Somethings I wish I learned from my Grandma

Yummy bites of delicate, sugary deliciousness
Photo credit: http://cookingforall-blog.blogspot.com/2010/09/gulab-jamun.html

When I was very little my maternal grandmother and grandfather lived with my family.  As a result I always felt very close to both of them, especially since my paternal grandfather had passed away when my dad was a boy and since my paternal grandmother lived on the other side of the world.  Even after my grandparents (Amma and Abba to me) went to live with my uncle they were always close at heart.  A few years ago my grandmother, the last of my grandparents passed away.  She was a pretty amazing woman and I cannot even imagine everything she saw in her lifetime.  For someone who was raised in a society and time when women were mostly expected to be meek and passive, she had a very strong spirit.  I like to think that I get some of that from her.

There are lots of things I wish I had learned from my Amma before she passed away:

1. How to speak Urdu. 

2. How to tie a sari properly

3. The secret to having a marriage that lasts well over 50 years

4. I also wish I took more pictures of her.  I wanted to include one in this post and realized I don't have any digital photos of her or access to an old print.  Sigh.
5. How to cook.

When I say I wish I had learned how to cook from her, I don't mean just anything.  She made some dishes to perfection.  While I have grown to love the food of my heritage, Indian food, I still do not really like Indian desserts (called mithai in Urdu... I guess I did learn a few words from her after all).   But when Amma made gulab jamun, I was first in line to eat one.

Delicious gulab jamun
Photo credit: chefgirl, allrecipes.com

What the heck is a gulab jamun?  Well, its basically a donut soaked in rosewater infused sugar syrup.  Served warm it feels like you are a kid again at home.  The dessert takes its name from the rosewater (gulab means rose) and the shape of the fruit (jamun is a round fruit like the donut).  You can make it as light or heavy as you want it to be, and even dress it up with nuts and raisins if you like... or if you want to be super snazzy put some gold leaf on that sucker.

Rosewater can be found at most Indian or Arab grocery stores as well as some supermarkets.
It usually comes in smaller bottles.
If you cannot find it you can try substituting orange  flower water, vanilla extract (use a little less) or saffron threads.

I prefer my gulab jamun simple and light.  This means just the donuts in the syrup, warmed slightly.  No need for any of that extra stuff.  This dessert is pretty fantastic on its own.  Of course, this version I made is nothing compared to Amma's.  But since I can't have her recipe, this is the next best thing.

A note: the recipe calls for ghee, which is clarified butter.  This is readily found in Indian or Pakistani grocery stores, but if you cannot find it you can make your own.  Simply melt some butter and skim out the solid milk fat that floats the top.  The remaining clear melted butter is similar to ghee.  Of course, if you can buy ghee you will get a better flavor in the dessert than using butter.

Gulab Jamun- Print recipe


Ingredients:
Donuts:

• 1 1/2 cup dry powdered milk
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• a pinch cardamom powder
• 2 tablespoons melted ghee (can use butter if ghee is not available)
• 1/2 cup warm milk

Sugar syrup:

• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 7 ounces water
• 1 teaspoon rosewater
• pinch of cardamom powder

Directions:
Mix together 1 cup of the powdered milk, flour, baking soda and cardamom powder.  Add melted ghee and warm milk and mix thoroughly.  Set aside for 20 minutes.

As the batter sits it will become thicker.  If it is not kneadable after 20 minutes,
slowly add powdered milk until it is.

In a large skillet mix together the sugar, water, rosewater and cardamom powder.  Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer for two minutes.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

Don't worry about the cardamom just floating in there, it will incorporate as this cooks.
Also, this will be clear when taken from the stove.  It will turn gold when you add the donuts
and start cooking those in the syrup.

Knead the dough mixture.  It most likely will not be solid enough to bind, so slowly add powdered milk by tablespoons until it is just thick enough to bind the dough.  Roll 20 small balls from the dough-- the donuts will about double in size when they are cooked, so the raw donut balls should be about the size of a super ball (the final ball will be golf ball sized).  Do not worry if they are not perfectly round (when they cook they will become round). The dough should be thick enough that it will form a ball but still not doughy.  It should be very moist.

don't roll your donuts to be too big.  They will expand!
They also will stick a little to your hands until you start rolling. Then they will stick to itself.

Fill a skillet with oil about halfway up the sides of the pan (I used a small saucepan... you can do this too if its easier to you).  Heat the oil on high for about five minutes then reduce the temperature to low.  Add about half the balls to the oil and fry until the begin to float.  Once they float, increase the heat to medium and start turning the balls to ensure they brown evenly.  You want a dark golden brown color.

at this point you need to start turning them pretty regularly to get the right color

This is the perfect color!

Once the donuts are cooked, remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel to cool slightly.

These were cooked at a little too high of heat, hence the mottled coloring.
Follow the directions for cooking I wrote in here.  I didn't on this batch and this is what happened.
They still tasted good though.

Once the whole batch is done, put the sugar syrup mixture back on the heat and bring to a simmer.  Add all the donuts to the sugar syrup and allow to cool for a few minutes.  Squeeze the balls gently every so often to help them absorb the sugar syrup.

I didn't squeeze the big one gently and it ended up with a dent.  Don't be like me.  Be gentle!

Allow the sugar syrup to cool slightly and serve warm.  Some people also like these cold.  But trust me, warm is the way to go.

Source: adapted from Coolguts on allrecipes.com