When it comes to Indian mithai, gulab jamun remains king. I don’t know anybody who doesn’t like those perfectly fried rose-fragrant donut balls. Even my non-Indian friends start salivating a little bit when they get mentioned – gulab jamuns are a universal favorite. SO the next best thing to gulab jamun is obviously vegan gulab jamun. And we’re kicking off our {Vegan Mithai} series with a super sweet recipe for this dessert.
Ingredients:
For the gulab jamuns:
- 1 cup of fine ground almond powder/non-dairy milk powder
- 1/4 cup of all purpose flour
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- a pinch of baking soda
- 1 to 2 tbsp of soy custard/yogurt
- toppings: almond slices, rose petals, etc.
for the syrup:
- 2 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups (vegan/organic) sugar
- 3-4 cardamom crushed pods
- a pinch of saffron
- 1 tsp rose water
Note: I used Alpro’s soy custard in place of the yogurt that’s typically used but you can use any non-dairy yogurt if you don’t live in the UK and don’t have access to Alpro.
Instructions:
1. First mix all your dry ingredients – the almond powder, flour, sugar, and baking soda (you can even add a pinch of salt if you’d like).
2. Mix in the oil and yogurt/custard.
3. Keep adding in the yogurt slowly until the mix looks and feels sticky. It shouldn’t be too liquid.
4. Start preparing your sugar syrup by mixing the water, sugar, saffron and cardamom in a pan over heat.
5. Keep stirring and keep on fire until all the sugar dissolves and the mix becomes slightly goopy.
6. Mix in rose water and take off heat.
7. Roll the dough into small, even balls.
8. Heat 2 inches of oil in a pan (enough to mostly cover the gulab jamun).
9. Being frying your gulab jamun in the oil.
10. Once they get brown and slightly hard all over, fish them out of the oil and transfer them to the sugar syrup.
11. Let them remain in the syrup for 1-2 hours before serving.
The best thing about gulab jamun is you can serve it hot or room temperature, so enjoy this recipe in all seasons!