Gulab Jamun is an Indian desser which is a deep-fried milk dough balls soaked in a homemade chashni sugar syrup flavored with rose water.
Conventional Gulab Jamun recipe contains too much fat. In our recipe, we have reduced the fat content significantly. But still, you should eat in limit if you are watching your weight or you have high cholesterol. The Gulab Jamun recipe given here makes significantly reduced fat tasty and spongy Gulab jamuns. The recipe does not use full fat mawa (khoya), instead use skim milk powder and reduced fat cream.
The following recipe is very good, particularly for those living outside india where mawa is not available.
Recipe type: Reduced fat.
Preparation time: 60 minute
Ingredients:
- 1.5 cup Skim milk powder (you can instead use mawa. See Note below.)
- 175 ml Reduced fat cream (upto 30% less fat)
- 0.5 cup Self raising flour (or plain flour, i.e. maida & 1/8 tsp sodium bicarbonate)
- 20-22 Cardamom seeds
- 20-22 Pistachios without skin
- Canola oil
- 250 gram Sugar
- Water, 300 ml
- A few drops of rose water
Preparation
- Mix milk powder and the self raising flour (or plain flour & sodium bicarbonate). Gradually add cream, knead well and gently form a soft dough. You may need to apply some oil on your palm to knead the dough.
- Divide the dough into 18-20 parts and make each into a smooth round shape ball without any crack. This can be done by moving the balls in between palms of both hands with some pressure. Remember to place one pistachio and one cardamom seed into each ball. Cover lightly with a damp cloth until all balls are done.
- Heat oil (about 250 gram) in a deep thick bottom pan. Test the oil temperaure by adding one ball. It should first go down to the bottom of the pan and then rise slowly to the surface. If it rises too fast, the oil needs to cool. If the jamun does not rise, it needs more heating. Deep fry all the jamuns, about 5-7 at a time, on low heat to a golden brown color. Place all the jamuns on a kitchen towel to soak any extra oil.
- Prepare a chasni syrup of 2 threads by dissolving 150 gram sugar in about 175 ml water. Bring the water to boil and simmer for 8-10 minutes.
- Immerse the jamuns in hot syrup for 30 minutes. Add rose water.
Serve Gulab Jamun hot or cold.
Note:
- If you see any wrinkles on the jamun balls in step 2, then it means that the dough is too tight. Add some milk or cream and knead the dough again.
- If the finished gulab jamuns are hard, then microwave them for a few seconds before serving to get spongy Jamuns.
- In the traditional method of making gulab jamuns, mawa or khoya is added instead of milk and milk powder. But if you don't get mawa in your country, then use the above method. It gives gulab jamuns better than haldiram Jamuns or of any other make.
- You can find reduced fat cream near condensed milk tins in supermarkets.
Finished Gulab Jamuns
Calories in Gulab Jamuns
One commercial Gulab Jamun contains 8g fat and provides about 150 calories. You can burn out this number of calories by dancing for 35 minutes. The number of calories depends on how much syrup you eat along with the jamun.
Note that as a commercial Gulab Jamun is made by using baffalo milk and thick sugar chasni (syrup), it provides more caloreis than a rasgulla, which is madeup of cow milk and dipped in a thin sugar syrup. So when you go to a wedding dinner or to a party, eat rasgulla rather than a Gulab Jamun.
Commercial Gulab Jamuns like Haldiram's Jamuns are dipped in too thick sugar syrup, hence they should be eaten with minimum syrup. The Gulab Jamuns made by using the recipe given above will give you much less calories as it uses only skim milk without sacrificing taste.