Easy Gulab Jamun
Gulab Jamun is a popular Indian sweetmeat, it’s sweet and deep-fried so I guess you should save the recipe for special occasions.
I have update this recipe as I felt my previous recipe was too large a quantity. I also ensured there is enough detail for even novice bakers to make a success of this recipe.
Please read the whole recipe and read my notes before you attempt this recipe, especially if you are not an experienced baker.
These Easy Gulab Jamuns we make in South Africa are slightly different to the ones made in India, ours is not soaked in syrup, it’s dipped in for a few seconds, or for some minutes, and removed.
Easy Gulab Jamun
The traditional recipe also uses powdered milk but in South Africa I haven’t seen many recipes with this ingredient, I’ve added some in my recipe but it’s totally optional.
I roll them into coconut after dipping them in the syrup but that’s a matter of personal preference, I simply love anything with coconut, I am a coconut fan…you can tell I’m Indian.
Adding Sugar
Indian sweetmeats are delicious but I feel that some of them are way too sweet, it’s something I cannot get used to.
You will find that I reduce my sugar content in almost all my recipes, the sweetmeat can still taste delicious without being overly sweet.
I also haven’t had any disastrous recipes due to the low sugar content, my recipes have worked well so far.
Easy to make
Gulab Jamun is a pretty easy sweetmeat to make, in fact for me it’s one of the easiest and I enjoy making them, it’s almost therapeutic.
Some may find it difficult to get the shape perfect but it’s very simple.
You roll a piece of dough into a ball and then just roll it in the palms of your hand and you will get that perfect oval finger shape.
Dough should be soft
Your dough should be soft and slightly sticky to the touch. If your dough is too dry it will also be difficult to shape the Gulab Jamun. It is normal to have a few cracks when fried.
Your ghee/oil needs to be on medium heat as the Gulab Jamun needs to cook well on the inside, if it browns too soon it will not be cooked on the inside.
You may need to adjust the temperature from time to time. If it gets too hot turn the heat off completely. Allow the oil to cool down a little and start again.
Sugar Syrup
For the sugar syrup, I usually reduce mine until it’s slight sticky and syrupy, I keep the syrup warm on the lowest setting, this prevents the syrup from crystallizing.
If it does crystallize you can add a few drop of water and re-heat it.
I prefer to drop my Gulab Jamuns into the syrup, literally just coat it with the syrup and immediately remove it.
You can soak yours for a little longer if you prefer softer gulab jamuns with extra syrup.
The Gulab Jamun can be made to whatever size your prefer but smaller is better, it looks a lot more appealing.
Butter Ghee/Oil
I used only 1 cup of butter ghee to fry all 40 of the Gulab Jamuns. I did have butter ghee leftover in the saucepan too.
Use a small saucepan to fry them, that way the dough will immerse in the ghee/oil. If you use a big pan the oil/ghee will spread out a lot more and you will obviously use more.
More Diwali Treats to try:
Gulab Jamun
Ingredients
- 150 ml condensed milk
- 2 tbsp butter ghee melted
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 tspn cardamom/elachie ground
- 1/4 tspn nutmeg ground
- 1/4 cup powdered milk I used Klim (totally optional)
- 1&1/4 cup self-raising flour
- 1 cup butter ghee or vegetable oil for frying
- 1/2 cup desssicated coconut for dusting after dipping in syrup
Syrup
- 1&1/2 cups water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 tspn rose essence
- 1/2 tspn cardamom/elachie
Instructions
- For the syrup, add the sugar, water, elachie and rose essence to a saucepan and simmer on medium to low heat until it's slightly sticky and syrupy. Takes about 20-25 minutes to thicken. Reduce heat to the lowest setting and keep syrup warm
- In a large dish, add the condensed milk, melted ghee (please ensure your ghee has been measured accurately, see note below), milk, nutmeg and elachie. Mix it well. Add the powdered milk and a little flour at a time until you form a soft dough, not too sticky and not too dry, you must be able to roll it into shape easily. You may require more or less flour. If the dough feels too sticky when bringing it together wash your hands and knead again. It will feel less sticky. You can also rub a little ghee on your hands when rolling the dough into shape
- Heat oil on medium heat in a small saucepan. Divide dough into little balls and then roll in the palm of your hands to form an oval finger shape. Keep checking the temperature of your oil, if it gets too hot reduce the temperature or turn the heat off completely to allow it to cool down a little.
- Fry the Gulab Jamuns in the oil, use a slotted spoon to drain all the oil before removing. Dip in the syrup for a few seconds and roll into the coconut
- Place on parchment paper until it cools down and then store in an airtight container
Notes
- Please use proper measuring utensils when following a recipe. A cup measures 250ml
- You can add more rose essence if you prefer. I have noticed that some brands of rose essence is much more intense than others so depending on which one you use you can adjust the quantity
- Please measure 2 tablespoons ghee after it's melted. Solid ghee will weigh more and your gulab jamun will crumble in the oil/ghee
- If you want a stronger cardamom flavour you can add more cardamom to your syrup
- The weather plays an important role in the amount of flour you require. I used an extra 1 tablespoon of flour. Sometimes I don't need the extra. Please adjust accordingly but do add a little at a time or you may end up with a dry dough
- The dough dries fairly quickly so if you cannot work fast please cover it with a damp kitchen towel. Your dough should be a little sticky to the touch but as you work with it the dough becomes silky smooth
- If you prefer your Gulab Jamuns soaked in the syrup please allow it to soak in the syrup for a few extra seconds. I remove mine fairly quickly as I prefer less syrup soaked in
- The Gulab Jamun may seem a little hard when just fried but it does get softer
Hi
Can I use butter instead of ghee ?
Hi Nicole! Yes you can use butter, it works perfectly well:-)
@Nicole, I used Rama Margarine , and they still turned out excellent
hi,
love your page!!!
can the Gulab Jamun be baked?
Thank you Jen. No I am going to be honest, never tried baking them. If I do try will definitely let you know:-)
I’ve made this recipe and it was tasty, however the dough was just too sticky and the total amount of flour used was 4 cups. It does soak up a lot of oil but doesn’t have that oily taste.
I have used this recipe for many years and I have never used as much as 4 cups of flour. The dough should be soft but definitely not sticky. Sorry that the recipe didn’t work as well for you.
Thank u for sharing, I absolutely love watching and trying ur recipes.
Thank you so much Laura:-)
The best Gulab recipe ever!!!!
Thank you so much Nicolene:-)
Hi. I live in India and we don’t have self raising flour. Can u tell me how I can substitute with normal flour.
Thanks
Hi there! You can use 1 teaspoon of baking powder together with the normal flour:-)
The best recipe and I asked many South African Indian Muslim friends and they use to say it’s a top secret recipe thank you so much for sharing your recipes with honesty and sincerity.
They turned out perfect I’m just going to share your site with the whole Middle East and everyone I know 💯👌🏼🤩☮️☺️
Love from Lebanon and Oman 🥰☮️🤲🏼
Thank you so much Sara. You’re the kindest. I am so happy to be able to share my knowledge so you’re most welcome:-)
Hello how are you lPromlem always not cooked in side heat always on med some are raw inside🙄😥🇿🇦
You are probably cooking it when the oils too hot. You have to adjust the temperature so it cooks on a low to medium heat. Also if too hot the insides won’t have a chance to cook as the outside browns too quickly.
Wont ghee burned can I used half ghee and oil thank you GOD BLESS you 🎈❤️
No ghee doesn’t burn but you can use half oil if you prefer
Hi if we fry in ghee will they become hard when stored if ghee solidifies.
I’ve never fried anything in ghee always in oil but sounds healthier to fry in ghee 🙂
Yes frying the gulab jamun in ghee on a really cold day can pose a problem. I should have mentioned that. I would suggest frying in ghee in Summer and maybe stick to the oil in Winter. Alternatively just heat it up a litle before serving
Hi
This is the way, I do my gulabs… and they come out perfect 👌. I just add 1 tablespoon of soji for more tecture.
We don’t like them overly soaked, they must be just dipped and then rolled in coconut for the perfect finish.
You’re so beautiful.
Lovely easy recipe. I just made some yesterday. A recipe I’ve been using for many years.
Thanks for sharing your awesome recipes.
Love from East London
Thank you so much. That’s wonderful to hear and you’re most welcome:-)
The best Jamun ever. This was my first attempt at making jamun …….the jamuns came out perfect . Thank you so much for the receipe . Really appreciate your kindness, in sharing the receipe.
Dearest Lorraine, you are an amazing awesome n beautiful,Thank you for the amazing delicious recipes. I had an opportunity to make these delicious julams, my sons favourite..