It is the festive favourite of India, and also the national dessert of Pakistan, Gulab Jamun is an iconic mithai or dessert that has fans across India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and even Maldives, where the dessert is known as ‘Gulab ki Janu’. India may be one of the biggest producers and consumers of Gulab Jamun, but the dessert a such may not be native to the subcontinent. As per some experts, the dessert could be inspired by the Arabic dessert luqmat al-qadi, which looks a lot like Gulab Jamun, however, there is slight variation in the batter. But both of them are dipped in rose water-infused sugar syrup. Gulab Jamun, the dessert or the concept at least, was supposedly brought over to the Indian subcontinent by the Central Asian Turkik conquerers, where the word Gulab is derived from the Persian words ‘Gol’ and ‘Ab’ which refer to rose-water scented syrup. The word Jamun is a Hindi word for the Indian black plum. Once the Gulab Jamun is fried, they bear a remarkable resemblance to these plums or Jamun, hence the name makes perfect sense.
Typically, gulab jamuns are heated milk solids or khoya that are kneaded into a dough. They are further shaped into tiny balls and deep-fried in ghee, before they are dipped in sugar syrup that has been infused with rose water and a bit of saffron. Now, this is only the ‘traditional’ way of preparing Gulab Jamun, there are plenty of easy ways to go about it too. Yes, you heard us. We are such big fans of the dessert and know that you are no different, hence we fetched a recipe of Gulab Jamun that you can make with a handful of leftover white bread slices.
Here’s what you need to do, remove the crust of the bread so that you only have the white part to work with. Crush it using your hands and add milk gradually and start kneading it. Add more milk is required, what you need is a soft and pliable dough. Once you have it, break the dough in several small round balls. Press the ball slightly, add a raisin in the centre and roll it back again in the shape of a ball. Fry these balls in oil of neutral flavour. Make sure you keep the flame low. Fry till the balls are brown. Transfer them in the sugar syrup, let the balls soak in the sweetness and you are done.
Here is the complete recipe. Try and let us know how you liked it.