Gulab Jamuns Veganized. (Indian sweet balls in flavored syrup). Vegan, soyfree, milk-free

Phew.. VeganMofo is taking a toll for sure.. This is Post 7! And after this I will take a 2 day break, or maybe atleast a 1 day break.. and hopefully get to your blogs and comments!

Drumroll please for these GJs (Short for Gulab Jamun)... And they are soyfree too. I saw two recipes of veganized gulab jamuns and both used tofu or soy milk powder or both. As you know, a- I am not fond of Tofu, b- I hardly have Tofu or soy milk powder available at home. So as well try to figure out a different recipe..

For a baked version and new recipe see Kala Jamun here.

Traditionally, Gulab Jamuns are made of milk powder, and khoya(milk solids), deep fried and then soaked in flavored sugar syrup. (Probably deep fried in Pure ghee(clarified butter) for adding to the indulgence). The milk powder GJ texture is thick, chewy and slightly salty. Its basically a milky doughnut.

For the salty and grittyness, I added some Oats. For the powdery, chewy proteinness I added almonds and the rest of the base was self rising flour(or all purpose flour + baking powder)

I made them in 3 batches with experimentation in size of balls, and time of cooking. I will make these again this weekend.. Will update the recipe if need be.

Most of the milk powder gulab jamun recipe tips apply here too.

Tips:

Dont make too big a ball, dont press too hard while rolling into a ball,

Fry them well at a good medium hot temperature till golden brown(5-7 minutes, moving occasionally), if brownining too quickly then the oil is too hot.

Let soak in sugar syrup for half an hour before eating( the most difficult part;))

Soak in simmering syrup. Syrup should not be too thick. Turn balls around every 5 minutes.

The balls will look misshaped when absorbing the syrup on the sides which are dipped in the syrup, so turn them around till all sides absorb the syrup.

Please do try these and give me some feedback so I can make them even better! and beat the Milk powder GJs to a far away land! Check out my round up of Indian Vegan Sweets/Desserts posted a week back here! (gluten free goodies too). More goodies to celebrate this month!

Gulab Jamuns

Ingredients: 10-12 balls depending on size

• Syrup:
• 1.5 cups water
• 8-10 Tablespoon raw sugar (adjust to taste, I like my GJs less sweet. Raw sugar is sweeter than refined sugar, use 3/4 cup refined sugar )
• 1/8 teaspoon cardamom powder (add saffron or rose essence if you like)
• a generous pinch of saffron strands
• Balls:
• 1/3 cup ground almonds
• 1/3 cup ground Oats
• 2/3 - 3/4 cup self rising flour (or all purpose flour/Whole wheat flour +2/3 tsp baking powder)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder (total baking powder, 1/2 to 2/3 teaspoon per cup of dry ingredients)
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
• raisins or raw pistachios to put inside balls(optional)
• 1 Tablespoon tasteless oil ( used organic canola oil)
• Few Tablespoons water or almond milk
• Oil for deep frying

Directions:

1. For the sugar syrup, mix all ingredients in a deep pan( also wide enough to accommodate 10 GJ balls) and bring to a boil. Keep simmering on low till the syrup thickens to a bit thicker than water(3-4 minutes).
2. Meanwhile, grind the almonds, and then grind the oats into as fine a powder as possible.
3. In a pan, add the rest of the ingredients for the balls and oil, except water and mix well. Add in a tablespoon of water at a time and make into a soft dough. dont knead too much. 
4. Let dough sit for 5 minutes, covered.
5. Make tiny smooth balls and cover them with damp towel if not immediately frying. Add a raisin or a pistachio in the middle of the ball( that reduces the probability of an uncooked center ;)( cracks in balls are fine, they will not break up on frying!)
6. Fry at medium hot heat in already hot oil. Keep moving them every 30 seconds till the balls are golden brown. (5-7 minutes). The balls will get atleast 3 shades darker in the syrup, so dont let them cook to a deep brown.
7. Remove balls and let sit for half a minute to cool slightly.
8. Add these balls to simmering sugar syrup.
9. Mix them well to coat for 2 minute and Switch off heat(let syrup be on stove to keep warm). Let sit for atleast half an hour. Stir or turn them 2-3 times in between so all balls get good syrup coverage.
10. For more tips and video see Manjula Aunty's Regular GJ recipe and Video . The regular GJs in her step by step video are made the traditional way, but the recipe tips apply for this vegan version too... the really dark brown ones dint absorb syrup well, or had an uncooked center because of cooking on high heat. Happy Friday! Made these again and worked out just fine, keep the balls small and cook them golden! yumm.

Pictured below. the third time charm.. all perfect, all cooked, all soft!

Pictures above from first batch.

Sending these to Krithis Serve it Festival Event Originally at Denny's