Recipe(tried): Gulab Jamuns (fried milk balls in syrup)

Your request sounds like the recipe below. There are 2 versions of Gulab Jamuns. The method (2) is much easier to prepare at home. Even so, it’s still not as easy dessert as it appears. So be patient! The chenna/paneer in the method (1) can sometimes be bought in an asian grocer (depends on your area).

If this is not the one, maybe you want to include the name of that dish in “Indian” so I can look it up for you.

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Gulab Jamuns
(fried Milk Balls in syrup)

syrup:
6 cup water
5.5 lb sugar (no joke)
1/4 lime, juice and rind
3 cardamom pods (reserve the seeds for dough method (2))
2 t. rose-water

** rose water has a very strong flavor so if you are like me and many others who do not find it a “nice scent”, don’t use it.)
**if you like it thick, you can just use 2 c water to boil the syrup for 20 minutes. But this will make a very sweet version.

method (1)
2 lb. Khoa (condensed milk)
7 oz. Chenna /Paneer (homemade curd cheese)
2 T. plain flour
a pinch of baking soda
2 T. skinned pistachio nuts, chopped
oil for deep frying

Make the syrup by boiling the water and sugar together. Add lime juice, the rind after sqqeezing and only the skins of the cardamoms. Stirring from time to time, for about 10 minutes until thickened slightly. Keep aside to cool then add rose water for aroma.

Crumble the khoa and mix with chenna, flour, soda and pistachio nuts to make a soft dough. Make one very small ball for testing constancy.
Heat oil until moderately hot and add the ball. if it breaks apart, the mixture is too moist and a little flour should be mixed into the dough. When the mixture is of the correct constancy, shape into balls of about 2 inches in diameter and deep-fry a few at a time until golden brown. Drain the fried balls and put into the warm syrup. Serve warm (or at room temperature). **But common practice is to serve warm with syrup.

Khoa (condensed milk)
This makes about 3 oz. Khoa.

4 c fresh milk

bring the milk to the boil in a wide, heavy-bottomed pan, stirring constantly. Continue stirring over high heat until the milk change to a doughy constancy, which will take about 25 minutes.

Chenna/paneer (homemade curd cheese)

4 c fresh milk
1 T. lemon juice or 1T. vinegar mixed w/ 1 T. water

put the milk into a heavy-bottomed pan and bring slowly to the boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice (or vinegar with water) while the milk is still hot, stir vigorously until the milk starts to curdle. Strain through a muslin or cheesecloth until all the whey has drained off. The curds left are known as chenna and should be knead lightly to make smooth mixture, then refrigerated until needed for various desserts or curries.
To obtain paneer, wrap the cheese in the same cheesecloth and shape into an oblong or square. Wrap tightly and place it under a heavy weight for about 2 hours to compress it. Remove the weight and cut into desired shapes.

Method (2)

1 cup baby milk powder
3 T. S. R flour
2 T. cornflour (cornstarch)
t. baking soda
12 pistachio nuts
oil for deep frying

place the milk powder, flour, cornflour and soda in a mixing bowl. Pound the cardamom seeds slightly and add. Mix well. Gradually, adding 1 T. water at a time, add a total of 3-4 T. water and make a dough. Try to get some air into the dough by testing it with your hands a few times. Knead for 6-7 minutes. It will have a sticky texture. Finally put a little oil on your finger and on the dough. Toll the dough in the bowl. The bowl should now come clean. The dough should be soft, to roll into balls without cleavages, It tends tot harden quickly, so get ready to fry them immediately.

Heat the oil in a deep frying pan. First put the fire on high and after 3 minutes reduce to the lowest possible. Meanwhile divide the dough into 12 portions and roll each portions well to make balls about diameter, and stuff each with a pistachio nut.

Deep fry the dough balls over the lowest heat for 5-7 minutes until they are dark brown (golden). If they touch the hot metal of the pan they will stain and if the heat is high they will be uncooked inside. So stir constantly with a metal spoon to see that they are brown evenly. The stirring spoon will also prevent the oil from becoming too hot. The balls will expand in size when frying.

As soon as you remove the gulab jamuns, immerse them in the cooled sugar syrup, so that they are evenly coated with syrup and cover with a lid. They will be ready to eat after half an hour. They should be eaten warm, and should be warm up in the syrup. They can be stored in the fridge for 5-6 days, and reheated when needed.