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Handiہانڈیاردو
Desserts & mithai

Gulab Jamun Recipe

گلاب جامن بنانے کا طریقہ

Soft milk-powder gulab jamun: a light dough rolled into crack-free balls, fried slowly in ghee to deep brown, then soaked in warm cardamom and rose syrup.
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Illustration of Gulab Jamun

Prep

20 min

Cook

30 min

Marinate / soak

1 hr

Serves

8

Difficulty

Medium

Spice

Mild

Gulab jamun is the most loved mithai in Pakistan, and the milk powder version is how most homes make it, since good khoya is not always at hand. A soft dough of milk powder, a little flour and ghee is rolled into small balls, fried on very low heat so they cook right through, then dropped into warm syrup where they swell and turn spongy. Low heat in the oil and a warm, not hot, syrup are the two things that matter.

Ingredients

8 servings

For 8 servings

Measures

For the syrup

For the jamun

Method

  1. Make the syrup: boil the sugar, water and cardamom, then simmer until slightly sticky but not stringy. Add the lemon juice and rose water and keep warm.

    ⏱ 8 min

  2. In a bowl, mix the milk powder, maida, sooji and baking powder. Rub in the melted ghee with your fingertips.

  3. Add the beaten egg and mix gently into a soft, slightly sticky dough, adding milk a little at a time only if it is dry. Do not knead. Cover and rest.

    ⏱ 10 min

  4. Grease your palms with ghee and roll the dough into 20 to 22 small, smooth balls with no cracks. They will double in size.

  5. Heat the frying ghee in a karahi on low heat; a piece of dough should rise slowly with small bubbles, not sizzle. Fry the balls in batches, rolling them gently with a spoon, until deep brown all over.

    ⏱ 8 min

  6. Lift them out and drop them straight into the warm syrup. Repeat with the rest.

  7. Leave the jamuns to soak in the syrup until swollen and soft right through, then serve topped with pistachios.

    ⏱ 60 min

Tips for the best result

  • Test one ball first. If it cracks while frying, add a few drops of milk to the dough; if it flattens or dissolves, add a pinch more maida.
  • For an eggless version, leave out the egg and bind with 3 to 4 tbsp milk or a little yogurt.

Common mistakes

  • Frying on high heat. The outside goes dark in a minute but the centre stays raw and hard, and the jamun never soaks up syrup.
  • Kneading the dough. Working it develops gluten and makes the jamuns dense and rubbery.
  • Putting jamuns into boiling syrup. They can split open; the syrup should be warm.

How to serve

Serve warm with a spoon of syrup, or at room temperature; with vanilla ice cream they make a good dawat dessert.

Storing and reheating

Keeps a week in the fridge in their syrup. Warm briefly before serving so they soften again.

Nutrition and cost

Worked out from the ingredients, not measured in a lab. Treat both as a rough guide.

Per serving Estimate

Calories
775kcal
Protein
6g
Fat
58g
Carbs
60g
Fibre
0.2g
Sodium
70mg

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (April 2018), public domain values for the raw ingredients (100% of the recipe by weight had data). Deep-frying oil is counted at 20%; bones and water lost in cooking are not subtracted, so bone-in and fried dishes can read high. Not medical advice. Method

Cost per servingEstimate

≈ Rs 57

Whole dish ≈ Rs 460 · 57% of ingredients by weight priced

From the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics weekly SPI, week ended 29 Oct 2026. Spices, herbs and some vegetables are not in the SPI and are left out unless you add your price, so the real cost is a little higher. How this works

Gulab Jamun: questions people ask

Why are my gulab jamun hard inside?

The oil was too hot so the centre did not cook, or the dough was kneaded. Fry on low heat for the full time and mix the dough gently.

Why do gulab jamun crack while frying?

The dough is too dry or the balls had cracks when rolled. Add a few drops of milk and roll until completely smooth.

Serve it with, and similar recipes

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Read this recipe in Urdu: گلاب جامن بنانے کا طریقہ

https://handi.danixsoft.com/recipes/gulab-jamun · Handi, DanixSoft