Gulab Jamun

Ingredients

• Khoya (solidified milk), firmly packed 1 cup (250 g)
• Maida (refined flour) ½ cup (60 g)
• Baking soda ¼ tsp
• Ghee (clarified butter) for deep frying
• Sugar 2 cups (480 g)
• Water 3 cups (720 ml)
• Milk 2 tbsp mixed with
• Water 2 tbsp
• Green cardamoms, seeds lightly crushed of 3-4 pods

Preparation

• Mash the 'khoya' well, so that no grains remain. Add flour and soda to it and knead into a firm but pliable dough, using a little water, if need be.

• When the dough is ready, shape it into marble sized balls that are smooth and creaseless.

• Put the ‘ghee’ in a wok or `kadahi' and place over high heat. When a piece of dough thrown in comes up at once, lower the heat and fry a cube of bread tilla light brown, to lower the temperature of the oil.

• Remove the bread and add as many balls as will come in, without touching each other. Keeping the heat low, fry these till a golden brown all over, turning if necessary-- it is easier to stir the oil slowly, which helps them to turn over, because turning them individually, may break them.

• Drain these out of the fat, increase the heat for a few seconds before adding the next lot. Keep these `GulabJamuns' aside till the syrup is ready.

• Place the sugar and water in a heavy based pan over low heat, and stir till the sugar dissolves, without comingto a boil. Increase the heat once the sugar dissolves, and let the mixture come to a boil.

• Add the cardamoms and the milk and water mixture and continue boiling over high heat, without stirring, till it reaches one thread consistency (take a few drops aside, and when cool, press between the thumb and fore finger, and then pull apart, in doing which, a thin thread should form. If more are formed, it is too thick and you have to dilute it and cook again, and if none are formed you must cook some more.)

• When the one thread consistency is reached, shut off the heat, let the syrup cool for a minimum of 1/2 an hour, and then strain it through a fine nylon sieve or a muslin cloth.

• Bring the syrup to a boil again, add the fried balls to it and shut off the heat. Let these soak for at least1/2 an hour before serving.