Almond Gulab Jamun.

"Almond Gulab Jamun" ... one of India's most popular sweet dish enjoyed by almost everybody those who have a sweet tooth... these perfectly fried round balls dunked in flavored sugar syrup that turn out spongy are always a delight to bite on and proudly occupies a prominent place during every celebrations ... addition of milk and almond powder make these jamuns rich and delicious in taste; definitely a treat in itself …. Yummilicious ....

** "Gulab Jamun" is a classic Indian Sweet/ Dessert famous throughout the country. It is prepared and enjoyed by almost all Indians be it in India or Abroad. A dessert that can be served during celebrations and festivals as children and elders both love to relish these amla sized balls dunked in flavored syrups.

** The trick in making good gulab jamun, I guess is learnt by trial and error. The sponginess depends not only on the ingredients but also on the consistency of the prepared dough which has to be soft and smooth. The jamuns should be easily cut by spoon and should melt in the mouth when consumed.

** There are so many methods of preparing the Jamuns. Over the years so many different types of Jamuns have come into edition, that people are always in the look out for new twist and tweaks in the same. The mixture though is readily available in the market, it is not difficult to make the same at home.

** There are many variations in the recipes, traditionally they were prepared with mava (khoya), while some add in curds/ yogurt, some prepare the same with milk powder. Recently I have come across many recipes where they have prepared the jamuns with bread too. Jamuns are also prepared with center fillings now for additional flavours and taste. I have already posted Gulab Jamun with gulkand filling before.

** I intend to prepare a lot more flavors and fillings and will be sharing the same with all of you as and when I prepare, so please do keep checking the Blog for new and tasty dishes always. Do drop in a line if you have prepared and enjoyed the same as it will boost my morale and in case of any query too, you can message to me which I will attend as early as possible. Do prepare these jamuns which are a little bit different from the regular one’s as they are crunchy in texture and you will get the crunchiness as you eat coz. of the coarsely grounded Almonds added to it. Children will love it for sure.

** I adapted this recipe from my friend Prarthana's Milk Powder Gulab Jamun Recipe and my heartfelt thanks to her.  I tweaked it a little bit and made my own variations and changes by adding in coarsely ground almonds and kneading it with milk. I added cardamom flavor and added on some finely chopped almond pieces too. You can use water too, but milk gives softer texture as almond flour tends to dry up a bit.

** Here is my recipe for "Almond Gulab Jamun" .... my style ....

** For Preparing the Jamuns : 1.5 cups of milk powder (doodha pitti), ½ cup coarsely ground almond powder (badam powder), ½ Cup Maida (APF), 1 tsp Baking Soda (cooking sode pitti) and cold Milk (doodh) as required for binding.

** For Preparing the Sugar Syrup : 2 cups of sugar (shakkar/ sakkara), 1 cup of water, few saffron (kesar) strands, 1 tsp of cardamom (ellaichi/ yellu) powder, 1 tsp coarsely ground Almond (Badam) powder, pinch of orange colour (Optional).

** For Preparing Jamuns : Lightly mix all the dry ingredients together. Add in a few tablespoons of cold milk and bring the all ingredients to crumble texture. Now sprinkle some more milk and keep binding the ingredients till you get a soft round ball consistency. Cover with wet cloth and keep aside.

** Prepare small round balls out of the dough the size of a small sized amla and keep these ready aside covered with a wet cloth to prevent appearing of cracks/ drying up. You can grease your palms with a drop of melted ghee to give it smooth finish or you can just wet your palms with a little bit of milk. I choose milk.

** Heat ghee/ toop in a thick bottomed kadai and fry jamuns in low heat in batches till they are evenly golden brown in colour from all sides. Keep stirring gently often or else the jamuns will get burnt on some sides and remain unevenly browned. So keep rotating them with a ringed spatula which will help in even frying. Remove and add them in a wide bowl and continue with remaining prepared balls until done.

** For the Sugar Syrup : In a thick bottomed vessel add in both sugar and water together and bring to a rolling boil on medium heat stirring often. Add in colour and let simmer till a little thicker in texture (about one thread consistency). Remove, add the saffron strands and cardamom powder, mix well and keep it aside ready.

** Add all the fried Jamuns into the warm sugar syrup rolling them gently in the syrup all over. Adding them in warm syrup will help the Jamuns in being spongier in texture as it will soak in the syrup well. Cover and let to rest for about 20-30 mins while you keep mixing them lightly once or twice in between for the syrup to mix up well with the Jamuns. Remember we need all the jamuns to soak in the syrup well.

** By now the Jamuns will have soaked up the syrup and gone soft and spongy from within. Add in the coarsely powdered almond powder and mix well. You can either transfer this into a air- tight container to be stored in fridge to be cooled and place the whole bowl as it is too, whichever is convenient, again if you want to serve it warm then they are now ready to be served at lukewarm temperature. 

** "Almond Gulab Jamun" are done and ready to be served. You can serve them warm or at room temperature if desired or serve them cold after refrigerating for a few hours.  Either way they taste great to relish though my preference would always be to relish it slightly cold (not very), individual preference for sure. In fact the best way to relish these are cold when the weather is hot and warm when the weather is cold. 

** Go ahead and Enjoy these with your family and friends. A good dessert to serve at any celebrations, especially for your Kidd's Birthday Party as children never say no to a few jamuns. It is always heartening to see the lovely and happy expressions on their face of tasting a Gulab Jamun with a difference, trust me they will know these gulab jamuns are something different, so be prepared for more demand, ensure you have plenty to avoid shortage, it has happened in my home.