky one. The temperature of sugar syrup is very important for a perfect shaped gulab jamun. If you dip gulab jamun balls into hot sugar syrup then within minutes they become odd shaped. So the idle temperature for sugar syrup is very low. Even if it is cold you can dip the balls into the sugar syrup.  There will be no problem, you can get a good shaped fluffy gulab jamun. Because later you can heat the sugar syrup with gulab jamuns. So dip gulab jamun in a low temperature sugar syrup.

After dipping them into the syrup, give a nice stir so that the sugar syrup cover them from all sides. Keep for 2 - 3 hours or even overnight to absorb the syrup.

Before serving microwave them for 40 to 60 seconds or heat them  on stove top. Topped with nuts and pistachios and serve hot.

Making gulab jamun recipe with 1 kg khoya 

There is a standard ratio of ingredients for gulab jamun or kala jamun recipe... You can follow and increase or decrease the amount of ingredients.

Standard ratio for 

1000 gm khoya

200 gm maida

50 gm corn flour

Chena from 3 litre milk

Why is gulab jamun hard ?

• This may happen if more flour is used to make the dough. 
• Secondly if the balls are fried in high flame heat and 
• soaked in high temperature sugar syrup. The resulting gulab jamun become hard.

What should I do if my gulab jamun is hard

If already fried and soaked in sugar syrup then it is difficult but you can boil the gulab jamun with sugar syrup for some more time to make them little softer.  But you can follow some tips before to start. Like 

• make a soft palpable dough, use baking powder, 
• fry them in slow heat flame 
• Soak them in low heat sugar syrup
• Add some ghee in the dough and knead again

Why does gulab jamun dissolve while frying

1. This may occur due to low ratio of flour in the dough,
2.  cracks or lines on the dough balls and 
3. frying in very low hot oil.

Gulab jamun 

Gulab jamun is a popular traditional Indian dessert made from khoya by mixing with flour. Deep fried and soaked in a flavoured sugar syrup. You can make gulab jamun with milk powder and readymade mix powder like gits. 

Prep time        cooking time               serving

10 min             20 min                            35 - 40

Author             Mobasir hassan

Ingredients

• 250 gm  hariyali mawa ( khoya)
• 50 gm maida ( all purpose flour)
• 1 teaspoon corn flour
• 20 gm chenna ( paneer)
• 1/3 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2  teaspoon green cardamom powder or nutmeg powder
• Ghee or oil for deep frying
• Nuts for garnish

For sugar syrup

• 1 kg sugar
• 1 litre water
• 1/2 teaspoon rose water or cardamom powder

How to make the recipe

Making sugar syrup

1. Mix sugar and water in a deep vessel pan or other utensil and place under low flame heat.
2. Stir continuously till all the sugar dissolves.
3. Boil till the syrup become lightly sticky.
4. Remove and keep aside by mixing rose water or cardamom powder.
5. If the sugar syrup reaches to thick or 1 string consistency then mix little bit of water to adjust.

Gulab jamun recipe video