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Gulab-Jamun Easy Recipe

Easy recipe made with Bisquick Dry-Milk Powder Butter Milk in Rose syrup

In Hindi Gulab is a rose. Jamun is a brownish purple fruit. Gulab Jamun on the other hand is a round ball made out Khoya (reduced milk to almost solids) and immersed in rose flavored syrup. In the olden days Gulab Jamun was made only from aged "Batti Khoya" (minimum 6 months). The outside mold was scraped off resulting in aromatic hard Khoya that was grated and bound with Maida (All purpose flour) into balls and deep fried over low heat. The lactose in the Khoya is caramelized as a result of frying process resulting in the brownish color.
We will do this recipe in a little different fashion and get almost same results. We will emulate "Khoya and Maida" by using Binder/Puff mix and whole Dry milk powder. The dish involves two phases; making syrup, making balls. The balls are deep fried and then immersed in warm syrup.

Ingredients

Syrup
1. Sugar: 3 Cup
2. Water: 2 Cups
3. Lime Juice: 1/2 teaspoon
4. Rose water: 1/2 Tablespoon
Substitute: Vanilla extract

Easy Gulab Jamun Balls
1. Binder/Puff Mix : 1 Cup
Substitute with Bisquick or Pancake mix
2. Dry Milk Powder: 2 Cups
I prefer whole dry milk (Nestle's sells it as a brand name "Nido")
3. Butter slightly melted: 1/4 Cup
4. Milk: 2 Tablespoons
5. Cardamom powder: 1/2 teaspoon
Miscellaneous
1. Pistachio Nuts Shaved: 1/4 Cup
2. Deep Fryer with Ghee/Canola oil

Method

Step 1: Syrup In a pot add sugar, water, lime juice. Bring it to a boil. Cook till all the sugar is dissolved. Turn off heat. When it is about 120 ºF, add Rose water. We will make the balls and immerse them in warm syrup 100 ºF.
Step 2: Gulab Jamun balls Mix items 1 through 4 and knead like dough. Dough should be soft to hard but not sticky. Make your balls about 1" diameter. Let them rest for about 30 minutes to an hour. You may cover them with saran wrap (plastic film) to avoid drying. This is important for the gluten to relax.
Step3: This is the tricky part. The balls have to fry in low to medium heat. If you have deep fryer, it will come handy. Set it to 230º F. Put the balls in. They will start to float in about 5 minutes. If you don't have a fryer, just put one ball in. If it starts to crack turn heat down. If the oil is too hot, the balls will start cracking. If the ball does not float in seven minutes, increase the heat. The balls have to fry on LOW TO MEDIUM HEAT. When the balls are floating, use a skimmer to turn the balls to ensure that they are fully brown on all sides. It may take another 15 to 20 minutes.
Step 4: Now test the balls if they are done right. Use the skimmer to remove a ball and drop it into warm syrup. If the ball collapses with in three minutes, its NOT done, cook another 5 minutes. If the ball does not collapse, remove the remaining balls and put in the syrup. Let them stay in the syrup for at least 2 hours. I prefer overnight in the refrigerator so they are fully plump. Serve them at room temperature or slightly warm. Garnish with shaved Pistachio nuts.