In honour of London Mela, a celebration of Asian music and culture this Sunday, here’s one of our favourite Asian desserts.
Gulab Jamun is made up of sweet dumplings – like dough balls in rose flavored syrup.
Ingredients
Makes 8 to 10 Gulab Jamuns.
Preparation time: 15 minutes (plus an hour for soaking).
- 100g milk powder
- 25g all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp ghee
- ¼ tsp Baking soda
- 80ml milk
- 100g sugar
- 150ml water
- 3 pods cardamom
- 1 drop of rose essence
- Oil for deep frying
Method
1. Sieve the flour, milk powder and baking soda into a bowl and mix well.
2. Mix in the ghee and gradually add the milk. Knead until it forms a soft, sticky dough.
3. Grease your palms with a little ghee to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands. Pinch small portions of the dough and roll between your palms to make balls. Set aside.
4. Pour oil into a saucepan. There should be enough oil in the pan so that the balls can later be completely submerged in it. Put the saucepan on a medium heat – do not add the dough balls yet.
5. Whilst the oil is heating up, prepare the syrup in a separate saucepan: add the sugar, water and crushed cardamom pods. Stir well. Place the saucepan on a low heat. Stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves and the syrup thickens slightly. This will take approximately 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add a drop of rose essence.
6. Now back to the oil. Turn the heat to low and gently slide the dough balls in to the pan. Make sure you do not crowd the pan.
7. The balls will sink to the bottom and then gently rise up. Slowly, and at frequent intervals, roll each ball with a slotted spoon to ensure they evenly brown.
8. Turn off the heat. Using the slotted spoon, remove the balls from heat and place them on tissue paper to remove any excess oil.
9. After the balls cool down, move them into the prepared sugar syrup, roll and set aside for an hour.
