Dessert Time - Gulab Jamun

I shouldn't really be calling this a recipe. I am trying to talk here about the instant version. Who needs a recipe for that? Anyone can follow the instructions. But hey, once you made these golden balls, they are so picturesque that you just have to click and well, once you click, you post!

The Details

Buy any Gulab Jamun Mix with 3-4 step instructions from any Indian store. Follow instructions to the letter and voila! you have a good looking dessert.

I use milk instead of water to knead the dough and oil instead of ghee to deep fry. The only expertise needed here I think is the art of making even sized balls prior to frying. My lack of it shows:-) The other thing is to know how hot the oil is when you start frying. If the pan and the oil are too hot the jamuns can get burned and turn an ugly dark color. Learned this the hard way. So once the oil is hot, lower the heat to medium. I like doing this in a non-stick pan as opposed to a stainless steel pan. The steel pan can heat up fast in my impatience to get the oil hot enough and my carefully shaped jamuns go to naught in an instant.

I should mention that these jamuns while totally yummy, are not exactly good for the body if not taken in moderation. We make this very rarely and that too in cases where a homemade dessert is appropriate but time is in short supply. Since it is so rarely made, I do gobble them up without guilt if I see them in the fridge after the fact. They keep well in the fridge for a few days. They can be eaten cold or microwave warmed for 20 sec or so.