When I was in Preschool, one particular teacher cared for me as her own child. Her name was Mamatha and she came to America with her daughter when she was a young mother. She left her home country of India to find a job in the United States.
Mamatha opened her arms to me everyday. When I fell down on the playground, she picked me up. When I was sad and missed home, she made me smile again. When Mamatha had leftovers from her dinner the night before, she even used to bring some to school for me to try. Sometimes she would give my mom extra Indian food that she had cooked for her children because she knew I liked it too. Mamatha introduced me to Indian food and my love for different cuisines. Since preschool, this love for eating and cooking foods from different cultures has grown.
I currently live around the corner from two Indian restaurants and an Indian grocery store, which allows my love of Indian food to thrive! I was in the Indian grocery store the other day and found a mix for Gulab Jamun, which is an Indian dessert made from fried milk curds that are soaked in a simple syrup. I immediately grabbed the box off of the shelf and proceeded to the check-out counter. This is how my Gulab Jamun-making experience went.
My first step was to read the instructions on the box. I am a college student, and although I usually try to figure things out without reading instructions (i.e. Ikea furniture, psychology exams, etc.), I channeled my inner pre-schooler and remembered to always follow instructions. The back of the box had easy-to-follow steps with cute little diagrams, so I was excited. Until I saw metric measurements that is.
This single box is said to make 100 Gulab Jamuns, which is just way too many for my boyfriend and I to eat on a Saturday night (yes, I will admit I enjoy staying in and making Indian desserts more than going to frat parties). I had to measure the entire box of mix, which I found to be 3 and 3/8 cups so that I could take 1/5th of the mix and just make 20 Gulab Jamuns.
Once I successfully measured and converted my measurements, I was able to conclude that I would need about 11 tablespoons of the mix and add about 2 fluid ounces, or 4 tablespoons of water or milk. This sounds a lot like a science fair project from sixth grade, I know. But, now that I did the conversions for you, nothing can stop you from your jammin' jamuns!
I mixed the 11 tablespoons of mix and 4 tablespoons of milk to create the dough. It looks like it might not come together right away, but just be patient! It will come together, I promise.
And, once it does, roll the dough into small 1 to 2 inch balls. Make sure the Jamuns do not have cracks by wetting your hands with water before rolling the dough.
Add enough oil to your pot so that the dough balls are at least halfway submerged. This will allow you to flip them once and get both sides equally cooked. Make sure the oil, which is over medium to low heat, is preheated before adding the dough. You can also test the oil by adding a piece of dough to see if it sizzles. I did about 3 batches, which ensures that the pot is not overcrowded and that the oil does not decrease in temperature.
Flip the dough balls when the first side is golden brown and remove them when both sides are cooked. Place the adorable dough pillows on a blanket of paper towels so the excess oil can drain off of them.
Now, start your simple syrup by adding equal parts of water and sugar to a pot. Bring the syrup to a boil and then turn the heat down so that the syrup can simmer for about 5 minutes and thicken.
The box mix suggested adding saffron and cardamom to the syrup to flavor it, but I am a college student on a budget. I do not have saffron in my pantry, sadly, so I used come cinnamon, clove, cardamom, nutmeg, and allspice. The spices are not necessary and can be substituted for whatever you like from your pantry!
Next, soak your Jamuns in the syrup. The longer they sit in the syrup, the better they are! We tried them after soaking them for an hour or so, but they were still fairly dense. I put them in a container in our fridge and poured the syrup over them.
The next day, we tried them again after they had soaked up the syrup overnight. They tasted just like the iconic Gulab Jamuns I have enjoyed so many times! The nostalgic flavors brought me back to my preschool days of exploring Indian cuisine with my favorite teacher, Mamatha.
I am so glad that boxed Gulab Jamun mix exists and I'm even more excited that they turned out so well. I will definitely be using this mix again in the future and I hope you do too!