Soft balls made from bread and milk submerged in sweet syrup and perfumed with saffron and cardamom.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Indian
Keyword bread gulab jamun
Prep Time 15minutes
Cook Time 8minutes
Resting Time 15minutes
Total Time 38minutes
Servings 4people
Calories 120kcal
Author Muna Kenny
Ingredients
TO MAKE THE DOUGH
6medium white bread cut into slices.Read more in note #1.
2tablespoonfine semolina.Read note #2 if you have coarse semolina.
¼teaspoonbaking powder
6tablespoonwhole milk at room temperatureRead notes #3.
TO MAKE THE SYRUP
1cupof sugar
1 ½cupwater
4whole green cardamom or use ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder instead.
½teaspoonsaffron threadsoptional
Oil to fry the Gulab Jamun
10shelled pistachios + a few more sliced to garnish with
Instructions
MAKING THE BREAD GULAB JAMUN DOUGH
In a bowl, add the slices of the bread, add the semolina and baking powder.
Gradually pour the milk and lightly knead until you get a smooth dough. A stiff dough will result in hard and unevenly cooked Gulab Jamun.
Cover the dough and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. The semolina will soak up some of the milk and become softer.
Make 10 equal size balls from the dough, gently flatten the balls, fill them with pistachio, and then close and form a smooth crack free ball. Cover the balls to prevent them from drying.
In a frying pan, heat enough oil to come halfway up the balls. Keep the heat on medium.
Fry the balls in batches until they turn brown. It will take a minute or two to brown.
Remove the balls from the oil and place them on a kitchen towel, or you can add the fried balls immediately in the syrup.
Heat the syrup and allow it to come to a simmer. Let the Gulab Jamun simmer in the syrup for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and cover.
It's best to leave the Bread Gulab Jamun in the syrup for at least 2 hours before serving.
MAKING THE SYRUP
In a pan, add the sugar and water.
When it comes to a boil, add the cardamom.
Let the syrup cook for 8 minutes on medium heat.
Add saffron threads and stir the syrup. Turn off the heat.
Video
Notes
1- If you have fresh bread, then slicing it will do, but if the bread you are using is stale, then use a blender to turn it into breadcrumbs and then use it in this recipe. Use whole wheat bread if you wish, but white bread will taste better in this recipe.2- If what you have is coarse semolina, then pour it in a blender and pulse for few seconds until fine, then use it to make Gulab Jamun.3- The bread you have could be thicker or thinner than what I have used in this recipe; hence, you might need to add more milk or use less milk. Add the milk gradually while kneading to have a better judgment on how much to use.4- When kneading and forming the balls, keep your hand lightly on the dough and do not add pressure.5- Resting the dough is essential. If you make the balls and immediately fry them, the semolina will not have enough time to soften, and you might get a grainy texture in the Gulab Jamun.6- Make sure to read (Tips to make awesome Bread Gulab Jamun) in the post above for more information.