jumpy jumpy vitamins

Since SO many people are searching for the stuff and keep stumbling across this site, I figure I may as well post the recipe I have for it. Please note: you should start both components at the same time. (Last updated 10/07)

Jamun:

• 1 pound full-fat powdered milk. Recommended variety is Nestle Klim, but DO NOT get the “instant” variety.
  
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  
• 1 and a half teaspoons baking powder (NOTE: this has been modified to 2 tsp; read below)
  
• evaporated milk

Mix dry jamun ingredients thoroughly. Add evaporated milk until desired texture. Roll into balls and deep-fry until golden brown and cake-like throughout (they should begin to float when you get close). Drain on paper towel, and add jamun to syrup while still hot.

Syrup:

• 2 cups sugar
  
• 2 cups water
  
• spices to taste

Bring water and sugar to a simmer, stirring often. Add spices once sugar has been completely dissolved.

In this dish, I like pureed ginger and ground cardamom. You can use different spices if you like.

Seems simple, right? Well, the syrup part is.

While anybody can just throw the jamun ingredients together, it takes a certain degree of skill to throw them together right. There are two things (amount of evaporated milk in the jamun batter and oil temperature) which require lots of practice to get right; these are things I cannot easily convey, because they often vary based on your particular environment.

I do have a few tips for novice gulab jamun cooks, though.

• Only fry two or three jamun at a time. This makes it easier to keep tabs on each one, and it also keeps the oil from getting too cool when you add each new one.
  
• Every so often, cut a just-fried jamun in half with the edge of your spoon. If it’s cake-like and springy in the center, then you are gold. (add the halves to your syrup, and eat the halves while you cook the rest.) You may have to add some evaporated milk or adjust your oil temp accordingly. UPDATE: …or roll the balls smaller.
  
• Once your sugar is dissolved in your water, you can turn the heat down so that the syrup remains tepid. Don’t let the syrup cook down too far.
  
• These refrigerate well, keep for a day or so, and work pretty well cold, but your container MUST have a good airtight seal.
  
• In your syrup, you can keep smaller spices, like cardamom pods or cloves, whole. For proper flavor, though, you should break cinnamon sticks apart, grind big nutmeg pods, and grate or puree fresh ginger.

I don’t currently have any images of gulab jamun. However, if you want to see how they should look, this site has lots of pics.

UPDATE 10/07: R* and I made g.j. again last night for an office potluck today. We made a few tweaks and took notes.

• Add an extra half-teaspoon of baking powder, so that you have 2 tsp total. This’ll make them expand more as they fry, which is a Good Thing™.
• Make the dough balls about the size of a shooter marble.
• Don’t let too much time elapse between rolling the ball and dropping it in the hot oil; if the dough dries out too much then it will crack as it fries.
• Traditionally, these are fried in coconut oil, but all I had available at the time was corn oil. It did much better than canola oil!
• After you’re done, cover your oil and let it cool, then filter it and put it in a clean container. You can re-use it later if you store it properly.

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