Make one of the most popular Indian sweet, Gulab Jamun two ways. My step-by-step photo guide will help you to make these Indian treat perfectly every single time. I share the traditional method of making Gulab Jamun with Khoya (milk solids) and the cheat’s version made with Milk Powder. Choose to make any Gulab Jamun Recipe depending on the ingredients you have.
Table of Contents
What is Gulab Jamun?
Gulab Jamun is a very popular Indian sweet made from deep fried balls of milk based dough that are soaked in sugary syrup. It is a favorite dessert of ours, and we often serve it for weddings, birthdays, festivals, parties or even as a post-prandial treat.
Gulab jamun can literally be translated to “rose berries,” and are so named because the sugar syrup is scented with rose water and the fried dough balls are a similar size to a dark purple berry known as black plum or java plum.
Traditionally, gulab jamun is made with dried milk solids, also known as khoya or mawa in Hindi. This method yields the best tasting and most melt-in-your-mouth texture.
An easy version is also made with milk powder, in case you don’t have access to khoya. In this post I am sharing both versions, so choose your own adventure!
About This Traditional Recipe
Authentic Gulab Jamun is always made with khoya or mawa (evaporated milk solids). Khoya is made by continuously simmering the milk on a low heat until most of the moisture evaporates.
There are 3 different types of khoya that you get in an Indian market. To make this gulab jamun recipe, you need to use either “chikna khoya” or “dhaap khoya”. This variety has more moisture than the other two types of khoya, ‘danedar khoya’ and ‘batti khoya’.
Besides khoya, you will also need paneer to make the jamun. The addition of these two ingredients gives the balls a soft, tender texture that is very addictive.
My gulab jamun recipe is an easy one that yields delicious, soft and tasty sweet. It is adapted from the recipe we learned at cooking school, and I have been making it for decades. It has never once failed!
How to Make Gulab Jamun (Traditional Recipe)
Follow along with my easy pictorial guide below to make the best gulab jamun you’ve ever eaten!
Make The Dough
1. Take 1 cup khoya or mawa (200 grams) in a bowl. Soft khoya also known as ‘daap ka khoya’ or ‘chikna khoya’ is used. This is a soft khoya, so it mashes and kneads very well.
2. Mash khoya very well, ensuring there are no lumps or small bits lurking.
3. Then add ¾ cup (100 grams) grated paneer, 2 tablespoons fine rava (semolina), 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon baking powder and ½ teaspoon cardamom powder to the mashed khoya.
There should be no lumps in either the mawa or paneer. If there are lumps, then the texture is not even and smooth. The bits and pieces of mawa or paneer give a bite while eating.
4. Mix well.
5. Add 1 tablespoon milk and gather together to form a dough with milk. Don’t knead, just gently mix.
If you are unable to form balls or if the mixture appears dry, then add a few teaspoons of milk and mix again. Cover the dough and set aside for 30 minutes.
Make Sugar Syrup
6. Mix 1.75 cups (250 grams) sugar in 1 cup water.
7. On a medium-low flame, heat the sugar solution till it becomes thick and sticky. Just be sure to switch off the heat before the syrup reaches a one thread consistency.
I used raw sugar here, which contributes to the dark color of the syrup.
8. Add rose water and stir. Set the sugar solution aside.
If the sugar syrup crystallizes while cooling, then just add 2 to 3 tablespoons water and warm the syrup again. Stir while warming the syrup. The sugar crystals will disappear.
Shape and Fry
9. After 30 minutes, make small balls from the dough without cracks. Cover the dough balls and set aside.
10. Heat oil until it is medium-hot. Lower the heat to a medium-low or low and wait for a minute. Then gently place a single dough ball in the oil.
If the dough ball breaks when frying, then add some more maida (about 1-2 tablespoons) to the dough. Mix gently again. Set aside for fifteen minutes, then shape and fry.
11. Once the jamun start to have tiny golden spots, keep on rotating them in the oil so that the balls are evenly browned. Since I was taking the photos, I browned a few of them more.
12. Remove the fried dough balls and then place them on paper towels to remove extra oil.
Soak Jamun in Sugar Syrup
13: Place the hot fried dough balls in the sugar syrup. Continue to fry the rest of the dough balls in batches, giving them a quick drain on paper towels before adding them to the sugar syrup while they are still hot.
14. When all the gulab jamun are placed in the sugar syrup, then keep the whole pan on a low flame for 1 to 2 minutes. Heating helps the jamun to absorb the syrup and become soft.
The gulab jamun will increase a bit in size during this soaking process. Don’t overcook them, as then they can break. Use a large enough pan so that the fried jamun balls are not overcrowded and you can easily stir them gently while they are simmering.
15. Serve gulab jamun warm or at room temperature. You can also chill them and serve them cold. Garnish them with rose petals or almond slivers. Enjoy!
How to make Milk Powder Gulab Jamun
This gulab jamun recipe made with milk powder is a cheat’s version but tastes equally good. This recipe comes handy if you don’t have khoya or paneer readily available.
All you need is milk powder, curd (yogurt), sugar and water to make tasty gulab jamun at home.
This version made with milk powder is soft, melt in the mouth and taste delicious with a milky taste.
For making these it is important to get the right texture in the jamun dough. If you get it right, then making them is a cakewalk and you won’t feel like buying them from outside.
I have mentioned all the tips and suggestions in the steps which can become a bit tricky, if not rightly done. So please take your time to read each step carefully.
Make Sugar Syrup
1. First stir the sugar, water, green cardamom powder and saffron strands in a pan and keep it on fire. I have kept the cardamoms peels and these can be discarded when serving.
2. Gently bring to a boil and continue to stir occasionally.
3. Add some chopped pistachios in the syrup. An optional step but tastes good. Make a thick syrup and switch off the heat much before the sugar solution reaches a one thread consistency.
You can cook the sugar syrup till it reaches a half string consistency. On cooling, if the sugar syrup crystallizes, then just add 2 to 3 tablespoons water and warm the syrup again. It will again return to a liquid state.
Preparing Milk Powder Dough
4. Mix the 1 cup milk powder, ¼ cup all-purpose flour or maida, a pinch of baking soda, a pinch of salt (optional) in a mixing bowl.
Add 1 teaspoon oil OR ½ teaspoon ghee and 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh curd or yogurt.
5. Just mix everything lightly. Add some more curd if the mixture looks dry. Don’t over mix or knead. You don’t want gluten to form, so just mixing well is enough.
The all-purpose flour is just added to bind the mixture. If gluten forms then the dough balls become dense and won’t absorb any of the sugar syrup and the jamun will not be soft.
6. The mixture will be sticky but smooth. Apply some oil on your palms and make small balls from the dough.
These dough balls almost double when frying and also increase when soaked in the sugar syrup. So don’t make large sized balls.
There should be no cracks on the dough balls. They should be smooth. If there are cracks, then just add some 1 or 2 teaspoons of curd or milk to the mixture and continue making the balls. Once done, then cover the balls with a kitchen towel.
Fry Milk Powder Balls
7. Heat oil for deep frying in a kadai or a pan. When the oil becomes medium hot, lower the flame. Add a small ball in the oil. The ball should slowly rise to the top from the bottom.
If it does not rise then, the oil is not hot enough. If it rises quickly and browns also quickly, then the oil is too hot to fry.
If the small ball does not crack or break while frying, you are alright to proceed further. If it cracks, then just add some 1 or 2 teaspoons flour to the dough and form the balls again.
In an ideal case, the dough ball should not crack and should rise slowly to the top and should not get browned quickly.
8. When you know the oil is hot enough and on a low or medium-low flame, then add 3 to 4 balls or more depending on the capacity of your kadai or pan. The balls have to be stirred with a slotted spoon frequently to get even browning.
If there are handles on the pan, you can just lightly shake the pan so that the balls are evenly fried without using the spoon.
But take care as hot oil is there in the pan. The balls should also not become browned too soon. They have to be cooked from the insides too.
9. Keep on turning until they become golden. If the oil becomes cold, then don’t fry the balls. Increase the temperature and then fry.
Otherwise, they would have a hard crisp thick cover when fried in a less hot oil and they won’t absorb the sugar syrup. Plus they would absorb a lot of oil too.
10. When the balls are evenly golden and browned, remove from the slotted spoon and add them directly into the sugar syrup. Keep them in the sugar syrup for at least 1 to 2 hours before serving.
This is done so that they soaks up the sugar syrup which will make them soft and sweet. That’s why in the mithai shops, the gulab jamun are always soaked in sugar syrup.
If you feel the jamun is not soaking in the sugar syrup, then warm the entire sugar syrup with the jamuns for a couple of minutes on stove-top. Cover and keep aside. Just warm them, don’t heat.
11. Gulab jamun can be served warm or cold. If they are at room temperature, then warm in the microwave and serve them topped with sugar syrup and garnished with pistachios or almond slices.
Expert Tips and FAQs
I have compiled below tips and frequently asked questions based upon the queries received from the readers in the comments section.
How to perfectly fry?
Making gulab jamun isn’t difficult, but there are some things you should know about deep frying.
- First, the oil has to be heated till it is medium hot. Then reduce flame to a medium-low or low and wait for a minute. Start by testing just a single gulab jamun to make sure that the oil is hot enough to bubble, but not so hot that the outsides get cooked before the insides get a chance.
- If the oil is on the cooler side, then the jamun will become soggy with oil.
- If the oil is very hot, then the balls get browned quickly with the inside portion being under cooked.
- Once the jamun dough balls start to have tiny light golden spots on them, then keep on rotating them with a slotted spoon in the oil often. This way the jamun will have an even golden color.
- Traditionally gulab jamun are fried in ghee. You can go the traditional way if you want, or just fry them in a neutral oil as I have done.
Why does my gulab jamun break on frying?
There are several possibilities:
- If there is too much moisture in the dough, the jamun will break in the oil.
- Too much baking powder can also result in the jamun breaking and disintegrating in oil.
- When frying the temperature should not be too high or too low.
- If you don’t add enough of the binding ingredients like maida or rava (sooji), then this can cause the jamun to break.
- As soon as you add the jamun dough balls in the oil, then let them become slightly crisp and only then turn them.
- When making jamun dough ball, there should be no cracks on it. If you see cracks then add some more milk in the dough mixture. Mix, rest and then form the jamun again.
Why has gulab jamun become hard?
First, check your ingredient proportions. If there is less moisture in the jamun, it may become hard.
The jamun dough has to be mixed and not kneaded. If the dough is kneaded then the gulab jamun will become hard.
When you knead the dough, gluten strands will form which will make the jamun dense and heavy, and prevent them from soaking up the syrup.
Even if they are slightly dense they won’t absorb the syrup and thus remain hard. In fact when frying gulab jamun, it should feel like very light spongy balls. You will feel the lightness in them.
Why is my gulab jamun too soft?
The sugar syrup should have a sticky consistency, not watery. If the sugar syrup is watery, then the jamun absorbs too much sugar syrup, which often results in them breaking in the syrup.
Recipe Variations
There are many variations of gulab jamun. The variations vary with the ingredients used or the cooking technique applied. Some of the variations that I have already shared are:
More Awesome Indian Sweets!
Sweets Recipes
Sweets Recipes
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Bengali Recipes
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Gulab Jamun Recipe
Ingredients
For the jamun dough
- 1 cup Khoya or mawa – 200 grams
- ¾ cup grated paneer – 100 grams of paneer (Indian cottage cheese)
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sooji (rava or semolina), finer variety
- 4 green cardamoms – powdered in a mortar-pestle or ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
- 1 tablespoon milk or add as required
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- oil for deep frying – as required
For sugar syrup
- 1.75 cups sugar – 250 grams
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon rose water
- 1 tablespoon milk (optional) – read notes
Instructions
Making dough
- Take khoya (mawa or evaporated milk) in a bowl. Mash it very well. There should be no lumps. You can also grate and then mash the khoya.
- Then add grated paneer, rava (sooji), all purpose flour (maida), baking powder and cardamom powder to the mashed khoya. There should be no lumps in both the mawa and paneer.
- As if they are there, then you will find the texture of the gulab jamun not so good. The bits and pieces of mava or paneer will give a bite in the mouth, when you have the gulab jamun. They won’t be smooth.
- Mix well. Add milk and gather together to form a dough with milk. Don’t knead.
- Just gently mix. If you are unable to form balls or if the mixture appears dry, then add a few teaspoons of milk. Cover the dough and keep aside for 30 mins.
- Make small balls from the dough. Cover the balls and keep aside.
Making sugar syrup
- Dissolve sugar in water. Heat the sugar solution till it become sticky. You just need to switch off the fire before the syrup reaches a one thread consistency.
- Add rose water and stir. Keep the sugar solution aside. On cooling if the sugar syrup crystallizes, then just add 2 to 3 tbsp water and warm the syrup again. It will again return to a liquid state.
Frying
- Meanwhile, while the sugar syrup is cooking, heat oil till its medium hot. Lower the flame and wait for a minute. Then gently place the dough balls in the oil.
- Once they start to have tiny golden spots, keep on rotating them in the oil, so that the jamun are evenly browned.
- Remove the fried jamun and then drain them on kitchen paper towels to remove excess oil.
Making gulab jamun
- Then place the hot fried dough balls in the sugar syrup. Continue frying the rest of the dough balls in batches.
- When all the jamuns are placed in the sugar syrup, then keep the whole pan with the sugar syrup and the gulab jamun, on a low flame for 1 to 2 minutes till the jamun become soft.
- Heating helps the gulab jamun to absorb the syrup and become soft. The jamun increase a bit in size. Don’t overcook as then the jamun can break.
- Use a large pan, so that the jamuns are not overcrowded and you can easily stir them gently while they are simmering.
- Serve gulab jamun warm or at room temperature. You can also chill them and serve them cold. Garnish with rose petals or almond slivers.
Notes
Recipe Tips and Notes
1. Gulab jamun falls apart while frying: The jamuns will fall apart of break in oil, If there is too much moisture in the dough. More baking powder in the dough can also result in the same. Frying at a very high heat or a low heat will result in the jamuns cracking or falling apart. If the dough has less binding ingredients like all purpose flour or rava (sooji), this would break them in the oil. While frying as soon as you add the jamun dough balls in the oil, then let them become slightly crisp, firm up and then only turn them. 2. Dense gulab jamuns: Less moisture in the jamun dough will make them hard and dense. The jamun dough has to be mixed and not kneaded. If the dough is kneaded then the gulab jamun will become chewy. When you knead the dough, gluten strands will form which will make the jamun dense and heavy. 3. Very soft gulab jamuns: The sugar syrup should have a sticky consistency. They should not have a watery consistency. If the sugar syrup is watery, then the jamun absorbs more sugar syrup resulting in it being super soft and can even break in the sugar syrup. 4. Tip to remove sugar impurities: If the sugar syrup has impurities, then add milk and simmer. A layer of scum will be formed. Remove this layer with a spoon.Frying Notes
- First, the oil has to be heated till it is medium hot. Then reduce flame to a medium-low or low and wait for a minute. Then gently place the jamun dough balls in the oil.
- Once the jamun dough balls start to have tiny light golden spots on them, then keep on rotating them with a slotted spoon in the oil often. This way the jamun will have an even golden color.
- Also do note that if the oil is on the cooler side, then the jamun will absorb more oil and can crack or break too.
- If the oil is very hot, then the balls get browned quickly with the inside portion being under cooked.
- Traditionally gulab jamun are fried in ghee. You can go the traditional way if you want or just fry them in oil as I have done.
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
Milk Powder Gulab Jamun
Ingredients
For the Jamun
- 1 cup milk powder
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon oil OR ½ teaspoon ghee
- 1 pinch salt (optional)
- 1 pinch baking soda
- 1 to 2 tablespoon s Curd (yogurt)
- some blanched pistachios or almond slices for garnishing
For the sugar syrup
- 1 cup water
- 1.5 cups sugar
- 3 to 4 green cardamoms – husked and crushed or powdered or ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
- 1 pinch saffron – optional
- 1 tablespoon rose water – optional
Instructions
Making dough balls
- First stir the sugar, water, cardamom powder and saffron in a pan and keep it on fire. I have kept the cardamoms peels and these can be discarded when serving.
- Gently bring to a boil and continue to stir occasionally.
- Add some pistachios in the syrup. An optional step but tastes good. Make a thick syrup and switch off the fire much before the sugar solution reaches a one thread consistency.
- You can cook the sugar syrup till it reaches a half string consistency. On cooling, if the sugar syrup crystallizes, then just add 2 to 3 tablespoons water and warm the syrup again. It will again return to a liquid state.
- Mix the 1 cup milk powder, ¼ cup all-purpose flour or maida, a pinch of baking soda, a pinch of salt (optional) in a mixing bowl. Add 1 teaspoon oil OR ½ teaspoon ghee and 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh curd or yogurt.
- Just mix everything lightly. Add some more curd if the mixture looks dry. Don’t over mix or knead.
- You don’t want gluten to form, so just mixing well is enough. The all-purpose flour is just added to bind the mixture. If gluten forms then the dough balls become dense and won’t absorb any of the sugar syrup and the jamun will not be soft.
- The mixture will be sticky but smooth. Apply some oil on your palms and make small balls from the dough. These dough balls almost double when frying and also increase when soaked in the sugar syrup. So don’t make large sized balls.
- There should be no cracks on the dough balls. They should be smooth. If there are cracks, then just add some 1 or 2 teaspoons of curd or milk to the mixture and continue making the balls. Once done, then cover the balls with a kitchen towel.
Frying
- Heat oil for deep frying in a kadai or a pan. When the oil becomes medium hot, lower the flame.
- Add a small ball in the oil. The ball should slowly rise to the top from the bottom. If it does not rise then, the oil is not hot enough. If it rises quickly and browns also quickly, then the oil is too hot to fry.
- If the small ball does not crack or break while frying, you are alright to proceed further. If it cracks, then just add some 1 or 2 teaspoons flour to the dough and form the balls again. In an ideal case, the dough ball should not crack and should rise slowly to the top and should not get browned quickly.
- When you know the oil is hot enough and on a low flame or medium-low flame, then add 3 to 4 balls or more depending on the capacity of your kadai or pan.
- The balls have to be stirred with a slotted spoon frequently to get even browning. If there are handles on the pan, you can just lightly shake the pan so that the balls are evenly fried without using the spoon. But take care as hot oil is there in the pan. The balls should also not become browned too soon. They have to be cooked from the insides too.
- Keep on turning the balls until they become golden. If the oil becomes cold, then don’t fry the balls. Increase the temperature and then fry. Otherwise, the balls would have a hard crisp thick cover when fried in a less hot oil and they won’t absorb the sugar syrup. Plus they would absorb a lot of oil too.
Soaking jamun in sugar syrup
- When the balls are evenly golden and browned, remove from the slotted spoon and add them directly into the sugar syrup.
- Keep the fried golden balls in the sugar syrup for at least 1 to 2 hours before serving. This is done so that the jamun soaks up the sugar syrup which will make them soft and sweet. That’s why in the mithai shops, the gulab jamun are always soaked in sugar syrup.
- If you feel the jamun is not soaking in the sugar syrup, then warm the whole gulab jamun along with the sugar syrup on stove-top for a couple of minutes. Cover and set aside. Just warm them, don’t heat.
- Gulab jamun can be served warm or cold. If they are at room temperature, then warm in the microwave and serve them topped with sugar syrup and garnished with pistachios or almond slices.
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
This Gulab Jamun recipe post from the archives first published in August 2014 has been republished and updated on October 2022.
have made this sweet dish before and have to say although it takes a bit of patience it is totally worth it…
and i recommend really sticking to the instructions and you will get a far better result than you would have expect it !!
also next day the gulab is far more rich as it had time to soak in all the goodness of the flavours that the syrup has to offer !! Bon appetit 😉