BREAD GULAB JAMUNS (IN JAGGERY SYRUP)

Bread Gulab Jamuns in Jaggery syrup is a quick and easy Indian dessert using just bread slices, milk and jaggery!

This quick dessert, using fresh bread slices (readily available in everyone's pantry) is the easy and instant way to enjoy the quintessential dessert/sweet of India, “ gulab jamuns”, made traditionally with milk solids and soaked in a sugar syrup!

With just a few bread slices, some jaggery/sugar and milk, you are on your way to biting into one of these juicy, scrumptious delights!

It is a decadent, juicy, melt-in-your mouth deep fried whole milk solids dumpling or ball of dough steeped in a saffron/rose water and cardamom infused sugar syrup!

Every bite of this syrupy Indian dessert transports you into an exotic dessert world!

6 slices of whole wheat bread (or any bread you prefer; it should be soft)

Milk; about 3 to 4 tablespoons

1 cup jaggery (unrefined cane sugar)

1 cup water

6 to 8 green cardamom seeds, powdered

Ghee/clarified butter or oil for frying

Chopped pistachios for garnish

In a saucepan, heat jaggery and water on medium heat, stirring in between until the jaggery is fully dissolved. At this stage, if you feel the jaggery may have some impurities, strain into another saucepan.

Bring the syrup to a boil and gently simmer for 5 minutes. Add cardamom powder and set aside.

Instead of jaggery, you can use granulated sugar too.

Remove the sides from bread slices.

Crumble or tear the slices into smaller pieces to make it easier to powder.

Place them in a blender jar and whiz to make fine crumbs. Please ensure you have fine crumbs or else your jamuns will not be smooth and round.

Remove to a bowl and add 3 to 4 tablespoons of milk, adding each tablespoon one by one until you can gather the crumbs to form a dough.

Make a soft dough; DO NOT KNEAD! Kneading will make the jamuns hard and dense. We need a light, fluffy dough which has just been mixed smooth.

Using light hands make small balls of the dough, gently smoothening the outside without pressing too much!

Heat oil/ghee on medium low heat.

Gently slide the bread dough balls into the warm oil and fry, tossing them in the oil to fry them on all sides.

The key to making perfect gulab jamuns is frying on low to medium low flame to allow them to be cooked and fried through and through.

If you fry them on high heat, they will turn brown on the outside, but the inside will still be uncooked.

Fry until golden brown and then remove them onto a plate.

Do not overcrowd the pan to ensure even cooking and fry in batches.

Once the jamuns are fried, soak them in hot jaggery syrup, covered loosely for at least 1 hour for all the juicy syrup to permeate the whole jamuns!

Just before serving, top with sliced or slivered pistachios for more flavor and texture!

It is best enjoyed when warm. They go perfect with some ice cream too! Just scoop vanilla ice cream into a bowl, top with hot gulab jamuns and enjoy!

Happy Cooking!