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Showing posts with label DIWALI RECIPES. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DIWALI RECIPES. Show all posts

May 9, 2018

Maida Halwa Recipe - How To Make Maida Halwa With Video

 Maida halwa recipe

Maida halwa recipe with step by step pictures. I tried this easy, Instant maida halwa recipe from Aval Vikatan’s 30 vagai kalyana samayal supplementary book. This halwa is titled as Karandi halwa in that book. I followed the same recipe but tweaked the method slightly to make pieces like the maida halwa I tasted in sweet shops. Maida/ All purpose flour, sugar and ghee are the major ingredients. 

Basically I am a big fan of Kerala maida halwa. But Kerala halwa ingredients and method of preparation is different from this easy maida halwa. For this halwa, we don’t have to ferment the maida milk. It can be prepared instantly like Corn flour halwa / Karachi halwa but it takes 20 to 30 minutes to reach the final stage. We need to stir constantly but its worth the effort. If you want to make chewy and hard halwa, you need to cook the halwa for more time, may be one hour. I removed the halwa as soon as it started to ooze out the ghee in the corners. 

Beginners can easily try this recipe as there are less chances of going wrong. I have also taken a video for clear understanding. Please watch it below.  Friends, do try this easy maida flour halwa during this summer vacation. You don’t have to wait for Diwali. You will love its taste. For variations, you can use jaggery instead of sugar but taste and texture would be completely different.

If you feel this halwa is unhealthy, just think about eating parotta, jalebi or samosa made of maida. You won’t feel guilty. After all, we are making it once or twice in a year. So Its not a sin. Eat this halwa and do some workouts.  If you still feel bad,  you can try my Instant wheat flour halwa.

Lets see how to make this easy, yummy, maida flour ka halwa with step by step pictures and video.

Check out my easy Tirunelveli halwa using wheat flour.





How to make maida halwa

Maida Halwa Recipe


Maida Halwa Recipe

Maida halwa recipe - Easy, Instant halwa with maida, sugar and ghee


Cuisine: Indian
Category: Sweets
Serves: 10
Prep time: 5 Minutes
Cook time: 20 Minutes
Total time: 25 Minutes


INGREDIENTS

1 cup = 240ml
  • Maida / All Purpose flour – 1/2 cup
  • Water – 1.5 cups
  • Yellow Food color – a pinch
  • Sugar - 1 cup
  • Melted Ghee – 1/2 cup
  • Cooking oil – 3 tbsp (Use flavorless oil)
  • Cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp
  • Chopped nuts – 2 tbsp (Use cashews, melon seeds)

METHOD

  1. Mix maida, water and food color without lumps. Set aside.
  2. Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a non-stick kadai. Roast cashews till golden.
  3. Add maida water and mix in low flame till thick.
  4. Add sugar, mix till it dissolves.
  5. Add 1 tbsp of ghee + oil at regular intervals. Mix well.
  6. At one stage, halwa starts to ooze out ghee in the corners.
  7. Add cardamom powder, nuts. Mix well and transfer to a pan.
  8. Cut into pieces when warm. Serve & enjoy !
  9. For chewy halwa, cook for more time in high flame.

METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

  • In a wide bowl, take maida, water and food color. Whisk without lumps. Set aside. Mix melted ghee + oil in a bowl and keep it ready.
    maida halwa recipe
  • In a good non-stick kadai, heat 1 tbsp ghee+oil and roast the cashews till golden. Add maida water and mix well without lumps. Mix till thick in low flame.
    maida halwa recipe
  • Add sugar and mix in medium flame till sugar dissolves completely. Add 1 tbsp ghee+oil and mix till it gets absorbed by the halwa. As soon as you add the ghee, it becomes easier to stir the halwa. But when the ghee is absorbed by the halwa, it thickens and you feel difficult to mix it. So add 1 tbsp of ghee+oil mixture again.
    maida halwa recipemaida halwa recipe
  • Repeat the same process till all the ghee+oil is added to the halwa. By now halwa leaves the sides of pan, rotates with the ladle. It would become non-sticky and shiny. Increase the flame to high. Keep mixing till halwa starts to ooze out ghee in the sides of pan. Touch the halwa to see its completely non-sticky. It takes 20 to 25 minutes to reach this stage. If not, add little more ghee or oil and stir for few more minutes. Do not remove the halwa till it starts to ooze the ghee. I have marked with arrows in the below picture. Patience is important here. Please watch the video for better understanding.

  • At this stage, reduce the flame to low. Add cardamom powder and melon seeds. Stir till all the nuts spreads well. Switch off the flame. Transfer the halwa into a ghee greased bowl. I used my square shaped cake pan. Press it well with a ladle. Let the halwa set for an hour and becomes warm. Invert in a plate. Now mark shapes with a ghee greased knife.
    maida halwa recipemaida halwa recipe
  • Make pieces and serve. This halwa stays good for a week without refrigeration. Enjoy !
maida halwa recipe
NOTE : If you want to make chewy halwa, Cook for more time in high flame  till all the ghee comes out from the halwa. Set for one day. It tastes chewy and hard the next day.

Note

  • Do not reduce the quantity of sugar. Halwa tastes like porridge and you won’t get the proper consistency. If you are sweet toothed, you can increase the quantity of 2.25 cups.
  • Similarly do not reduce the quantity of ghee because halwa sticks to your tongue while you eat.
  • Addition of cooking oil helps the halwa to ooze out ghee quickly. So do not skip it. You can use coconut oil instead of cooking oil if you like.
  • If you don’t want to make pieces, you can just scoop the halwa with a ladle and serve it. This is called as Karandi halwa in Tamil.
Try this easy, yummy maida halwa at home and enjoy your special occasions !
Instant Maida halwa recipe


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April 28, 2018

Chettinad Kalkandu Vadai Recipe - Sweet Medhu Vada / Sweet ulundhu vadai With Video

Kalkandu vadai
Kalkandu Vadai (Sugar candy vada) is a Chettinad Special Sweet Medhu Vada Recipe/ sweet ulundhu vadai made especially for Diwali and Thirukarthigai Deepam festivals. Recently we had a 2 days trip to Karaikudi, Chettinad just to explore its food and other specialties. We relished an elaborate, traditional Chettinad lunch at “The Bangala” and had a pleasant stay at “Chidambara Vilas” heritage hotel. In this trip, I got a chance to taste most of the Chettinad special delicacies like Kandarappam, Vellai paniyaram with kara chutney, Thalicha idiyappam, Kosumalli, Kondakadalai Mandi, Getti kuzhambu, Paruppu urundai kulambu, More kulambu, Milagu kulambu, Payasam, some poriyal , pachadi and kootu varieties. 

We bought all the Chettinad specialty snacks from Soundaram Aachi stores. I also bought a kg of white raw rice / Maavu arisi and murukku press near Koppudai amman temple street for making Chettinad thenkuzhal by enquiring the staffs in Soundaram aachi kadai. I visited the antique stores to buy some props for blog but I din’t buy anything as I found them too costly and not worthy for its price. Finally I bought 2 Chettinad Cotton sarees as well. Totally it was a memorable one to cherish for years. Soon I will try to make a separate post about our trip in detail with all the pictures. 

After this trip, I got tempted to try some Chettinad recipes in my kitchen and share with my readers. So I bought “100 Chettinad recipes cookbook “ and started trying them one by one. Last week Sendhil’s friends visited us. Luckily I came to know that they are from Chettinad . I became very happy and passed this book to her to know the authenticity of the recipes given in the book. Thanks a lot Mrs. Inba Venkatesh. She explained each and every recipe along with few corrections. She told me to try this Kalkandu vada as its one of the most special snacks recipe of Chettinad. So I tried this recipe referring the cookbook and few Youtube videos. Even though its my first attempt, it came out really well. I am very happy with the result. It tasted crispy outside and very soft inside. Its so easy to make too. Lets see how to make Chettinad special Kalkandu vadai with step by step pictures.

Check out my other Chettinad recipes in this LINK.



Kalkandu vadai recipe

Kalkandu Vadai Recipe - Sweet Medhu Vada


Kalkandu Vadai Recipe - Sweet Medhu Vada

Kalkandu vadai - Sweet medhu vada made with urad dal and sugar candy.


Cuisine: South Indian
Category: Sweet
Serves: 6
Prep time: 60 Minutes
Cook time: 10 Minutes
Total time: 70 Minutes


INGREDIENTS

1 cup = 250ml
  • White round Urad dal - 1/2 cup
  • Raw rice - 1 tbsp
  • Sugar candy / Kalkandu - 1/3 cup ( I used diamond kalkandu)
  • Salt - A pinch
  • Cooking oil - to deep fry vada

HOW TO MAKE SWEET ULUNDHU VADAI - METHOD


  1. Wash and soak urad dal and rice in a bowl adding water for one hour.
  2. In a mixie jar, grind sugar candy to smooth powder. 
  3. To this powder, add the soaked dal +rice by draining the water completely.
  4. Grind to a smooth paste without adding water.
  5. Add salt to the batter, mix well and keep aside.
  6. Heat oil and make vada. Deep fry both sides till golden.
  7. Remove and enjoy hot !

METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES


  • Wash and soak urad dal and raw rice in a bowl adding enough water. Soak for one hour. 


  • In a big mixie jar, powder the sugar candy/ kakandu smoothly. Alternatively you can use sugar instead of sugar candy. Take the soaked dal+rice and drain the water completely. Add the soaked dal+ rice to mixie jar. Grind to a smooth paste without adding water. Powdered kalkandu helps to grind the dal smooth without water.  So do not add water, just wipe the sides of mixie jar and grind continously to make a smooth batter. 
  • Kalkandu vadai recipe
    Kalkandu vadai recipe

  • Transfer the batter to a bowl, add salt just before making vada. Mix well with a spoon to prevent batter becoming watery.Keep aside. Add 1/2 cup of water to the mixie jar and grind it to wash the jar. Transfer to another bowl and use this water for dipping your hands while shaping the vada. If you fry the vada later, you can refrigerate the batter till use. 
  • Kalkandu vadai recipe

  • Heat oil in a kadai and when it gets heated , drop a pinch of batter to check the heat of oil. If the batter rises to the top immediately, oil temperature is correct. Now lower the flame to medium and drop the vada. 
  • Dip your fingers in water and take a small portion of batter from one corner of the bowl. Make a ball, flatten it slightly and make a hole in the center. Turn your hand upside down. Drop the vada in oil by slightly tilting your fingers. Make 2 to 3 vada per batch. Cook in medium flame by flipping it whenever needed. Cook till golden brown on both the sides. 
  • Kalkandu vadai recipe

  • Do not cook these vada in high flame because vada turns black quickly because of sugar candy.So cook patiently in low to medium flame. .Remove the vada in a tisue paper and serve hot. You can refrigerate the remaining batter for 2 days and make vada at your will.

  • Kalkandu vadai recipe
    Enjoy ! This vada stays good for 2 to 3 days.

Note

  • If you don't have sugar candy, you can use sugar.
  • Never use water for grinding the batter.
  • Cook in low to medium flame patiently.
  • If the vada absorbs more oil, add 1 to 2 tsp of rice flour to the batter.
  • Do not add salt while grinding the batter. It makes the batter watery.

Try this easy, yummy, sweet urad dal vada / Kalkandu and enjoy !

Chettinad kalkandu vadai

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April 25, 2018

Kala Jamun With Instant Gulab Jamun Mix - Kala Jamun Using Readymix

Kala jamun using instant gulab jamun mix

Kala jamun (Black gulab jamun) recipe was in my try list for years. To make it simple, I tried making Kala jamun in an easy way using store bought, readymade, instant gulab jamun mix. I have tried it twice so far using Aachi gulab jamun mix and MTR gulab jamun ready mix. Both worked well. When I read the difference between Kala jamun and Gulab jamun in Wikipedia, I found sugar and khoya (milk solid) is used to make the traditional Kala jamun dough. 

So I too used sugar and milk to the instant  readymix to make the jamun dough. Sugar added in the dough slowly caramelizes while deep frying and helps to give dark color to the kala jamoon. Milk helps to make soft gulab jamun. Some recipes called for deep frying the gulab jamun twice to bring the black color. But I felt deep frying in low flame patiently for long time helps to get a nice black color to kala jamun. Please go through my post to read more tips and tricks to make a perfect kala jamun using instant gulab jamun mix in detail.  Try it. You will love its results for sure. Friends, lets see how to make Kala jamun using jamun mix with step by step pictures.


Kala jamun with instant gulab jamun mix

KALA JAMUN USING INSTANT GULAB JAMUN MIX


Kala jamun recipe
Learn how to make Kala jamun using instant gulab jamun mix
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Dessert Recipes
Serves: 8 
Prep time: 5 Minutes
Cook time: 20 Minutes
Total time: 25 Minutes


INGREDIENTS
1 cup = 240ml
  • Gulab Jamun mix - 1 cup 
  • Boiled milk at room temperature - As needed
  • Sugar – 1.5 tsp
  • Cooking oil or ghee - to deep fry
For Sugar syrup
  • Sugar – 1 cup
  • Water – 1 cup
  • Rose water – 1/2 tsp
  • Saffron threads - Few
To stuff kala jamun
  • Gulab jamun dough - a small ball
  • Chopped nuts - 2 tbsp (Cashews and Almond)
  • Saffron threads – Few
  • Food color - a pinch
  • Sugar – 1/2 tsp
  • Warm milk – 2 tsp
HOW TO MAKE KALA JAMUN USING INSTANT JAMUN MIX
  1. Take the gulab jamun mix in a bowl. Add sugar and mix well.
  2. Add milk gradually and make a slightly sticky dough. Cover and Rest for 5 minutes.
  3. To make sugar syrup, take sugar and water.Mix well and boil for 5 to 7 minutes till it becomes slightly sticky.
  4. Take a small portion of gulab jamun dough and mix saffron milk, food color, sugar & nuts. Make small balls out of it for stuffing the jamun.
  5. Now roll smooth, crack free balls in the remaining dough using ghee greased hands. Stuff the nuts ball inside the jamun & roll it.
  6. Arrange the balls in a plate.
  7. Heat oil and fry the jamun in low flame till black in color.
  8. Soak in sugar syrup for one hour. Jamun increase in size and becomes soft. Serve with ice cream !
METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
  • In a wide bowl, take the measured gulab jamun mix. Add sugar and mix well. Add milk gradually and make a slightly sticky dough.
    Kala jamun using instant jamun mix
  • Cover the jamun dough for 10 minutes. In the mean time, you can make sugar syrup. Heat sugar + water in a bowl and boil the syrup for 5 to 7 minutes in medium flame till the syrup becomes sticky. Add saffron thread and cardamom powder/rose water. Mix well. Switch off the flame and set aside.
  • Kala jamun using instant jamun mix
  • Take the gulab jamun dough and remove a small ball for the stuffing. To this ball, add chopped nuts, saffron thread soaked in 1 tsp milk, a pinch of food color and 1/2 tsp of sugar. Mix well to make a soft dough.
  • Kala jamun using instant jamun mix
  • Roll the jamun into equal balls. If it cracks more while rolling, add little milk to dough. Mix well and make balls again. Make equal number of jamun balls and nuts ball. Make sure the size of nuts stuffed ball is lesser than gulab jamun ball.
  • Kala jamun using instant jamun mix
  • Grease your hands with little ghee. Take one gulab jamun ball and press it to make a small circle. Keep the nuts stuffed ball in the middle and roll it nicely to make a crack free kala jamun ball. You can make round shapes or bullet shaped elongated ones as shown in the picture.
  • Kala jamun using instant jamun mix
  • Heat oil in a kadai and drop a pinch of dough. If it rises to the top slowly, oil temperature is right. Now keep the flame medium and stir the oil  in the corner of kadai with a wooden ladle. Drop 3 to 4 gulab jamun in each batch. Keep stirring the oil in the corners without touching the gulab jamun. It helps for even coloring of jamun. Keep the flame low and stir it.
  • Cook till jamuns become golden brown. Keep the flame low and keep cooking till it becomes black in color. Make sure you don’t burn the jamuns. You can identify it with the smell if it burns. So always keep the flame low and cook patiently. As we have added sugar to the dough, it helps to change the color of jamun quickly.
  • Remove the jamun using a slotted ladle and drain in a tissue paper. If the sugar syrup becomes cold, heat for a minute and make it warm. Add the cooked kala jamun to the sugar syrup and mix well. Cover and soak it for 30 minutes to one hour OR till the jamun increase in size after soaking.
  • Kala jamun using instant jamun mix
  • Serve warm or cold as you like with or without ice cream.
    Enjoy !
NOTE
  • Addition of sugar helps the jamun to change dark black in color. So do not skip it.
  • Remember to cook the jamun in low flame patiently. If you cook in high flame, jamun may burn. Alternatively you can also fry the jamun twice to get black color.
Try this easy, yummy Kala Jamun using Instant gulab jamun mix. Enjoy !!
Kala jamun using instant jamun mix
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February 27, 2018

Mawa Malpua Recipe - Instant Malpua Recipe Step By Step

Mawa malpua recipe

Mawa malpua recipe with step by step pictures / Instant malpua recipe. Holi festival is around the corner. Most of the North Indians make Malpua / malpura, Gujiya and Thandai for Holi celebration. Malpua is basically a pancake kind of dessert recipe that is deep fried in ghee and dunked in sugar syrup ( Chasni). It is usually served with rabri / Rabdi. Malpua is a most popular street food in Rajasthan, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Odisha. Each recipe has its own variations. Authentic malpua recipe calls for maida, semolina / suji, milk and yogurt.Its batter is allowed to ferment for few hours before deep frying in ghee/ oil.

 In some places, its batter is prepared by adding fruits like banana, mango or pineapple and even coconut. In Odisha, Malpua fritters are dipped in sugar syrup (chasni) after they are fried. The Bihari version of this dish has sugar added to the batter prior to frying.  Today I have shared a simplified version of malpua recipe by using khoya / mawa. I followed this Instant, mawa malpua recipe from Sailu’s food twice successfully. I am sure even a beginner can try it and get perfect results if you follow this recipe and method carefully. For variations, condensed milk or milk powder can also be used in place of khoya. Friends, do try this easy, yummy malpua recipe for this Holi festival and have a colorful celebration.

Do check out my Gujiya and Thandai recipe, Homemade thandai masala powder too.

Malpua recipe

Mawa malpua recipe - Instant malpua recipe


Mawa malpua recipe - Instant malpua recipe

How to make malpua recipe with khoya.


Cuisine: North Indian
Category: Dessert
Serves: 10 
Prep time: 10 Minutes
Cook time: 10 Minutes
Total time: 20 Minutes


INGREDIENTS

1 cup = 250ml
  • Maida / All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
  • Sugarless Khoya / Mawa - 1/4 cup
  • Warm milk - 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp
  • Crushed fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
  • Sugar - 1/2 tbsp
  • Salt – small pinch
  • Cooking oil or ghee – To deep fry malpua ( use flavorless oil)
For Sugar Syrup
  • Sugar – 1/2 cup
  • Water – 1/2 cup
  • Saffron threads – Few
  • Cardamom powder – 1/4 tsp
  • Chopped nuts (Cashews, Pista) – To garnish
  • HOW TO MAKE MALPUA - METHOD

    1. To make malpua batter, take crumbled khoya in a bowl. Add 1/2 cup warm milk.
    2. Whisk without lumps. Add maida, fennel seeds, sugar and salt.
    3. Mix without lumps and make a smooth batter.Set aside for 15 minutes.
    4. Make sugar syrup by boiling for few minutes. Add cardamom powder, saffron threads.
    5. Heat oil or ghee to deep fry malpua. Cook both sides till golden. Remove and dunk in sugar syrup. Soak for 2 minutes by flipping it once.
    6. Arrange in a plate and garnish with chopped nuts. Top with rabri if you wish and serve immediately for best taste.

    METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

    • In a wide bowl, take 1/4 cup of crumbled or grated khoya. Add 1/2 cup warm milk. Whisk to make it smooth.
      How to make malpua recipe
    • To this, add maida, fennel seeds, a small pinch of salt, sugar and mix well using a whisk. Add the remaining milk and make a smooth, lump free batter.
      How to make malpua recipe
    • Consistency of batter should be neither too thick nor too thin. It should fall like a thin ribbon. Remember thick batter gives thick and bulgy malpua.You should press it with two ladles while draining from the oil. Similarly if the batter is too thin, malpua may disperse in oil with lots of  big holes in it. So batter should be slightly thin and right in consistency. After you make the first malpua, check for the result and based on its texture you can add more milk if needed to make the batter thin. If the batter became too thin, add little maida to bring the right consistency.
      How to make malpua recipe
    • Rest the batter for 10 to 15 minutes. In the mean time, you can make sugar syrup. In a wide or deep kadai, take sugar and water. Mix well and boil for 3 to 5 minutes in low flame or till the sugar syrup becomes slightly sticky like gulab jamun syrup.  No need of bringing to one string or two string consistency. Just sticky and thin syrup is enough.
      How to make malpua recipe
    • Heat oil or ghee in a flat bottomed kadai or pan. I used refined oil. Oil should be just 1inch in height ( like frying jalebi). Do not use more oil. Malpua may bulge and puff up if the oil is more.To make flat malpua, oil should be less. If malpua puffs up in oil, use two ladles, press it well while removing it from oil. This helps to make the malpua flat and drain the excess oil too.
      How to make malpua recipe
    • Add a drop of batter to the oil. If it rises to the top immediately, oil temperature is just right. Simmer the flame to low to medium and pour one small ladleful of batter to the oil. Malpua spreads by itself and cooks in oil. Splash some oil on the top if needed. Flip it as soon as the edges become golden brown in color. Cook the other side for a minute and remove from the oil. Drain the oil completely.  You can deep fry one by one or 2 to 3 based on the size of pan.
      How to make malpua recipe
    • Add the cooked malpua to the sugar syrup immediately. Soak for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip it and soak both the sides. Similarly add all the fried malpua based on the size of sugar syrup bowl. Remove after 2 to 3 minutes by draining the excess sugar syrup.  Deep fry the remaining malpuas, soak in syrup. Arrange in a plate and garnish with chopped nuts. Serve immediately or warm to enjoy its best taste. You can also top it with rabri and serve it rich !
      How to make malpua recipe
      Enjoy !

    Note

    • Malpua batter should be in right consistency.
    • Its better to use flat pan for deep frying. 
    • Sugar syrup should be just slightly sticky.
    Try this easy, yummy Malpua for the Holi and enjoy the festival !
    How to make malpua recipe

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    October 16, 2017

    Dry Jamun Recipe With Ready Mix– Dry Gulab Jamun Using MTR mix

    Dry gulab jamun using ready mix
    Dry jamun recipe with MTR ready mix. Last year I made a detailed post on how to prepare gulab jamun with instant mix. Gulab jamun is considered to be the last minute sweet to me for diwali. As its preparation is very easy using readymade mix, I always make it one day before Diwali. This year I wanted to try dry jamun for a change.

    Dry jamoon is our family favorite sweet we buy from Adayar Anandha Bhavan. This year I bought ORKAY Gulab jamun mix in addition to MTR mix as well. It is also equally good but my choice is for MTR because of its softness.

    Dry jamun recipe is very similar to our basic gulab jamun recipe except the soaking time. Usually dry jamoon needs less soaking hours. Some people like to have gulab jamun without sugar syrup. For them , Dry gulab jamun is the ideal choice. It tastes mildly sweet but still juicy with all the syrup in it. Ok, lets see how to prepare dry gulab jamun using mtr mix with step by step recipe. I hope this recipe works for Gits, Aachi, GRB. Bambino and other brands too.
    dry jamun with mtr mix

    Dry Gulab jamun recipe with ready mix


    Gulab jamun recipe with instant mix How to make Gulab jamun using readymade mix, Instant, store bought MTR mix
    Cuisine: Indian
    Category: Sweet
    Serves: 20 nos
    Prep time: 30 Minutes
    Cook time: 15 Minutes
    Total time: 45 Minutes


    INGREDIENTS
    1 cup - 250ml
    • Gulab jamun mix - 150gms/ 1.5 cups
    • Boiled Milk at room temperature - 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp ( + 1 tsp)
    • Cooking oil - to deep fry
    For sugar syrup
    • Sugar - 3 cups
    • Water - 3 cups
    • Cardamom powder or rose essence - 1 tsp
    • Saffron threads – few
    • Chopped nuts – to garnish

    Please watch this video for clear understanding !

    METHOD

    • Read the instructions given on the pack. In MTR mix, its mentioned to add 1 part of water for 4 parts of mix. 400gms of sugar for 150 gms mix packet. So i followed the recipe accordingly.
    • Take sugar and water in a wide bowl and mix well. Keep aside, let it dissolve. In the mean time, take the gulab jamun mix in a wide plate. I used my thambalam/ big round plate. Usually I make chapati dough and other dough in my thambalam as its spacious and convenient to mix well. If the mix has more lumps, sieve it once.  Break the lumps with your fingers while sieving. Do not discard the residue. Add it to the ready mix and mix well again. I got around 1.5 cups of powder. If you are using ORKAY mix, do not sieve the mix. Just break the lumps with your hands.
      Gulab jamun recipe with mix
    • Now add the milk or water little by little and gather all the flour with your fingers. The mixture will become wet and very sticky. Do not worry. Gulab jamun will come out soft if the dough is sticky. I used 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp + 1 tsp milk. So add milk carefully at the end. If you add more milk, jamun will flatten and break. Do not knead the dough using your palm.Mixing should be done only with your fingers. Cover the dough with a plate or invert a bowl. Let it rest for 15 minutes to 1 hour.

    • In the mean time, heat sugar + water and melt it. Add saffron threads, cardamom or rose essence. Boil the syrup for 10 minutes in medium flame till the syrup turns slightly sticky to touch, glossy & resembles oil in consistency. Keep aside. Let the syrup becomes warm.
      Gulab jamun recipe with mtr mix
    • After 30 minutes, take the dough.It will be soft to touch.Do not knead it. Grease your palm with ghee. Make a big gooseberry sized ball by rolling the dough between your palm. Give gentle pressure and roll it continuously for 30 seconds to make it smooth and crack free. As the dough is sticky, jamun balls will not get cracks. If you feel there are cracks, just roll it tight. Cracks will disappear. I made around 20 balls.
      Gulab jamun recipe with mix
    • Heat oil in a kadai and when it gets heated , put a pinch of dough in the oil. If it rises to the top slowly, oil heat is perfect. Now stir the oil with a ladle in the corners. When the oil starts to rotate, drop the jamun balls. I cooked 4 per batch. Stir the oil continuously without touching the gulab jamun. You will find jamun rotate with oil and turns bigger in size. The color of jamun balls change slowly and it cooks uniformly. Once it turns golden brown, remove it in a tissue paper. Do not fry for long time. Jamun will become hard and it will not absorb the syrup. After frying, open & check if its cooked well. Leave the cooked jamun for 2-3 minutes in tissue paper and then drop in the sugar syrup. (If you feel difficult to stir the oil, just keep the flame low, add the balls, flip every now and then till jamun turns golden. Then remove it).
      Gulab jamun recipe with mix
    • If the sugar syrup becomes cold, heat till it becomes medium hot. i.e vapor should start to come from the syrup slightly. Deep fry all the balls in batches, drain in the tissue and drop in the syrup. Let the balls soak in syrup for one hour. It will soak well and almost double in size. Remove and arrange in a bowl. You can serve it as such or coat the balls in dry coconut powder or sugar powder. I felt sugar coating is tastier. Transfer the gulab jamun to a box and store it for 2 to 3 days.No need to refrigerate.
      Gulab jamun recipe with mix
    Enjoy !
    Tips
    • Adding milk for making the dough helps to give soft jamun. You can use water as well. My friend Swarna adds just a tsp of milk in the beginning and add then water to make the dough.
    • Dough should be really sticky to get soft Gulab jamun. If you have added more milk by mistake, don’t panic. Just cover the dough with a lid and let it rest for an hour.Grease your hands and make smooth balls.If it comes out without cracks, then proceed and deep fry only one ball for a trial. If it disperses in oil, then add a tsp of maida, mix well and make another ball. Test it and proceed further.  But adding more milk flatten the jamun. So please be careful while adding milk.
    • Jamun balls should be crack free. Roll it for 30 seconds continuously.This helps to seal the cracks while rolling. Do not press it too hard while rolling, but give gentle pressure.
    • Deep fry the balls only at low temperature else balls will get browned quickly without cooking inside.
    • Gulab jamun balls will disperse in oil  or cracks more if the oil temperature is too low. So Check the temperature before you drop the balls.
    • Similarly cracks will form if the jamun balls become dry.so keep it covered all the time till you finish the procedure.
    • Sugar syrup should not be too hot while you drop the jamun. It should be medium hot or warm. Similarly Gulab jamun should not be too cold. 
    • Gulab jamun will flatten if you add more milk. It will also flatten if the sugar syrup is less. Make sure the sugar syrup is enough for all the balls to absorb and dunk in completely.
    • If the quantity of sugar syrup is less, then jamun will not turn soft and double in size.
    Try this easy, mildly sweet dry jamun for a change. You will love it !
    Dry gulab jamun with ready mix

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