Gulab Jamuns Made from Scratch!

Yes, you read the title right, its not from a mix, and no you do not need Khoya!

Jamuns with slivered Almonds

I learnt to make these from Santosh, a good friend of mine. She ran a successful catering business  and is a great cook. I really enjoyed learning the recipe from her. Also equally enjoyed the Punjabi Kadhi with ghee on top and the Baingan Bharta that I had (while learning) for lunch at her place :)

By far, these are the best Jamuns I have ever had in my life. That's saying something because I don't have a sweet tooth.

Well, here it is
You will need
a Food Scale
a Deep fryer (optional) for best results.

For Jamuns: (to make 30 small round jamuns or 20 oblong ones)

3oz of Bisquick Pancake Mix
4 oz of Milk Powder
5 oz of Heavy Cream.

For Sugar Syrup. (for above measurement)

2 Cups Sugar
2 Cups Water
Saffron - a pinch

In a heavy bottomed pan, add both sugar and water, Mix and let boil on a medium flame. Once the sugar is melted add the saffron, switch the stove off and let cool. Please note the syrup will be thin. Not thread consistency. Should easily flow from the spoon.

If you are making it in summer, start with placing the Heavy Cream in the freezer before measuring your ingredients. (For about few minutes so it will be extra cold)
 Measure the above ingredients to a tee.
Mix the dry ingredients (Bisquick, Milk Powder) well.
Then slowly add the Heavy cream to it, and make in to a nice soft dough. It should be soft to touch and not be sticky.
This usually takes 5 to 10 minutes of kneading.
Now just divide the dough in two and then make small balls out of them. Make sure they are almost the same size, so they will all get cooked evenly.
You can make oblong ones or round ones.
The oblong ones are trickier, if not made well, they might break in oil.

If you have a fryer, add enough oil and keep it a temperature of 350 deg. Otherwise, in a kadai, make sure the oil is hot but not too hot. Santosh says to keep extra oil on the side, so if the oil in kadai gets hot, add some to cool it down.
I made it once in a kadai and the next time in a fryer. I felt the fryer jamuns turned out better, because the temperature was maintained through out and also it was not oily. I also added a bit of ghee in the oil the second time around.

When you fry them, move the oil around with the ladle, but try not to touch the jamuns.
In the fryer it takes a good 1 to 2 minutes for them to become completely golden brown.

Once the jamuns are fried, just drop it in the sugar syrup immediately. They absorb the sugar water and double in size :)

The variation to this is Kala Jamun. With the same measurement, to the dough add, a tablespoon of sugar. This caramelizes and the jamuns become dark.

Decorative ideas,

- You could make oblong or round ones, and place them in cupcake liners.
- Cut the Jamuns in Half, get the pastry decoration from a store, and make designs on them

- you can sprinkle almonds or any other kinds of nuts.

When the jamuns are cool and have absorbed the syrup. You store them in the fridge for up to a week. 

When making it for a party, these can be made a day ahead. Will taste much better too. 

Rava Kesari / ரவா கேசரி

Rava Kesari / Sojji 

                                               
Rava Kesari is a traditional Tamil Sweet. This is also called Sojji by Tamilians.
Rava is called Sooji in Hindi, it is nothing but coarse wheat.
Traditionally this is made with Bajji, when the groom comes over to the Bride's house to 'officially' see the girl in an arranged marriage.
The measurements I have given will give at least 10 servings. You might think that is a lot of ghee but, it is a sweet after all and you need that much ghee to make it melt in your mouth :)
It doesn't take long to make...

You will need: (for about 10 servings)
Rava- 1/2 Cup
Sugar - 3/4 cup (little more if you have a sweet tooth)
Ghee - 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup (Yes, I am sure about this :) ) the more ghee you add the more it will melt in your mouth...
Cashew Nuts - a few (optional)
Raisins -  a few (optional)
Orange Color - (Optional) but lot of south Indians won't accept it is Kesari, unless it is in Orange Color and Kesari means Orange (Saffron Flower) in Sanskrit
Saffron - a few strands
Cardamom - 1/4 TeaSpoon
Water - 3 times that of Rava , in this case 1 and 1/2 cups

Method
---> This dish should be cooked in a medium flame only.
---> In a pan, add 1 tablespoon of ghee and after it becomes hot add the cashews and roast them.
---> Keep that aside and in the same pan, add 1 Tablespoon of Ghee and Roast the Raisins
---> Keep that aside and add half of the remaining ghee and roast the rava. The rava should be roasted to a soft golden color. Once it is a nice golden color all over, switch the stove off, and then add the water.
---> Mix the rava with the water so no lumps are there. Once that is done, now switch the stove back on, on a medium flame and slowly  keep stirring the pot.
---> In a few minutes, the rava will start absorbing the water and start becoming thick, once it has absorbed all the water, add the remaining ghee, sugar, Cardamom powder, roasted nuts, Roasted Raisins and the orange color and keep stirring the pot.
---> The sugar will melt and the ghee will bind everything together, and it will come together like halwa. At this point you can pour it on to a plate and wait for it to cool..


Scaling this recipe for a party -

50 to 60 Servings -  standard half tray measurement

Rava- 3 cups
Sugar - 4.5 cups  to 5 cups(little more if you have a sweet tooth)
Ghee - 2 cups  to little less than 2.5 cups
Cashew Nuts - 1/2 cup (optional)
Raisins -  1/2 cup (optional)
Orange Color - (Optional) b
Saffron - a few strands
Cardamom - 1.5 Tsps
Water - 9 cups

100 to 120  Servings - Full tray measurements

Rava- 6 cups
Sugar - 9 cups to 9.5 cups(little more if you have a sweet tooth)
Ghee - 4 cups to 4.5 cups to little less than 8 cups
Cashew Nuts - 1 cup (optional)
Raisins -  1  cup (optional)
Orange Color - (Optional) b
Saffron - a few strands
Cardamom - 3 Tsps
Water - 18 cups

Mysorepak, Mysorepagu, or Mysorepa.... How do you make it??

Call it what you want but this is one of the easiest and trickiest Traditional  South Indian Sweets... 

Well,
Easiest because you can make it at short notice and
Trickiest because there is a 3 to 5 minute window, when you add the flour and if you miss it, you either end up with a goooeey mess which will stick to your mouth or a hard rock like substance for which you will have to use a hammer to break it.....
Before you get discouraged or lose heart, try my recipe once. I would suggest that you try this recipe with smaller amounts of everything.

I have had many versions of mysorepaks, (good and bad)
---The one you get in Krishna Sweets which is a famous Sweet Shop in Chennai, India (but it is a little too burnt for me).
---The one you get in weddings ( a little frothy on top and hard for me)

I know I am hard to please.... :)
But the one my mom used to make was just right, Her version was a nice rich yellow color, soft and was able to hold itself as a piece and also when you put it in your mouth, it would just melt soooo  easily.....
My Mother was an amazing cook and an expert in making this sweet and would make large quantities of this for Deepavali or if an unexpected guest visits... This recipe makes the same texture as her mysorepak. I always think about her when I  make this.... I make it a lot in my house, and it is one of my kids favorite sweets.

Another person I would like to mention is Late Mrs Ambujam Veeraraghavan, my friend Sabitha's Mother In law. She is the one who asked me to mix the ghee and the besan before hand, so as to make the process easier.


The basic measurements or ratio given in Meenakshi Ammal's book is
2 Cups Ghee: 2 Cups Sugar: 1 Cup (Chick Pea Flour).

(and 1/4 of the amount of sugar is the water you use to make the syrup.)

Please see this for the recipe of making the ghee yourself. Ghee is just clarified butter. You could buy it at an Indian Store, But it is not that had to make.

I  usually reduce the sugar to a little more than 1 and 1/2 cup. For this post I used 1 and 3/4th, but still it is a little too sugary for me and my family....

Chick Pea flour is also called Besan. You can find it at any Indian stores. You can also look for them as Garbanzo Bean Flour.
So if you want to try to make them reduce all the amounts, and start with the 1/8th cup of Flour, 1/4 cup of Ghee and 1/4 Cup of Sugar (or lesser, how you prefer).
Method:
Preparation--- Step 1:
---Take a tray, and spread a little ghee so that when you are ready to pour the cooked mixture, it should be able to lift off easily without sticking to the tray.
---Mix the Besan and the ghee. (the books don't mention this, they usually add it separately to the sugar) but this step makes it a little easier.

Step 1

 Step 2:
---> In a big (preferably nonstick) vessel, pour the sugar and  water and let boil on medium flame
for this above measurement you should be able to see the sugar dissolving in under 10 minutes and if you use a wooden spoon and take out some sugar you will be able to see a thread like consistency form the syrup on the spoon to the vessel.
This syrup consistency is the most important part, and really comes only with practice.
Another method is to drop a dollop of the syrup in a bowl of water and it should not dissolve.
Once you reach this consistency you should pour in your Flour and Ghee mixture in to this.

(This is the crucial step, cos if you put the mixture in too soon, you will end up with a gooeey consistency and too late it will be rock hard...)

Step 2

Step 3
---> The mixture will start bubbling
---> Keep stirring it clockwise and anticlockwise as fast as you can, the goal is not let it stick to a side of the pan, it will burn and smell.
---> At one point the whole mixture will try to stick to the wooden spoon and become kind of frothy
---> At this time, slowly pour it out on to the tray you have smeared with ghee and flatten this on to the tray so you will get even sized pieces.
---> If you delay pouring it out on the tray, the mysore pak will become brown and also have a burnt smell.
 --->Let it Cool for a few minutes and then before it hardens, cut the pieces in to desired shapes with a sharp knife and remove and store. While its hot, leave the container open and when it is completely cooled, you can close the container... I guarantee that you will not sop with one piece..

(Wanted to add this as a side note, I made it again and reduced about two tablespoons from the 1 and 1/2 cups, and the sweetness was perfect for us.)

Step 3

Boondi Laddu

For Deepavali, I usually make Boondi Laddu and Mixture.

If you would like to read the story of why I started making laddu's please go to the end of the recipe...

To make 20 laddus, you need the Laddu Ladle and

You need

Channa Flour (Besan) - 1 Cup

Water - 1/2 to 3/4th cup

Oil - to deep fry

Sugar - 1 and 1/2 cup

Water - 1/2 cup

and optional

Kalkandu (Square sugar candy) - 1 handful

Cashews - sliced and roasted in ghee

Raisins - (Optional) Roasted in ghee

Pachai Karpooram (Raw camphor) - 1 pinch

Saffron - 1 pinch

Method

---> To the besan add 1/2 cup water and mix well. Make sure it does not have any lumps in it. If you want colored laddus you can add the food coloring to the besan.

---> The consistency you want is thick. It should not be runny.

--->If you want you can add a pinch of baking soda to it. I have not added it at all.

---> In a kadai, add cooking oil, enough to deep fry the boondis and keep on medium high flame.

---> You can deep fry in ghee also, but I used canola oil.

---> When the oil is ready, take a small ladle with the premixed boondi flour and pour it slowly on the laddu ladle on top of the oil, and swirl as fast as you can until the smaller ladle is completely empty.

---> When the boondi's are 3/4th fried (not too crispy and also cooked), take it out of the oil. If you let it become crisp, it will not absorb the sugar syrup.

---> Repeat this process until you are out of all the mixed flour.

---> In another kadai, add the sugar and the water ad heat on medium high flame.

--->And heat this until you get in between the single thread and the double thread consistency.

--->Let it cool down completely.

---> Mix the boondis to this and also add your optional nuts, raisins whatever you want

---> Leave the mixture for an hour or so, and when you come back you can see the sugar has become crystals.

---> Now just make the laddus and store.

This will last fresh up to three weeks, left outside.

Happy Deepavali!!! There is a story of why I made a tradition of making Laddus .... for that we have to go back about 15 years... when my son was born. (Imagine a spiral going backwards with a sound drooiiinngggg)

When my son was born, my dad got him a book to teach the tamil letters. My son loved to read and whenever he wanted to read he used to pick this book and we would go over all the tamil letters with him and he knew all the words for each letter.

(The word for the letter la, in that book, was laddu....)

Fastforward 4 years, we visited India when he was 4 and my daughter was 4 months old. My mom had made laddus for him, and when she handed him one, she asked him, whether he knew the name of this thing... and he said "la.... laddu, bookla irukkume!"

whch translates to, la is for laddu and it is in the book...!!

My mother was so moved that she vowed to make it for him whenever possible. When she visited us the next time, she brought with her the laddu karandi, (Ladle to make it) and ever since I try my best to make it every year.