Gulab Jamun #2 - Two Versions
Traditionally gulab jamun are made by boiling milk down into a thick mass called khoya which involves a lot of time and patience. In the west we usually replace the khoya with whole dried milk powder or skim milk powder moistened with a butter/whole milk mixture or whipping cream. The first time I made gulab jamun (at least 1 1/2 yrs ago) I used the butter/milk method and the results were very good but, this time, I only had 2% milk and the resulting gulab jamun were harder than I remembered. Therefore I decided to try the 2nd method as well.
I LOVED the ease of making the gulab jamun using the whipping cream. The resulting balls were very soft and tender. Perhaps TOO soft as upon soaking with sugar syrup the balls plumped up very quickly but then got quite squished when placed on top of each other. I was afraid that the insides were underdone but they were quite pleasant. After refrigeration, the whipping cream gulab were soft enough to be eaten cold while the butter/milk gulab required brief warming in the microwave.
The gulab jamun made with butter/milk required at least 30 min for the syrup to soak in and even after 2-3 hrs of soaking they were not as plump and soft as the whipping cream version.
I'm including both recipes below as I can't quite decide which version I like better.
Gulab Jamun (Fried Milk Balls in Syrup)
Start by making the Cardamom Syrup
Then bring the oil to temperature (230-250 deg F) in a pan with a wide bottom. About 10" diameter is suitable. Add enough oil to reach a height of 2-3".
Cardamom Syrup
2 1/2 cup sugar
3 cup water
4 cardamom pods, cracked (or 1/4 tsp ground cardamom)
4 strands of saffron (optional)
Bring the ingredients to a boil in a shallow saucepan wide enough to hold 10-12 1" balls at a time. Stir, cover and let simmer gently for another 10 min or so until the gulab jamun are ready.
Version 1 - Butter/Milk
1 cup milk powder
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
3 tbsp butter, unsalted, melted
1/4 cup milk, room temp (plus more as needed)
Mix the dry ingredients together. Add the butter and mix by hand to incorporate. Add enough milk to make a soft dough. (After adding about 3 tbsp of milk, a soft dough was achieved but I found that after sitting for about 10 min the mixture fell apart so I had to add an additional 2 tbsp, knead and wrap letting sit for another 5 min.) Form into a ball by kneading gently, wrap with saran wrap and let sit for 10 min so the milk and butter will hydrate the milk powder.
Make balls of uniform size, from 3/4 - 1 1/4" in diameter. I got 15 1" balls out of the mixture.
Add about half the balls to the oil, making sure there is some space between them so they'll float freely. They will start by sinking to the bottom but should rise up. If they don't rise after about a minute and stick to the bottom, give the pan a small shake or use a slotted ladle to free them from the bottom or they will burn.
Cook the balls for 4-5 min, spinning a few times to make sure all sides are an evenly golden brown. Remove from the oil with the slotted spoon, and transfer to a plate with lined with paper towels.
Transfer the balls to the warm syrup and let soak for 2-3 hrs. Serve (2 or 3) warm or cold with some chopped pistachio sprinkled on top as a garnish.
Version 2 - Whipping Cream
1 cup + 2 tbsp milk powder
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (35% butterfat)
In a large bowl put the dry ingredients and mix together. Stir in the whipping cream until a ball is formed. (I dumped in all the whipping cream over 1 cup of milk powder, the flour and baking soda and my dough was too sticky so I had to stir in more milk powder a tbsp at a time to make it more manageable. I found 2 additional tbsp were sufficient to get a ball formed that was no longer sticky.)
Form a 6-7" rope with the dough by rolling on a flat surface, cut in half and then take half the dough and roll it out into a rope about 10" long. With a butter knife, cut into 10 even pieces and roll into a ball. Repeat with the 2nd half of the dough. You'll get 20 1" balls.
Fry as in previous version. You'll find that the balls rise almost immediately and are fairly soft, so I used a chopstick to roll them from one side to the other so that they would cook evenly, unlike the milk powder version which could be turned with a slotted spoon and seemed to be more manageable.
Soaking in the sugar syrup took no more than 10-15 minutes.
Making Gulab Jamun
Dough rolled into a 6-7" rope, cut in half and then each rope in turn was rolled out longer and cut into 10 equal parts. These were rolled into 1" balls.
Start of deep frying
Balls were turned over to fry evenly on both sides.
Finished gulab jamun
Gulab jamun after soaking in cardamom syrup. The sliced gulab jamun on the left was made with whipping cream, the one on the right was from the butter/milk batch. The interior of the latter seemed denser.
I LOVED the ease of making the gulab jamun using the whipping cream. The resulting balls were very soft and tender. Perhaps TOO soft as upon soaking with sugar syrup the balls plumped up very quickly but then got quite squished when placed on top of each other. I was afraid that the insides were underdone but they were quite pleasant. After refrigeration, the whipping cream gulab were soft enough to be eaten cold while the butter/milk gulab required brief warming in the microwave.
The gulab jamun made with butter/milk required at least 30 min for the syrup to soak in and even after 2-3 hrs of soaking they were not as plump and soft as the whipping cream version.
I'm including both recipes below as I can't quite decide which version I like better.
Gulab Jamun (Fried Milk Balls in Syrup)
Start by making the Cardamom Syrup
Then bring the oil to temperature (230-250 deg F) in a pan with a wide bottom. About 10" diameter is suitable. Add enough oil to reach a height of 2-3".
Cardamom Syrup
2 1/2 cup sugar
3 cup water
4 cardamom pods, cracked (or 1/4 tsp ground cardamom)
4 strands of saffron (optional)
Bring the ingredients to a boil in a shallow saucepan wide enough to hold 10-12 1" balls at a time. Stir, cover and let simmer gently for another 10 min or so until the gulab jamun are ready.
Version 1 - Butter/Milk
1 cup milk powder
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
3 tbsp butter, unsalted, melted
1/4 cup milk, room temp (plus more as needed)
Mix the dry ingredients together. Add the butter and mix by hand to incorporate. Add enough milk to make a soft dough. (After adding about 3 tbsp of milk, a soft dough was achieved but I found that after sitting for about 10 min the mixture fell apart so I had to add an additional 2 tbsp, knead and wrap letting sit for another 5 min.) Form into a ball by kneading gently, wrap with saran wrap and let sit for 10 min so the milk and butter will hydrate the milk powder.
Make balls of uniform size, from 3/4 - 1 1/4" in diameter. I got 15 1" balls out of the mixture.
Add about half the balls to the oil, making sure there is some space between them so they'll float freely. They will start by sinking to the bottom but should rise up. If they don't rise after about a minute and stick to the bottom, give the pan a small shake or use a slotted ladle to free them from the bottom or they will burn.
Cook the balls for 4-5 min, spinning a few times to make sure all sides are an evenly golden brown. Remove from the oil with the slotted spoon, and transfer to a plate with lined with paper towels.
Transfer the balls to the warm syrup and let soak for 2-3 hrs. Serve (2 or 3) warm or cold with some chopped pistachio sprinkled on top as a garnish.
Version 2 - Whipping Cream
1 cup + 2 tbsp milk powder
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (35% butterfat)
In a large bowl put the dry ingredients and mix together. Stir in the whipping cream until a ball is formed. (I dumped in all the whipping cream over 1 cup of milk powder, the flour and baking soda and my dough was too sticky so I had to stir in more milk powder a tbsp at a time to make it more manageable. I found 2 additional tbsp were sufficient to get a ball formed that was no longer sticky.)
Form a 6-7" rope with the dough by rolling on a flat surface, cut in half and then take half the dough and roll it out into a rope about 10" long. With a butter knife, cut into 10 even pieces and roll into a ball. Repeat with the 2nd half of the dough. You'll get 20 1" balls.
Fry as in previous version. You'll find that the balls rise almost immediately and are fairly soft, so I used a chopstick to roll them from one side to the other so that they would cook evenly, unlike the milk powder version which could be turned with a slotted spoon and seemed to be more manageable.
Soaking in the sugar syrup took no more than 10-15 minutes.
Making Gulab Jamun
Dough rolled into a 6-7" rope, cut in half and then each rope in turn was rolled out longer and cut into 10 equal parts. These were rolled into 1" balls.
Start of deep frying
Balls were turned over to fry evenly on both sides.
Finished gulab jamun
Gulab jamun after soaking in cardamom syrup. The sliced gulab jamun on the left was made with whipping cream, the one on the right was from the butter/milk batch. The interior of the latter seemed denser.