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Home » Festivals » Diwali Recipes

Published: Nov 6, 2012 · Modified: Jan 8, 2021 by Sandhya Ramakrishnan · This post may contain affiliate links

Gulab Jamun | Gulaab Jamun Recipe

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Gulab jamuns serve in bowl

Divya Pramil of You too can cook Indian food came up with a marvelous idea for learning new recipes. Indian states are divided into 2 categories, South and North and each month, both the teams choose a recipe for the other team to try.

This is a wonderful way for people to learn dishes that they have never made before. This month’s (November) challenge is posted by Pallavi of Cook-Eat-Burrrp. She is from the North team and she challenged bloggers from the South team to make Gulab Jamun.

Coming to the recipe, for me Gulab Jamun was always something that I make from the packet. Having never made it from scratch, this was a wonderful opportunity for me to learn.

The dish came out really well and I am very happy to have learnt something new in the festive season.

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Gulab jamuns with syrup

Preparation time – 20 mins
Cooking time – 30 mins
Difficulty level – easy

Ingredients – makes around 20 small Gulab Jamun

For the Jamuns -

  • Milk powder – 1 cup
  • Full fat Milk – 6 tablespoon (you might need more or less depending on the dough)
  • Melted butter – 2 tbsp
  • Maida/APF – 2 tbsp
  • Rava/semolina – 1 ½ tbsp
  • Baking powder – ¼ tsp
  • Oil – to deep fry

For the sugar syrup-

  • Sugar – 1 cup
  • Water – 1 cup
  • Saffron – few threads (optional)
  • Cardamom powder – 1 tsp
  • Red food coloring –a pinch (optional)

Procedure to make Gulab Jamun –

  • In a bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients mentioned under the jamuns.
Whisking dry ingredients
  • To this add the melted butter and mix well. Then add the milk slowly (1 tablespoon at a time) and knead to form smooth dough. Cover with a plastic wrap or kitchen cloth and leave it aside for about 20 mins.
Adding melted butter in mixture
Dough place in vessel
  • In the mean time, add the sugar and water in a sauce pan. Bring it to a boil and then simmer for 10 mins. Then add the cardamom powder, food coloring and the saffron threads. I left the syrup simmering until I was ready to dunk the fried jamuns in it.
Preparing sugar syrup
adding food coloring in syrup
  • Grease your hands well and shape the dough into smooth balls. Make sure the balls are smooth and have no cracks in it. The secret of making a smooth ball is to apply pressure when shaping in between your palms. Keep aside covered with a cloth.
making balls from the dough
  • Heat oil in a kadai and once heated add the shaped jamuns into the hot oil. The oil should not be smoking hot; otherwise the jamuns would just cook on the outside and will remain raw inside. So make sure the oil is just the right heat and always keep the flame in low medium when frying.
Frying the balls
Jamuns turns golden brown
  • Once the jamuns are golden brown, drain them on a paper towel and then immediately add it to the simmering sugar syrup.
draining the Gulab jamun on paper towel
soaking Gulab jamuns in syrup
  • Let it soak for at least an hour and then serve either warm or at room temperature.
Serving warm

Expert Tips and FAQ's

  • The dough should be very soft dough. Once when I made it the dough was too hard and crumbly that resulted in hard gulab jamuns. Make sure the dough is little bit on the softer side, because once we leave it aside, they tend to harden up.
  • Keep the sugar syrup hot when immersing the jamuns. This way the jamuns soak up the syrup well.
  • You could garnish it with chopped nuts if you prefer. I like them clean and hence avoided any sort of garnish.
Serve Gulab Jamuns in a big bowl

 If you made this recipe and liked it, give a star rating on the recipe card or let me know in the comments below. You could also share it with me on Instagram using #MyCookingJourney and tagging me @sandhya.ramakrishnan. You could follow me and my recipes on Facebook |Instagram | Pinterest | twitter

Gulab Jamun in a Bowl

Gulab Jamun Recipe

There is no festival complete without making fresh Gulab Jamuns from scratch. The flavor and texture of the Gulab Jamun made from scratch is absolutely wonderful.
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Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert, Festival Recipes, sweets
Cuisine: Indian
Diet: Vegetarian
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 20 pieces
Calories: 90kcal
Author: Sandhya Ramakrishnan

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Milk powder
  • 6 tablespoon Full fat Milk You might need more or less depending on the dough
  • 2 tablespoon Melted butter
  • 2 tablespoon Maida/APF
  • 1 ½ tablespoon Rava/semolina
  • ¼ teaspoon Baking powder
  • Oil To deep fry
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 1 cup Water
  • Few Saffron Optional
  • 1 teaspoon Cardamom powder
  • a pinch Red food coloring Optional

Instructions

  • In a bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients mentioned under the jamuns.
  • To this add the melted butter and mix well. Then add the milk slowly (1 tbsp. at a time) and knead to form smooth dough. Cover with a plastic wrap or kitchen cloth and leave it aside for about 20 mins.
  • In the mean time, add the sugar and water in a sauce pan. Bring it to a boil and then simmer for 10 mins. Then add the cardamom powder, food coloring and the saffron threads. I left the syrup simmering until I was ready to dunk the fried jamuns in it.
  • Grease your hands well and shape the dough into smooth balls. Make sure the balls are smooth and have no cracks in it. The secret of making a smooth ball is to apply pressure when shaping in between your palms. Keep aside covered with a cloth.
  • Heat oil in a kadai and once heated add the shaped jamuns into the hot oil. The oil should not be smoking hot; otherwise the jamuns would just cook on the outside and will remain raw inside. So make sure the oil is just the right heat and always keep the flame in low medium when frying.
  • Once the jamuns are golden brown, drain them on a paper towel and then immediately add it to the simmering sugar syrup.
  • Let it soak for at least an hour and then serve either warm or at room temperature.

Notes

Expert tips and FAQ's
  • The dough should be a very soft dough. Once when I made it the dough was too hard and crumbly that resulted in hard gulab jamuns. Make sure the dough is a little bit on the softer side because once we leave it aside, they tend to harden up.
  • Keep the sugar syrup hot when immersing the jamuns. This way the jamuns soak up the syrup well.
  • You could garnish it with chopped nuts if you prefer. I like the clean and hence avoided any sort of garnish.

Nutrition

Calories: 90kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 43mg | Potassium: 93mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 103IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @Sandhya.Ramakrishnan or tag #MyCookingJourney!
« Mullangi Subzi | Mullangi Curry | Radish Curry With Indian Spices
Deepavali Marundhu | Diwali Lehiyam »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anonymous says

    January 02, 2013 at 7:52 am

    My sweets shop is chiragh din sweets & bakers

    Reply
  2. Bhavna Bagri says

    November 16, 2012 at 4:36 am

    Delicious.. so soft and perfect gulab jamun...
    FromMyRasoi
    https://frommyrasoi.blogspot.com/

    Reply
  3. Tamilarasi Sasikumar says

    November 12, 2012 at 11:12 am

    Looks yum...so soft...love it...

    Reply
  4. Restaurants in kuwait says

    November 09, 2012 at 7:21 am

    Hello sandhya,
    we like your way of implementing the process and explanation,keep it up..

    Reply
  5. Shylaashree says

    November 07, 2012 at 11:16 am

    Looks tempting sandhya. love to follow you
    Healthy Recipes

    Reply
  6. Priya Satheesh says

    November 07, 2012 at 8:27 am

    wow.....Yummy yummy...So perfect n mouthwatering. Now I am gaining little confidence in trying this..Lovely!!! Happy to follow u:)

    Reply
  7. WeR SAHM says

    November 07, 2012 at 3:25 am

    Nice clicks and am craving for your gulab jamuns now... Please pass it on...

    Reply
  8. సిరి says

    November 06, 2012 at 11:05 pm

    very temptin sandhya...new to your space..

    Latest Recipe at SirsFood-Home Made Gulab Jamuns
    Athidi Devo Bhav: Todays chit chat with divya prakash

    Reply
  9. Amy says

    November 07, 2012 at 4:09 am

    wow!!delicious!!can I have one please? 🙂

    Reply
  10. Ashwin Seshadri says

    November 06, 2012 at 7:37 pm

    Sandhya, Good job with the instructions..the pictures you have posted have really stirred up a craving for Gulab Jamuns in me.. I am not even a fan of sweets in the first place..

    Reply
  11. Chitra says

    November 06, 2012 at 7:25 pm

    Nice recipe Sandhya!! Waiting for more sweets!!

    Reply
  12. Nivedhanams Sowmya says

    November 06, 2012 at 5:03 pm

    did u use the non fat milk powder you get in US?

    Sowmya

    Ongoing Event - CWF - Whole Wheat Flour

    Reply
    • My Cooking Journey says

      November 06, 2012 at 5:24 pm

      Yes Sowmya, used the carnation non fat milk powder 🙂

      Sandhya

      Reply
  13. Lakshmi says

    November 06, 2012 at 11:01 pm

    looks delish!! my kids one and only fav. sweet.. never tried it from scratch.. this is tempting

    Reply
  14. Nivedhanams Sowmya says

    November 06, 2012 at 5:00 pm

    very well done Sandhya!!! looks so perfect and yummy!!!
    Sowmya

    Ongoing Event - CWF - Whole Wheat Flour

    Reply
    • My Cooking Journey says

      November 06, 2012 at 5:24 pm

      Thanks Sowmya !

      Sandhya

      Reply
  15. Manjula Bharath says

    November 06, 2012 at 4:03 pm

    yummmmm.... tempting 🙂 and tis is an awesome recipe 🙂

    Reply
    • My Cooking Journey says

      November 06, 2012 at 4:57 pm

      Thanks Manjula 🙂

      Sandhya

      Reply
  16. Sowmya D.S.L says

    November 06, 2012 at 4:01 pm

    following through SNC.. happy to find your blog.. perfect and yummy gulab jamun.. very tempting and looking forward for your recipes more..

    https://www.thetalesofmycooking.com/

    Reply
    • My Cooking Journey says

      November 06, 2012 at 4:57 pm

      Thanks Sowmya 🙂 Good to know you too..

      Sandhya

      Reply
  17. Divya Pramil says

    November 06, 2012 at 3:59 pm

    Wow dear perfectly made Sandhya 🙂 Cheers it looks so soft and yum!!! Happy to see those cute gulab jamun balls 🙂 Superb work 🙂
    SNC - 1 Results

    Reply
    • My Cooking Journey says

      November 06, 2012 at 4:56 pm

      Thanks Divya 🙂 Happy to be a part of your event 🙂

      Reply
  18. Vijayalakshmi Dharmaraj says

    November 06, 2012 at 3:59 pm

    wow wonderful jamun dear... just droolin here he he:-)
    VIRUNTHU UNNA VAANGA

    Reply
    • My Cooking Journey says

      November 06, 2012 at 4:56 pm

      Thanks Vijayalakshmi 🙂

      Sandhya

      Reply
  19. DivyaGCP says

    November 06, 2012 at 3:56 pm

    You have made it perfectly.. Very tempting.. Shall be trying this soon.. 🙂

    Reply
    • My Cooking Journey says

      November 06, 2012 at 4:56 pm

      Thanks a lot Divya 🙂 Do try it out. It is an awesome recipe 🙂

      Sandhya

      Reply
  20. ambika says

    November 06, 2012 at 7:26 pm

    looks perfect and very tempting sandya 🙂

    Reply
  21. Asiya Omar says

    November 06, 2012 at 5:22 pm

    Wow! Perfect with step by step pictures.

    Reply
    • My Cooking Journey says

      November 06, 2012 at 5:26 pm

      Thanks Asiya ! The parent site where i got the recipe from has also described it very nicely. very useful for first timers like me.

      Sandhya

      Reply
  22. Suji says

    November 06, 2012 at 5:18 pm

    Thank you, Sandhya!!! You rock!

    Reply
    • My Cooking Journey says

      November 06, 2012 at 5:25 pm

      Thanks Suji! You are always very encouraging 🙂

      Sandhya

      Reply
  23. preeti garg says

    November 06, 2012 at 3:48 pm

    Awesome Recipe Thanks for linking with my event:)

    Reply
    • My Cooking Journey says

      November 06, 2012 at 3:54 pm

      Thanks preeti and my pleasure 🙂

      Sandhya

      Reply
  24. Meena B says

    November 06, 2012 at 3:46 pm

    hey u did it
    now i hv to make it
    somehow my dough goes too soft but let me try again

    congrats and well done

    adirasam-- a sweet

    Reply
    • My Cooking Journey says

      November 06, 2012 at 3:53 pm

      Thanks Meena, my problem was the other way around. My dough was getting too hard. i think it is because of the cold weather here.

      Sandhya

      Reply

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I am Sandhya Ramakrishnan, author, recipe developer and photographer in this journey! 'My Cooking Journey' is all about family friendly Vegetarian and Vegan recipes from around the World with focus on Indian cuisine.

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