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.
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❤️Why I Love This Recipe
No khoya required like traditional gulab jamun recipe. Here in the USA, sometimes I do not get good fresh khoya, so this milk powder gulab jamun comes handy.
Even though we are taking another route, the taste and texture is not compromised.
These are perfect for any kind of festivals or special occasions.
🧾Ingredients
Here is the pic of the ingredients used in making milk powder gulab jamun. You’ll need 10 ingredients (includes water).
Milk powder: This has to be full-fat milk powder. As you can see in the pic, I got this one 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.
Baking soda: Do not skip or reduce it’s amount to make it soft and not chewy.
👩🍳Step By Step Photo Instructions
1) Warm up the ghee and milk in a microwave or stovetop.
2) Add this warm mixture to the milk powder.
3) Start mixing and it will be damp, lumpy mixture.
4) Now add baking soda and all purpose flour.
5) 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.
6) Divide it into 20 equal portions and make smooth (crack-free) balls. Keep it covered.
7) To make sugar syrup, take sugar, water, cardamoms 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.
8) 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. We are looking for just simple sticky syrup (no thread consistency).
9) While the syrup was simmering, heat the ghee/oil in a pan on medium-low heat for frying. Oil should be just hot, NOT too hot like we do for pakora. Try checking by adding small portion in the oil, it stays in the bottom for few seconds and then comes on top steadily, meaning oil is perfect for frying. If the added dough comes on top quickly meaning oil is too hot. NOTE: if they break while frying, add some more flour in the dough.
10) Now add few jaumns in the oil carefully and start frying. Keep moving around for even browning. This frying process takes some time, so be patient. During this process, they do get slightly bigger in size.
11) Once they get deep golden color, remove it using slotted spatula and drain the excess oil/ghee.
12) 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.
13) 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.
14) 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. You can see they have expanded much more than expectation. So after an hour or so, I need to remove 4 of them into another bowl otherwise, there was no room.
💭Expert Tips
- You must use full-fat milk powder to avoid chewy texture.
- 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.
🥣 Storage Instructions
- At room temperature, it stays good for 2-3 days in an airtight container. If living in hot, humid climate then store in the refrigerator.
- In the refrigerator, it stays good for 10 days.
- In the freezer, it stays good for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter for few hours or in the refrigerator overnight.
- To serve them warm, just reheat in the microwave for few seconds only. If you have over heated then it becomes chewy.
Check Out Other Desserts Using Milk Powder
- Carrot halwa in pressure cooker
- Peda (made in microwave)
- Vanilla ice cream
- Instant khoya
PS Tried this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comment section. I always appreciate your feedback! Plus, Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook for all the latest updates.
📋 Recipe Card
Milk Powder Gulab Jamun
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Milk
- 2 teaspoons Ghee (clarified butter)
- 1 cup Full fat milk powder (aka mawa powder)
- ⅛ teaspoon Baking soda
- 3 tablespoons All purpose flour (Maida)
- Oil or Ghee (clarified butter), for deep frying
For Sugar Syrup:
- 1 ¼ cups Sugar
- 1 ¼ cups Water
- few strands Saffron
- 2-3 Green cardamoms or powder
- 2 teaspoons Rose water
Instructions
Making The Dough & Balls:
- 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.
Asha
Hi Kanan
Can one keep the fried gulab jamun balls and dip them in the syrup when needed ?
Maybe two days before?
Kanan
no. You should keep them in sugar syrup.
It stays good for 3-4 days.
Nady
Hi can I use baking powder instead of baking soda? And if yes do the same measurement work
Kanan
no baking soda and baking powder are not interchangeable