Gulab Jamun (Fried Milk Balls in Syrup)

Gulab jamun is a popular Indian and Pakistani sweet dish comprised of fried milk balls in a sweet syrup flavoured with cardamom seeds and rosewater or saffron. It originates from Bengal and is pronounced "Gulab Jambuh" in regional languages such as Gujarati. Mixes and finished products are often available in supermarkets, though it is still popular to make it from scratch.
Ingredients
Fritters
- 3 cups (720 ml) dry milk powder
- 1 cup (240 ml) Bisquick baking mix
- A little over ¾ cup (200 ml) warm milk
- 2 Tbsp butter, melted
Syrup
- 2 cups (480 ml) water
- 2 ½ cups (600 ml) white granulated sugar
- 4 cardamom pods
Steps
Fritters
- Preheat canola oil, 1.5–2 inches (4–5 cm) deep, in small saucepan over medium heat.
- Combine milk powder, Bisquick, and melted butter in metal bowl.
- Add warmed milk 2 Tbsp at a time. Mix with wooden spoon into dough ball. Continue until all dry ingredients are incorporated. Dough should be firm and moist, not sticky.
- If too much milk, add more dry mixture, keeping ratio of 3 parts milk powder to 1 part Bisquick.
- Roll into evenly sized balls. Fry within a few minutes, before they dry out.
- Drop a few balls into oil. Do not overfill pan; balls grow as they cook. They sink, then float. Stir regularly to brown evenly.
- When dark brown, remove. Drain on paper.
- Repeat until all dough is used.
Syrup
- Break cardamom seeds from pods. Separate seeds. Bash to release flavor.
- Mix water, syrup, and cardamom. Heat 10 minutes. Do not overheat or syrup will caramelize.
- Soak fritters in syrup overnight.
- Serve hot or cold.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Gulab Jamun (Fried Milk Balls in Syrup)” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2025-10-26, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo. Gulab Jamun.jpg by No machine-readable author provided. Quadell assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia. Resized; otherwise unchanged.






