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| India | Dessert

Gulab Jamun, a popular Indian dessert.

Gulab Jamun is a popular Indian and Pakistani sweet dish comprised of fried milk balls in a sweet syrup flavoured with cardamom seeds and rosewater or saffron. It originates from Bengal and is pronounced "Gulab Jambuh" in regional languages such as Gujarati. Mixes and finished products are often available in supermarkets, though it is still popular to make it from scratch.

Ingredients

Cooking

1. Preheat canola oil, 1.5-2 (4-5cm) inches deep in a small sauce pan. Oil should be at medium heat.
2. Add together the milk powder, Bisquick, and melted butter in a metal bowl.
3. Slowly add the warmed milk, 2T at a time. Use a wooden spoon to collect the dry ingredients into a dough ball. Continue adding milk until all dry ingredients have been collected. The dough should be firm and moist, but not sticky. If you put too much milk, add a bit more dry ingredients (maintaining the ratio of 3 parts milk powder to 1 part bisquick).
4. Roll into evenly sized balls (if they are not even, they will not cook at the same rate). As the balls dry out quickly, do not wait more than a few minutes before frying.
5. Drop a few balls into the oil (don't overfill - they will get larger as they heat). They will sink to the bottom, then float to the top of the oil. They must be stirred regularly to keep them browning evenly.
6. When dark brown, remove from the oil and place on paper to absorb the oil.
7. Repeat until all are made.

Syrup

1. Break cardamom seeds from their pods.
2. Separate seeds and bash to release flavor.
3. Mix water, syrup, and cardamom and heat for 10 minutes (do not overheat as syrup will caramelize).
4. Transfer to dishes and combine to soak finished Gulam Jamuns overnight.
5. Serve hot or cold.