Note to self: Gulab Jamuns are basically the signature dessert of Pakistan. Its like a warm, sweet little ball of deep fried goodness and soaked in syrup. I guess the best way to explain it for those of you who’ve never had before it is that it’s like a cross between a dense warm donut hole and a deep fried doughy dumpling ball soaked in syrup. Damn…that sounds more raunchy than I wanted it too…It tastes better than I’m describing…I swear! And not quite as filthy…
The ingredients are pretty simple, and overall it’s an easy dessert to make. The only tricky part is probably the deep frying part. You have to get the temperature just right so it cooks all the way through but the outside doesn’t burn. In the video you’ll see the perfect temperature of the oil once you drop the ball little bubbles start forming around it and it floats to the top.
This recipe makes about 12-15 balls which is perfect sized dessert for a small gathering. I decided to take it to a potluck and it was well received! I can’t wait to make it again, the best part is that you can totally freeze them (with the syrup)! And then whenever you get the craving for one you can pop out an individual little ball and warm it up in the microwave for a few seconds with a little bit of the syrup and lo and behold…gulab jamuns whenever your heart desires!
Ingredients:
Sheera (simple syrup):
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup sugar
Dough:
- Foodjabi x Lazeez Asian Cuisine Gulab Jamun mix
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
Oil:
- ⅔ cup canola oil
- ⅔ cup crisco
Directions:
- To make the simple syrup for the Gulab jamun, place 2 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar in a medium sauce pan and bring it to a boil.
- Once mixture is boiling reduce heat to medium and cook for about 15 – 20 minutes or until a light syrupy consistency. You can tell it’s done 2 ways, either lift the spoon and if you see a steady stream of syrup falling off the spoon or if you take a drop in between your fingers and you feel the stickyness.
- Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a small sauce pan place 2/3 cup canola oil, and 2/3 cup crisco and heat on medium until the crisco melts into the oil.
- In a small bowl add the entire contacts of the Foodjabi x Lazeez Asian Cuisine Gulab Jamun mix and ½ cup heavy whipping cream. Mix with your hands until a dough forms.
- Roll dough into 12-15 uniform balls. You’ll have to work pretty quickly because the dough can dry out. (But don’t worry… if it does dry out, just add a little more heavy whipping cream)
- Bring the heat of the oil a little higher than medium. To test whether the oil is ready you can place a really small piece of the dough into the oil and if you see bubbles on the dough then its ready.
- Place the Gulab Jamun balls to the pot and deep fry them (Don’t over crowd the pot because the Gulab jamun balls expand and grow). Stir them gently so all sides get browned.
- At the point heat the syrup on the stovetop to medium/medium low.
- Once golden brown remove from the oil and place directly into the syrup pot and stir gently.
- Fry up the remaining batch of Gulab Jamun’s and place in the syrup once browned,
- Remove the syrup from the heat and let the balls soak in the syrup for at least an hour or so before eating.
- To store in fridge, place Gulab Jamuns in a deep set dish and add syrup until they’re half way coated. And then when eating leftovers, just pop it into the microwave with a bit of syrup in a bowl for a few seconds.
- Enjoy!
