Rasgulla… Or should I call it Indian Gulab Jamun?

Posted on September 14, 2011 | 4 Comments

I’m still very much confused about what should be the title for this post and I’m sure you must be confused too if you are familiar with Indian sweets. Well, first let me tell you what this recipe is about. This popular dessert consists of deep fried milk dough balls which are soaked in a sugar syrup flavored with cardamom seeds and rosewater or saffron.

Commonly made during festivals or major celebrations, it is known as Gulab Jamun in countries of the Indian Subcontinent. The term ‘Gulab’ refers to rosewater-scented syrup, while ‘Jamun’ is derived from a South Asian fruit with a similar size and shape.

Then why this confusion?? Somehow this exact dessert, very popular in Mauritius, is known as Rasgulla, which happens to be a completely different Indian dessert! And what we call as Gulab Jamun here is yet another sweet dish. A few days ago, I was pondering over the title for my next blog post while having one of these and I accidentally called this dish as Gulab Jamun. The response I got was; “Why are you calling Rasgullas as Gulab Jamun?!” I guess the names somehow got messed up throughout the years since our ancestors from India brought this dish to Mauritius.

INGREDIENTS :

(Makes about 25 Rasgullas)

1 cup milk powder 1/4 cup milk (room temperature) 1/4 cup all purpose flour 1/3 tsp baking soda 2 – 3 tbs unsalted butter / ghee / clarified butter (room temperature) 2/3 cup sugar 1 1/4 cup water 4 – 5 cardamom pods 1/2 tsp ground cardamom pinch of saffron (optional) 1/2 tsp rosewater (optional) oil for deep frying

METHOD :

First, prepare your syrup by adding water, sugar, cardamom pods (open the pods and add the skin as well as seeds) and saffron (optional) to a large pan. Bring to a boil and then simmer for a few minutes until syrup is slightly thickened. Add the cardamom powder and rosewater, mix and set aside.

In a bowl, mix the milk powder, flour and baking soda. Too much baking soda will cause the Rasgullas to get too soft and they will break apart when frying. A little less in amount will do no harm but make sure you don’t add more than the required amount!

Now, add the milk in parts and mix to make a soft dough (will be slightly sticky). You might require less than 1/4 cup milk to make the dough, so don’t add it all at one go.

Let the dough sit for a few minutes. Milk powder will absorb the extra milk. If the dough is dry, add more milk, as it should be soft.

Knead the dough and divide into small balls. The milk dough balls will expand on frying and when soaked in the syrup. Make them slightly smaller than the final desired result.

Heat some oil in a frying pan on medium heat. The frying pan should have at least 1 ½ inch of oil. To test if the oil is the right temperature, place a small piece of dough into the oil; it should take a minute to rise. If dough rises faster, oil is too hot; if dough just sits without rising, oil is not hot enough.

Place the rasgullas in the frying pan; few at a time, giving them enough space to expand. Do not fry on high heat, or else they will become hard inside and not fully cooked. It should take about 5 – 7 minutes until the rasgullas reach the desired dark brown colour. While frying keep rolling them around to make sure they are evenly browned.

http://bitesofsweetandspice.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/090920113659.jpg

Remove from oil and place the rasgullas on a plate with absorbent paper to remove excess oil. Let them cool for a few minutes. You can fry the next batch in the meantime. Do not place in the syrup immediately after frying. This will cause the ragullas to lose their shape and become chewy.

Once cooled, place in hot syrup and let them soak for about 10 minutes.

http://bitesofsweetandspice.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/090920113667.jpg

Your Rasgullas / Indian Gulab Jamun are now ready to be served! :-) Miam Miam!! I can never resist these.

These can be kept at room temperature or refrigerated.