Gulab Jamun

Wish you all a very happy Deepavali/Diwali.

Gulab Jamun must be one of the most loved sweets in India. These days it is very easy to make them at home using ready made Gulab Jamun mixes, but few years ago, that was not the case. I used to make them from milk. It was a long process as making of khova or khoya takes a lot of time, but the hard work brings very good results. 

To make khova at home, heat milk in a thick bottomed pan on a medium-low flame. Keep mixing it once in a while making sure the milk does not get sticked to the bottom of the pan. When the milk has reduced to 1/4th quantity, you need to keep mixing it continuously to avoid sticking. When the milk has almost lost all liquid and got dry, it is called khova. 

Khova is readily available in markets these days. It can be used to make these jamuns.

Ingredients for Jamuns:
1 cup khova
1/4 cup maida (all purpose flour)
1/4 tea spn baking soda
Ghee for deep frying.

For syrup:
2 cups sugar
3 cups water
1/4 tea spn cardamom powder
1 tea spn rose water(optional)

Method:
Mix khova, maida and soda very well to make a smooth dough.

Make small balls from them (they increase in volume after frying and soaking the syrup, so do not make them too big).

In a separate vessel, heat sugar and water. When the syrup starts boiling, switch off heat. Add cardamom powder and rose water(if using).
Deep fry the jamuns in ghee and add them to hot syrup. I add them to syrup when both jamuns and syrup are hot. This helps jamun to soak the syrup easily. Allow them to soak the syrup for few hours and then serve.

Makes about 14 jamuns

PS: The quality of jamuns largely depends on the khova used. I never used store bought khova, I always make it at home. Try one batch, if the jamuns break as soon as they are dropped in ghee, instead of wasting the remaining dough, you can make pedas from them.