After a hiatus from blogging for over a month, I am back with a new recipe. This time with the most loved sweet by everyone Gulab Jamun with mix. Yes, you might be thinking what’s so special in making gulab jamun with mix and what is the recipe here. There is not much of a recipe but it is important to pay attention to the proportions to get smooth soft golden gulab jamun.
Gulab jamun with mix makes use of the instant mix available in markets. My favourite is MTR or Maiyas Gulab jamun mix (*this is not a sponsored post). Although I very rarely make use of instant mixes or store-bought mixtures (except some masalas and pickles) gulab jamun with mix is an exception. It’s a weakness for those soft, sweet gulab jamun! Make sure to use fresh gulab jamun mix packet.
I have been asked several questions about making soft gulab jamun at home with the mix. This might seem like a recipe which you can make instantly but many end up with cracked jamun or disintegrating jamun or very hard ones. For all these problems, the trick is to follow some important tips. Even I learnt these tips and notes over the years trying, failing, learning from these mistakes and learning from the experience of many bloggers and television programs.
The reason why this recipe, gulab jamun with mix is so long is, it includes so many tips and notes for you to make the best gulab jamun with mix! It really was an interesting exercise for me to document so many tips and notes about such a simple recipe. So why wait, try this and many more:
Carrot Halwa
Badam Puri
Kaju Katli etc.
- 1 Cup heaped mix gulab jamun mix
- Milk as required to make dough
- 1 Tsp ghee
- Oil to deep fry
- 1¼ Cup sugar
- 2½ Cups water
- 5-6 elaichi
- Few Drops gulab extract (optional)
- 8-10 strands saffron (optional)
- Few organic edible dried rose petals/gulab ki pankhudi (optional)
- First let's start by making sugar syrup. In a saucepan, add the sugar
- Next pour in water and start mixing
- Bring it to heat and allow the sugar to dissolve on medium heat
- Once sugar has dissolved, bring the sugar syrup to a boil
- Simmer the syrup, you do not need one-string consistency very thick
- Turn off the heat and let the sugar syrup cool down slightly. In a mortar, peel and the elaichi and pound them
- Add this to the sugar syrup
- Also add a few drops of rose water/pure essence
- Next add some dried rose petals if you have them
- Lastly finish the syrup with a few strands of saffron
- Next let's make the dough for the jamun, in a bowl add 1 Cup heaped mix of gulab jamun ready mix from a packet
- Break the lumps if there are any and add a Tsp of ghee
- Crumble the ghee into the jamun mix and mix well
- Now slowly start adding milk/water to the mixture and start mixing
- Do not knead the dough, just add little milk at a time and bring the dough together
- Also more importantly do not make a very tight dough, the dough should be slightly sticky as shown
- Add few drops of ghee and bring the dough together
- Let the dough sit for 5-8 minutes
- Start making small balls, they should be smooth and round
- When making the balls, heat oil on low flame
- Slide a few jamun balls into the heated oil
- Fry on low flame only, they will start turning golden
- Once they turn golden and crisp, remove them from the oil and add them on a kitchen towel to drain excess oil
- Fry the remaining balls in a similar way
- Warm the sugar syrup lightly
- Slide the warm gulab jamun balls into the sugar syrup carefully, all at once, so they absorb evenly
- Let them soak up the sugar syrup for sometime and plump up
- Serve them warm or at room temperature!
Firstly, to get smooth gulab jamun , the dough should be slightly sticky, if you make a firm dough, the balls will have cracks on top
Make the dough with milk and little ghee to get extra soft and a beautiful golden colour on the jamun
However, adding milk will decrease the shelf life of the jamun, which is not the case in my home as they don't see the shelf and they are over very quickly
Do not make the gulab jamun balls very big to start with as they plump when fried and especially when they soak the sugar syrup/paaka
Fry the gulab jamun balls on low flame only, or they will turn brown and will not have cooked inside
Now about the sugar syrup, the syrup should not be very thick, the jamun balls cannot soak thick syrup and will not taste good with thick syrup
Ensure the sugar syrup or paaka is just warm for the jamun balls to absorb the syrup, cold syrup does not get absorbed well
Always ensure the balls are added all at once so they absorb the paaka evenly. Or divide the sugar syrup into 2 parts and soak separately if you are making a big batch
The recipe can be doubled easily, adjust the sugar syrup as required
Gulab Jamun With Mix Stepwise:
First let's start by making sugar syrup. In a saucepan, add the sugar
Next pour in water and start mixing
Bring it to heat and allow the sugar to dissolve on medium heat
Once sugar has dissolved, bring the sugar syrup to a boil
Simmer the syrup, you do not need one-string consistency very thick
Turn off the heat and let the sugar syrup cool down slightly. In a mortar, peel and the elaichi and pound them
Add this to the sugar syrup
Also add a few drops of rose water/pure essence
Next add some dried rose petals if you have them
Lastly finish the syrup with a few strands of saffron
Next let's make the dough for the jamun, in a bowl add 1 Cup heaped mix of gulab jamun ready mix from a packet
Break the lumps if there are any and add a Tsp of ghee
Crumble the ghee into the jamun mix and mix well
Now slowly start adding milk/water to the mixture and start mixing
Do not knead the dough, just add little milk at a time and bring the dough together
Also more importantly do not make a very tight dough, the dough should be slightly sticky as shown
Add few drops of ghee and bring the dough together
Let the dough sit for 5-8 minutes
Start making small balls, they should be smooth and round
When making the balls, heat oil on low flame
Slide a few jamun balls into the heated oil
Fry on low flame only, they will start turning golden
Once they turn golden and crisp, remove them from the oil and add them on a kitchen towel to drain excess oil
Fry the remaining balls in a similar way
Warm the sugar syrup lightly
Slide the warm gulab jamun balls into the sugar syrup carefully, all at once, so they absorb evenly
Let them soak up the sugar syrup for sometime and plump up
Serve them warm or at room temperature!
