Milk powder gulab jamun - a must try Indian dessert! It’s deliciously rich, soft, juicy, melt-in-your-mouth kind that always gets compliments every time it’s served.
Warm up the ghee and milk in a microwave or stovetop.
Add this warm mixture to the milk powder. Start mixing and it will be damp, lumpy mixture.
Now add baking soda and all purpose flour. Start mixing and it should come together like a dough. If the mixture is too soft then add little more flour and mix. Do not knead the dough, just gather otherwise, jamuns become dense, hard and chewy.
Divide it into 20 equal portions and make smooth (crack-free) balls. Keep it covered.
Making Sugar Syrup:
Take sugar, water, cardamom and saffron in a wide, deep pan. Make sure that it is big enough to accommodate the jamuns and have enough space to expand while soaking.
Turn the heat on medium. Once it starts simmering, continue cooking for 3 minutes then turn off the stove.
Add rose water and keep it aside.
Frying & Soaking Gulab Jamuns:
While the syrup was simmering, heat the ghee/oil in a pan on medium-low heat for frying. Oil should be just hot.
Now add few jaumns in the oil carefully and start frying. Keep moving around for even browning. During this process, they do get slightly bigger in size.
Once they get deep golden color, remove it using slotted spatula and drain the excess oil/ghee. Remove it to a paper towel lined plate and let it cool down for 10 minutes. Fry rest of them similarly. If needed adjust the gas heat accordingly to maintain the oil temperature.
Now the sugar syrup may get cold. So just warm up (do not boil) again on medium heat. Add them into the syrup. NOTE: do not add hot jamun directly to the sugar syrup. Let the fried jamuns cool down little and then add.
Let it sit for about 3-4 hours. Meantime, they will absorb the syrup and will again get bigger in size and will become more soft.
Notes
Milk powder: This has to be full-fat milk powder. I bought it from Indian grocery stores which also says mawa powder. The one you get in American grocery stores are fat-free or low fat milk powder and it gives chewy texture. You need enough fat content in your powder to make it soft.
Do not keand the dough by giving pressure like we do for roti-paratha. Just gather and form a ball otherwise, gulab jamun becomes hard and dense.
The sugar syrup should be thin. If the syrup is thick then jamun will not absorb the syrup well.
Fry on medium-low heat. If fried on high heat then it stays raw from the center.
How to check the oil/ghee is hot enough or not? Try checking by adding small portion, it stays in the bottom for few seconds and then comes on top steadily, meaning it is perfect for frying. If the added dough comes on top quickly meaning it is too hot.