Folks, it’s that time of the year when Celebration is in the air. For next few months until year end India will embrace fun frolic and festivities, which will be part of our daily life.
Starting with the festival where we celebrate the bond of love and affection in the relation of sister and brother- Raksha Bandhan, Indian cultural landscape will witness festivities of all kind in different parts of country.
In other words, it’s that time of the year that a foodie cherishes. Food are an integral part of our celebrations- or what that matter any celebrations in world are incomplete without food. Indians are known to possess biggest sweet tooth and Traditional Sweets are pivotal part of all the joyous moments in our life. To buttress this claim, I would like to state a fact that India is second largest producer of Sugar and the largest consumer. I guess it must be clear by now, how significant are sweets in our celebrations and festivals.
With Raksha Bandhan being just around the corner, I have been thinking of sharing a recipe that suits the theme of festivities and what could be better than my favorite- Gulab Jamun. There are several variations to this royal Indian dessert- my personal favorite being Khoa Gulab Jamun and Aloo Ke Gulab Jamun. Having shared the Khoa Gulab Jamun in past, it was an obvious choice for me to share the recipe of Potato version of Gulab Jamun.
One of the perpetual queries that we receive in the comment section of various forums is how one could make Gulab Jamun minus Khoa. This recipe should please all those readers and viewers who find procuring Khoa a difficult exercise to undertake. For this recipe Khoa is replaced with Aloo or Potatoes. The other essential ingredients for making of Jamun or the balls being milk powder and Maida (plain flour). One of the important steps in this recipe is boiling of the potatoes. You must ensure to boil the potatoes just enough until it gets cooked. Over boiling or pressure cooking of potatoes can make it mushy and to make balls from the mushy potatoes would mean adding Maida more than required. This essentially spoils the taste of Gulab Jamun making it harder with a ‘flour like taste’. Sugar Syrup is boiled until it attains one-thread consistency. You can watch the video for the exact measurement and the time required for achieving this consistency.
Without further ado let’s get going.
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 18-20
- 4 medium sized potatoes. Boiled and Grated Potatoes must be 200-225 grams
- 100 grams Milk Powder
- 2-3 tbsp=25 grams Maida/Plain Flour. We will use Maida as required for making the balls
- 2 cups=450 grams Sugar
- 1 and ½ cups=375 ml Water
- 1 tsp. Cardamom Powder
- 1 tbsp. Rose Water
- 8-10 Almond Flakes
- Few Saffron Strands
- Clarified Butter for Frying
- Cut Potatoes at middle and boil the cut Potatoes.
- Potatoes gets cooked enough in 15-20 mins. Insert a tooth pick and it must pierce through easily. Do not overcook the Potatoes else it would become mushy. Turn off the heat and take the cooked potatoes off the heat.
- We will now make Sugar Syrup. Heat 1 and ½ cups of water. Now add Sugar.
- Initially allow the Sugar to melt on high heat. If the sugar is high on impurities, you may add a lemon wedge to get rid of impurities. Now lower the heat, and boil sugar syrup until it attains one thread consistency.
- Sugar syrup attains desired consistency in 15 mins. Now add Saffron threads, Cardamom Powder, Almond flakes, Rose water. Turn off the heat and Keep the Sugar Syrup covered.
- We will grate the boiled potatoes. In a large bowl, put grated potatoes. Add Milk Powder and just enough Plain Flour to make a smooth and soft dough. Knead well and ensure there are no lumps in the dough. We have used 1.5 tbsp. Plain Flour while kneading to form a soft dough.
- Take small portions from dough and roll them into small balls. Grease a plate with some ghee to prevent sticking of balls.
- Jamuns are ready to fry. This quantity makes 18-20 Jamuns.
- Ghee must not be too hot. Maintain the temperature to moderate. Fry in batches on low heat. Fry these balls until they are evenly fried and are light brown in color. At this stage, take them off the heat.
- Dip the first batch in sugar syrup, when second batch of balls are fried. Ensure that the sugar syrup is lukewarm. Roll the Jamuns in sugar syrup with a spoon. Soak Jamuns in Sugar Syrup for an hour.
- Happy Raksha Bandhan
Click here to watch recipe video
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