Name: Gulab Jamun Doughnuts/Donuts (using readymade mix)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Ingredients: 1 packet gulab jamun mix; 4-5 tablespoons of milk or water; 1 ½ - 2 cups sugar; 2 cups water; 3-4 green cardamoms; Few strands of saffron; Oil/ghee for deep frying; Chopped pistachios; Dry edible rose petals

GULAB JAMUN DOUGHNUTS/DONUTS (using readymade mix) – an iconic Indian dessert gets an American twist!

Super decadent, juicy and a showstopper kinda milk based sweet with the flavors of cardamom and saffron scented sugar syrup in every juicy, melt-in-mouth bite,

This quintessential Indian gulab jamun, traditionally made into balls, gets into a new donut shaped avatar guaranteed to satisfy anyone’s sweet tooth and floor your friends and family; perfect to make and share at any special occasion!

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

It is that time of the year when every Indian is looking forward to; Diwali celebrations with sweets, crackers and lots of food, especially sweets to satiate every one.

This Hindu “festival of light” as it is sometimes called, is when we light up our houses and neighborhood with lots of lamps and diyas; ghee or oil lit lamps.

This symbolism represents the victory of light over darkness, good over evil etc. and mythologically is when Lord Rama supposedly came back home after killing the evil king Ravana, after an exile of 14 years.

It is also an occasion to celebrate with family like there is Thanksgiving or Christmas in other parts of the world.

Many of us get store bought sweet boxes but lot of us try and make them at home too….nothing like homemade with that touch of love don’t you think?

I know I am making these as part of my Diwali sweet box!

If you need some more ideas to make, then head on over to this link where I have shared a bunch of more delicious sweet and savory dishes for Diwali you can make easily at home.

EASY DIWALI RECIPES – SWEET AND SAVORY

GULAB JAMUN DOUGHNUTS

Now, about this dessert I have made – GULAB JAMUN DOUGHNUTS OR DONUTS……

Everyone is familiar with this quintessential Indian dessert called gulab jamun which is nothing but deep fried balls of milk solids soaked in a sugar syrup. "Gulab" represents the rose or gulab extract flavor in it but my family loves the exotic cardamom flavor. I do make it sometimes only with rose essence or rose extract in the syrup.

This time, I was tempted to present it in a new way – in the shape of donuts; juicy, melt-in-mouth and absolutely addictive!

You can make these from scratch using milk powder or mawa, flour and/or semolina, ghee etc. You will find lots of recipes online.

But, although I would love to make it that way, when you are bogged down by umpteen tasks especially during festival time and when readymade packets of gulab jamun mixes are readily available where you just add milk or water to the mix, deep fry and then soak in a simple sugar syrup, I would opt for this anytime.

My favorite mix is the Nandini brand from my hometown state of Karnataka in southern part of India but you can use any other brand too. Do check online or in Indian stores.

You just make the dough, cut into doughnut shapes, deep fry in oil or ghee and then soak them for just 5 minutes in a warm sugar syrup.

To make it look festive and beautiful, I decided to dress them up with edible dry rose petals and chopped pistachios!

So easy to make, so delicious and a perfect show stopper Indian fusion dessert to share with family and friends for Diwali or any other festival or gathering!

INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE GULAB JAMUN DONUTS:

Gulab Jamun Mix – These packets are readily available in Indian stores or even online. I would suggest using MTR brand or Gits brand but my favorite is Nandini as I mentioned earlier, if you can get your hands on it.
Milk – preferably, I love to make my gulab jamun dough using milk for more richness but you can use plain water too.
Sugar – traditionally, we have always used plain white sugar to make the syrup, but you can use jaggery/unrefined cane sugar or even brown sugar if you want.
Oil or ghee to deep fry.
Cardamom powder – like any Indian dessert or sweet, nothing adds to the oomph factor in all Indian desserts more than a dash of aromatic green cardamom powder. Freshly made from whole green cardamom is best but you can choose to use store bought cardamom powder if you want.
Saffron strands – I love using these exotic spice strands to flavor and color my desserts….gives a lovely aroma and golden yellow color to any dish.
Optional – dry rose petals and chopped pistachios

EQUIPMENT NEEDED:

Parchment paper to roll the dough
Rolling pin
Cutters like donut cutter or lids of any bottle or jar.
A deep saucepan to deep fry the donuts
Perforated ladle
Saucepan to make syrup
Wire rack to drain the soaked gulab jamun donuts
Baking sheet to place the wire rack and catch drained syrup

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

These are best served as a grand and sweet finale to any meal and are perfect to make and share at special occasions like Diwali which is coming up, special occasions, get togethers, festivals or even at a Christmas or Thanksgiving table etc.

Store leftovers in an airtight container on the counter top for at least 2-3 days. For longer storage, you can store in the fridge but bring to room temperature before serving.

Totally addictive, fun to make, an exciting way to enjoy this quintessential dessert in a new form and an absolutely delicious dessert you will enjoy making, serving and enjoying with all your loved ones.

For a cake version of this, do check out my infamous Eggless Gulab Jamun Cake with saffron and Pistachio glaze (from scratch; no mix) too!

Enjoy and Happy Cooking/Eating!

Gulab Jamun Doughnuts/Donuts (using readymade mix)

An American twist to an iconic Indian dessert!Super decadent, juicy and a showstopper kinda milk based sweet with the flavors of cardamom and saffron scented sugar syrup in every bite, the quintessential Indian gulab jamun.

Traditionally made into balls, for a visual delight, it gets into a new donut shaped avatar guaranteed to satisfy anyone’s sweet tooth!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Author Vanitha Bhat

Ingredients

FOR THE DOUGHNUT DOUGH:

1 packet gulab jamun mix
4-5 tablespoons of milk or water

FOR THE SUGAR SYRUP:

1 ½ - 2 cups sugar
2 cups water
3-4 green cardamoms
Few strands of saffron
Oil/ghee for deep frying

OPTIONAL GARNISHES:

Chopped pistachios
Dry edible rose petals

Instructions

TO MAKE THE GULAB JAMUN DOUGH

In a bowl, tip in the gulab jamun mix.
Add milk gradually (starting with 3 tablespoons) to make a medium soft dough.
Stir in just enough milk (or even water), gather with your fingers and form a soft and smooth dough. Do not add too much liquid; add a teaspoon or tablespoon at a time, mix and then add more if needed. Do not knead too much.
Let rest for about 5-7 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat oil or ghee in a frying pan; you need the oil to be more on the warmer side than hot. The key is you should be able to dip your fingers comfortably in the warm oil before sliding in the doughnuts to fry. If the oil is too hot, the outside will fry to a golden brown before the inside cooks.

TO MAKE THE SUGAR SYRUP:

As the oil is heating, in another saucepan make the sugar syrup; add 1 ½ cups to 2 cups of sugar (depending upon how sweet you want the gulab jamun) and 2 cups of water to the pan.
Mix using a spoon or ladle and heat on medium high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Sprinkle cardamom powder and few strands of saffron and stir.
When all the sugar has dissolved, reduce heat and simmer for just 5-7 minutes and then turn the stove off.

TO FRY THE DOUGHNUTS:

Roll prepared gulab jamun dough in between 2 sheets of parchment paper using a rolling pin to about ½ inch thickness.
You can use a donut cutter, round cookie cutter or even the large lid of any bottle or jar or even some steel container as long as the edges are sharp enough to cut into the dough.
To cut out the center, use an icing nozzle (the wider part) or again the lid of any small jar or bottle.
Gently remove the cut dough using a flat ladle and gently slide into the warm oil.
Gather the remaining dough and cut out into donut shapes again.
Deep fry the gulab jamun doughnuts one or two at a time (depending upon amount of oil and size of pan), flipping once or twice with gentle movement (as the dough will be tender) to cook and brown evenly.
Keep an eye on them as they need to turn just a golden brown but not too dark brown.
Make sure to keep the flame on medium low upon your stove.
When fairly golden brown, remove and place on paper towel lined plate.

SOAKING THE DOUGHNUTS

Gently transfer the fried donuts into warm or mildly hot sugar syrup. Keep basting the doughnuts with sugar syrup on top using a spoon and flip if needed once.
Let stay in syrup for about 5 minutes or so and then gently remove and place on wire rack lined pan to allow excess syrup to drain.
Sprinkle with chopped nuts and dry rose petals.
Let cool completely.
Do the same with the rest of the dough.
Enjoy scrumptious, melt in mouth, gulab jamun doughnuts warm or at room temperature.

Recipe Notes

Adjust the amount of liquid in the dough to get a fairly smooth dough. You can use milk (dairy or dairy free) or even water.
If you want a less sweeter donut, reduce the amount of sugar in the syrup. 2 cups will give a lovely taste as any gulab jamun should but you can reduce to 1 ½ cups if you prefer but keep basting or spooning syrup over the gulab jamuns until you feel they do not absorb any more syrup; it will still taste amazing!
Adding cardamom powder and/or saffron is optional.
You can use rose essence or rose extract instead too.
Garnishes are also optional but if making for a festive occasion or special gathering, then feel free to garnish like I have or as you feel like.
Instead of doughnut shapes, you can roll into ping pong sized balls and deep fry to make regular, traditional gulab jamuns too!
Enjoy and Happy Eating!