Gulab Jamuns are the most loved of all desi sweets. Delicate fried dried milk balls are soaked in flavoured sugar syrup and served warm or cold.
Gulab Jamun is a celebration sweet and relished by all, but not many dare to make it at home, mainly due to the fear of landing up with an unsatisfactory product. I too belonged to that category till I researched, tried and tried and finally zeroed down to this Perfect Gulab Jamun Recipe.
I always thought making Gulab Jamun takes a lot of efforts and calls for many ingredients. I was wrong on both. One only needs to know the correct technique to make Gulab Jamuns and then everything else is so very simple.
Gulab Jamuns are made using mawa but these days you can find all kinds of recipes using various ingredients to suit one’s budget, convenience and diet. That’s why I specifically mentioned Mawa in my recipe title so as it is not dismissed as a mock Gulab Jamun Recipe.
If you relish the real deal and are looking for a no fail Gulab Jamun recipe that uses mawa and yields the softest and perfect product then look no further. Try the recipe I have shared below, complete with step by step videos and pictures to guide you perfectly.
If you try my recipe then do leave back a comment and share with friends & family.
Mawa Gulab Jamun
This recipe makes 30 Oval Gulab Jamuns as shown in video
Ingredients
For Dough
300gms mawa/dried milk mass (made from Full fat milk)
1/2 cup refined wheat flour / maida
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
For Sugar Syrup
1.5 cups sugar 1.5 cups water 4 cardamom pods / elaichi 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Oil for frying
Step 1 – Kneading the Mawa This is an extremely important step. Knead the mawa well with your palm heel till it is smooth. Watch the video below to see how before and after kneading Mawa looks and feels.
Step 2 – Adding rest of the ingredients Now add the flour and baking powder and lightly knead to form smooth dough. Then divide into 30 portions and make smooth, crack free Gulab Jamuns.
Step 3 – Frying the Gulab Jamuns Take a wide and thick bottomed kadhai (wok) and heat enough oil on medium flame. Once the Gulab Jamuns are shaped and ready drop them in oil one by one. Before dropping the Gulab Jamun in oil make sure to reduce flame to low. DONOT fry in very hot oil and over high flame. Fry in batches. Watch video to know exact technique.
Step 4 – Preparing Sugar Syrup & Removing fried Gulab Jamuns Meanwhile, prepare syrup on another flame by mixing water, sugar and cardamom pods in a big pot. Bring everything to a boil and then simmer for a minute. Switch off flame and add lemon juice, give it a stir and keep aside. Remove the Gulab Jamun on absorbent paper. Watch video below to know when to remove Gulab Jamun from kadhai.
Step 5 – Soaking in Sugar Syrup Once you remove the Gulab Jamuns on a plate let them rest for a minute or so and then add to the syrup. Ensure your syrup pot is not on flame and hot (but not boiling) when adding the fried Gulab Jamuns. Let them soak till they double in size. Takes about an hour.
DO’s & DON’T ‘s to get the PERFECT GULAB JAMUNS
✅ Always use full fat mawa that has been freshly prepared.
✅ Strive to shape Gulab Jamuns well and have 0 cracks. However, small cracks are not a problem as long as you fry them on low and as shown in the frying video.
✅ Always fry them in batches depending upon the size of your kadhai.
🚫 Never overcrowd the kadhai and fry them from all sides while turning gently.
🚫 Never fry in hot oil or in a hurry. Be patient while frying for best results.
🚫 Sugar syrup should not be thick. Add Jamuns to syrup and if you feel it is thin then you can always simmer it again with the Gulab Jamuns.
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