Deep fried balls made of milk powder, flour, butter and cream or milk, and then soaked in sugar syrup make for a rich (and decadent) Indian dessert favourite.

Probably one of the most famous desserts to come out of India, the mighty Gulab Jamun are sweet deep fried balls in sugar syrup.

The history of the Gulab Jamun is quite vague. They are first known to have been brought into India by invadors sometime between the 6th and 16th century.

The name Gulab is derived from the Persian words of Gol, which means flower, and ab, which means water, and is literally translated into rose scented water syrup.

Jamun (black plum) is a famous Indian fruit, which is what the Gulab Jamun resembles to.

Round balls of milk solids, traditionally from khoya, are deep fried, which is what gives them their golden brown colour. They are then soaked in sugar syrup, which is flavoured with cardamom pods, saffron and rose water or kewra water.

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Ingredients

For The Gulab Jamun Balls

• ¾ cup (100 g) Sweetened Condensed Milk 
• 125 gms Paneer (cottage cheese)
• 6-7 tbsp all purpose flour
• ¼ tsp-Baking Powder 
• 1 tbsp (for the dough)+ 1 cup Ghee (to fry)

For The Sugar Syrup

• 2 cups-Water
• 1 ½ cups-Sugar

Method

Step1: To Make The Gulab Jamun Balls

(1) To a large bowl, add the sweet condensed milk, paneer, all purpose flour and baking powder with 1 tbsp ghee and knead it into a smooth dough.

(3) Take a little mixture and roll it into round balls.

(4) Heat 1 cup ghee in a pan, and deep fry the balls till they turn golden brown. Take off the excess ghee on a kitchen paper, and set aside.

Step2: To Make The Sugar Syrup

(5) In a non stick pan, bring to a boil the sugar and water. Once it boils, take it off the heat.

(6) Soak the deep fried balls in the sugar syrup for at least 2 hours.

(7) Serve hot.

Why not go one step further, and check out how you can make a Gulab Jamun Cheesecake.