• Please read a ton of tips, tricks and notes in the blog post above. They will help you immensely in successfully making gulab jamun at home.

Make The Dough

• Sift milk powder, flour, and baking soda into a large mixing bowl.
• Pour in the melted ghee. Use your fingers to gently mix until it feels like damp sand.
• Add milk a little at a time (1–2 tablespoons) and bring the mixture together into a soft, smooth dough. This dough can get wet pretty easily. Towards the end, as dough starts coming together, add 1 tablespoon milk only. I needed a little more than ½ cup milk, but you may need less or more depending on the milk powder.
• Do not knead hard. The dough should be smooth, not sticky, not dry, and without cracks. If you knead too much, that will activate the gluten and the gulab jamun will not soak syrup and will turn hard.
• Grease your hands with ½ teaspoon ghee. Divide the dough into 22–25 equal parts. Do not make big dough balls as the Gulab Jamun expand in size during frying and soaking.

  For even size, you can weigh the portions. If you want smaller Gulab Jamun, you roll about 28-30 pieces from the dough.
• With greased palms, roll each piece into a smooth ball with no cracks. Place on a plate and cover with cling film so they don’t dry out.

Prepare The Chashni (Sugar Syrup)

• In a large and wide mouthed pot, add water and sugar. Heat on low-medium until the sugar completely dissolves. If you see scum on top, remove it with a spoon.

  Tip #1 - It is important to use a wide enough pot to make sugar syrup so that once you add the fried dough balls, they are in a single layer. The gulab jamun will slightly grow in size as they soak in syrup and we want enough space for that process.
• Once sugar is dissolved, let the syrup simmer 4-6 minutes and then switch off the stove. Don't thicken the syrup. We are not looking for any thread consistency.
• Add cardamom powder, lemon juice, rose water, and saffron. Stir and keep the syrup warm.

  Tip #2 - Make sure that your sugar syrup is not thick to begin with, else the jamuns won't be able to absorb it due to its viscosity. If the syrup is watery, the gulan jamun will be soggy. It should feel sticky between thumb & finger but not thin or thick.

Deep Fry and Soak The Gulab Jamun

• Set oil or ghee for deep frying to heat up in a deep cooking pot. Make sure that the oil quantity is enough (about 3 inches) so that the gulab jamuns remain fully submerged while deep frying. Heat oil + ghee for frying on low-medium. The oil should be deep enough to fully cover the gulab jamuns.
• Test the oil with a small piece of dough. It should rise slowly without sizzling or turning brown. If it sizzles too much, reduce the heat and let the oil cool slightly.
• Gently add 6–8 dough balls at a time into the oil. Do not crowd the pan. Initially they will sit at bottom but slowly they will rise up. They will increase in size as they fry and air pockets form. Some may even flip over by themselves, which is a good sign.
• Fry for 5–7 minutes per batch, stirring gently until evenly golden brown on all sides. Keep the heat steady. Some foam in the oil is normal.
• Once golden brown, lift the fried gulab jamun balls out with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towels for 4-7 seconds, then add them while still warm to the sugar syrup. The syrup should be hot but not boiling.
• Fry the rest of the balls and add them to the syrup right away.
• f the syrup has cooled down too much, place the pot back on very low heat for about a minute. Do not let it boil, or the jamuns may break.
• Cover the pot and let the gulab jamun soak in the syrup for at least 4–5 hours before serving.