Recently, our friend Kamilla Hemandas dropped by the orphanage with a large container of a favourite Indian dessert I have been missing for the longest time, the Gulab Jamon. Together with this precious treat came DVD’s of some Bollywood flicks I missed watching.

Yes! Apart from Indian food, I am also a big fan of those jiggy-tear-jerky Bollywood movies that gets you on a roller coaster ride of emotions through song and dance . . . very much like the Tagalog movies of today . . . Tee hee!

Gulab Jamon or gulab jamun (pronounced gul-aab jaa-mun) is a popular sweet dessert in the Indian/Pakistani sub-continent. Gulab jamons are fried milk balls of dough made from flour and milk served with sugar syrup flavoured with rosewater, saffron, or cardamon.

My first taste of the gulab jamon was way back in the mid-eighties while posted in Bahrain in the Middle East. My former Indian colleagues introduced me to this dessert and then taught me how to make it. In the Middle East, there is a similar Arabic dessert called lu’mat al-adi (judge’s bread in Arabic) which uses rosewater essence and honey to flavour the syrup.

Here’s a tweaked recipe of that exotic dessert . . .

GULAB JAMON

Ingredients (Jamon):
2 cups powdered milk
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups (or less) heavy cream

Ingredients (Syrup):
3 cups sugar
7 cups water
2 teaspoons cardamon powder (optional)
1/4 teaspoon saffron (optional)
Rose Water essence or extract
(optional and according to taste)

Method:

Make the syrup: Boil sugar and water together until mixture dissolves and turns into thread-like consistency. Remove from heat and add cardamon powder, saffron, and rosewater essence. Set syrup aside.

Make the dough: In a bowl, mix by hand milk, flour, and baking soda. Gradually mix in heavy cream to form slightly sticky, soft dough.

Form dough into small sized balls about ¾ of an inch diameter. Set aside and cover with a damp cloth.

Fry the jamons (balls): In a deep frying pan or wok, heat 4 cups of oil.

Fry balls a few at a time to an even golden brown anywhere from 5 to 7 minutes. When browned, drain the oil off the milk balls in a paper-lined platter or tray.

Dip the balls into the syrup then transfer onto a serving dish.

After all the balls have been prepared and dipped into the syrup, boil the syrup again for about 15 minutes, or until syrup becomes thicker.

Pour over the balls and let the syrup soak in for a few hours before serving.

To serve: Gulab jamon may be served hot or cold: topped with whipped cream or a la mode with vanilla ice cream. In India and the Middle East though, locals eat the jamons warm as is. The jamons may aslo be kept refrigerated (or frozen) for as long as 5 days and may be reheated by pouring hot syrup over the defrosted balls.