Baked Gulab Jamun

Yep, gulab jamun is another one of those fried Indian delights that I love. Gulab jamuns are powdered milk dough balls that are normally fried, then soaked in syrup. Since, I’m a health freak - I wanted to see if I could bake them. It sounds like a radical idea, but I wanted to try it!

The result was pretty good! I made a batch in a day in advance at around 9:00 pm. I wanted to try one, but then we ended up eating the whole batch! I obviously had to make another batch the following day. They were soft and had absorbed a decent amount of cardamom spiced syrup.

Although they aren’t as dark or as puffy as the real deal, but they are a good alternative for the health conscious person who really feels like gulab jamun.


BAKED GULAB JAMUN
Makes 10 or serves 2
Adapted from Manjula’s Kitchen – Gulab Jamun

Ingredients
180 ml (¾ c) water
150 g (¾ c) sugar
2 cardamom pods, seeds removed and coarsely ground
70 g (½ c) no-fat milk powder
2 T plain (all-purpose) flour
1 t bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1 ½ T unsalted butter
2 T milk/milk alternative
½ T sliced almonds/pistachios to garnish (optional)

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F.

2. Line a baking tray (pan) with parchment paper.

3. In a small saucepan, place the water, sugar and ground cardamom, bring to the boil and allow to boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, stir until the sugar is dissolved and set aside.

4. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the milk powder, flour and baking soda. Rub the butter in to the mix until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the milk to make a soft, but sticky dough. Allow to rest for 2-3 minutes.

5. If the dough is now too dry, add a little more milk. The dough should be very slightly sticky (tacky) and soft.

6. Grease your hands before working with the dough. Divide the dough into 10 equal sized pieces and roll into neat balls, place each onto the prepared baking tray (pan). Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes, turning half way. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes* before soaking the gulab jamuns in the syrup. Soak for at least 20 minutes, garnish with almonds/pistachios and serve. Enjoy!

* If you don’t allow the gulab jamun to cool before soaking them in the syrup, you will end up with rubbery gulab jamuns.