An extremely popular Indian festive sweet, these homemade gulab jamuns with khoya are melt-in-the-mouth delicious. Rich, indulgent and yum, you are not going to be able to stop yourself from multiple servings!
I don’t have a sweet tooth, except for an enormous love for dark chocolate, if that counts. All sweets and sweet treats that I make are for my husband, family and friends. Works for me since all of them love sweets! On the other hand, I at the most, would do a taste check while testing these recipes out. That’s all for me. However, the one Indian sweet that brings me to my knees are gulab jamuns! As far as I remember, I have always loved them. These delicious milk solid balls, soaking in flavored sugar syrup, happen to also be most people’s favorite as well. Rich, indulgent and supremely yummy, these homemade gulab jamuns with khoya are a divine treat. So, with the festive season just around the corner, I decided to give these a go.
While there are a lot of versions of making these – with bread, milk powder, plain flour etc – nothing beats the khoya (milk solids) ones. Moreover, when prepping for Diwali, you’d always want to make and serve your loved ones nothing but the best. My gulab jamuns with khoya recipe is very prized. I’ve taken inputs from my mother-in-law (she makes yummy gulab jamuns), researched recipes by other bloggers and then arrived here! While making these sweets at home may sound intimidating, they can be easily done, bearing a few points in mind – all very basic ones. And I am going to cover them here so that you can make some wonderful sweets at home. 🙂
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Tips & tricks to making perfect gulab jamuns every time
Like I mentioned, when you keep these few, easy to follow points in mind you will always get perfectly soft and yummy gulab jamuns. This recipe is a labor of love and once you have mastered it, there’s no going back to the store bought ones. After all, home made festive treats have their own special appeal, don’t you think? So, here we go:
- Stick to the measurements. Until you get a hang and feel of how the gulab jamun dough should be, use exact quantities always. Also, before you start, keep all ingredients measured and handy, this will make your cooking process seamless
- Before making the dough, start by grating room temperature khoya and mashing it until grain free and smooth. Grating (and not crumbling) it will yield better results. Use the heels of your palm to mash the khoya for about 5-6 minutes
- Once you’ve added all the other dough ingredients (flour and milk powder) knead well but gently. You should aim to get a smooth, soft dough. You could use a few tablespoons of warm milk to achieve a soft dough. However, be gradual while adding the milk and make sure to give the dough a 10-15 minutes rest before proceeding further
- When pinching out balls from the dough to fry, keep them small because they will swell up when dunked in the sugar syrup. Also, when rolling them to make the balls, ensure that they are smooth and crack free otherwise they may break while frying
- The temperature of the oil when frying the khoya balls is of utmost importance – they are never fried on high heat. Low to medium heat is ideal for getting throughly cooked and even colored gulab jamuns. To set the temperature of the oil right, heat it over medium flame first and then reduce the temperature and slowly roll the balls into the oil. Keep moderating the heat as you keep frying the balls in batches
- Furthermore, while frying, give it sometime and then keep moving the balls gently in the oil with your ladle so that they get an even color on them. Drain the balls from the oil and remove them on absorbent kitchen towels, once done
- Coming to the final step, making the sugar syrup. For soaking khoya gulab jamuns you do not need any string consistency for the syrup. You will need to cook the sugar and water together until the sugar melts and then cook for another 5-7 minutes with the cardamom and saffron. The syrup will eventually thicken as it cools
- When finally dropping the fried khoya balls in the syrup, make sure that both, the balls and the syrup, are warm. Once dunked, keep the balls soaking for about two hours before serving
Keeping the above tips in mind, I promise, that you will be able to make wonderful gulab jamuns with khoya at home. Follow each step carefully and you will face no hurdles. The fact that you don’t even need any particular string consistency for the sugar syrup makes the process easier. You can also make the khoya balls before hand and store them for 2-3 days in an air tight container in the fridge. Just warm them up in a microwave or let them come to room temperature on their own before dropping them in the sugar syrup. I have tried this out and it definitely works giving yummy, soft gulab jamuns.
Serving suggestions
Make these super amazing sweets for any festive occasion (Diwali, Eid, birthdays etc) and enjoy with your family and friends. The best way to enjoy them is warm. So, you just warm the gulab jamuns up in the microwave before serving. Furthermore, warm gulab jamuns with a scoop of vanilla ice cream also tastes heavenly! Hence, you could give both ways a try. And remember, calories don’t count on festivals. 🙂
If you are planning to make these, do let me know how you enjoyed them. You can share your food pictures with me on Instagram and also on Pinterest. I’d love hearing back from you. Happy festivities.
Eat hearty!
Gulab jamun with khoya
Equipment
- Shallow cooking pot
- Sauce pan
Ingredients
To make to gulab jamuns
- 200 g khoya/mawa grated
- 4 tbsp plain flour maida
- 5 tbsp milk powder unsweetened
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 3-4 tbsp milk lukewarm
- 1 cup oil/ghee for deep frying
For the sugar syrup
- 1½ cups sugar
- 1½ cups water
- 4 green cardamom pods crushed
- 1 tsp saffron strands optional
Instructions
To make the sugar syrup
- In a saucepan, add the sugar and water and cook over medium heat until the sugar melts. Once it comes to boil, throw in the cardamom pods and saffron strands and cook for another 5-7 mins
- Remove in a larger bowl and set aside
Making the gulab jamun dough
- Take the grated khoya/mawa and knead it (for 3-4 minutes) gently until smooth and grain free. Add the milk powder, baking powder and plain flour to it
- Mix them all well and knead gently - do not over knead - just enough to combine all of them well. You need a soft, smooth dough. If required, gradually add milk to achieve a smooth, soft dough
- Cover with a muslin cloth and let it sit for 10-15 mins
- Pinch out lime sized portions from the dough and roll each of them between your palms to form smooth, crack free balls. These will swell up while soaking in the sugar syrup, so making smaller balls is recommended
- Keep the shaped balls covered, while the oil/ghee heats up
- Heat your cooking pot with the oil/ghee and once hot reduce the heat to low. Slide in the khoya balls - they will first sink in the oil/ghee and then gradually rise up. Using a ladle, gently move the balls around so that they are evenly brown all over
- Remove on absorbent kitchen towels, let it rest for 5-7 mins and then drop them in the warm sugar syrup. Let them sit in the syrup for at least 2 hours before serving
Serving suggestion
- Gulab jamuns are best served warm. They are also enjoyable served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
Notes
- If your khoya has been in the refrigerator, let it come to room temperature before starting with the recipe
- Grating the khoya and using it yields a better texture compared to crumbling it
- Ensure that your khoya balls are crack free otherwise they may disintegrate while frying
- It is imperative to fry the khoya balls in low to medium hot oil, otherwise they will brown from the outside very quickly leaving the insides uncooked
- The sugar syrup will thicken as it cools
- You need the gulab jamuns to be warm when dunking them in the sugar syrup. However, you can fry them up before hand and microwave them, until just warm, and then let them soak in the syrup tooÂ
- Make sure that the sugar syrup and the khoya balls are both slightly warm when dunking the latter in themÂ
- You can store the gulab jamuns for up to 10 days in the refrigerator
- 1 cup = 250 milliliters
- tbsp - tablespoon (15 ml)
- tsp - teaspoon (5 ml)
- g - grams
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Thank you so much!