Gulab Jamun are basically fried milk doughballs soaked in syrup. Been wanting to make them for ages.
The first time I ate these little delights was at a family friend’s house more than 20 years ago. She had invited us over and Gulab Jamuns was dessert. I was fascinated by the taste. I remembered her saying that she used Cardamom.
That was probably what enamoured me to them.
The fragrance of Cardamoms is wonderful. Warm and sensual.
My good friend, Arti, remembered me saying that I wanted to learn how to make them. So the dear lady bought a packet of Gulab Jamun mix and showed me how to do it.
Mix with a bit of water into a dough. Pinch a thumbsize piece off and roll. It must be smooth so even if you have to roll between your palms for five minutes, do it.
At this point, you can stuff the doughballs with pistachios. Yum.
Heat some ghee and fry doughballs. Don’t fret if they turn dark like the colour of Dark Chocolate Maltesers. Once you put them to soak, they will expand and change to a lighter colour.
The syrup can be flavoured with a pinch of powdered Cardamom. 1:1 ratio of water and sugar.
After soaking for about 10 minutes, it is ready.
In the expert hands of Arti, the whole process took less than 30 minutes.
A couple of days ago, I bought a packet of Gulab Jamun mix. I also have a packet of Macha. **grin**
Wanna guess what I am planning next?
