Ninja by day, student by night

1. The first rule to making gulab jamun is saying (and spelling it) right.
2. The second rule is to make sure your oil is the right temperature.
3. The last rule is to let your fried bits cool off and drain off excess oil.

Other than that, easy-peasy, lemon squeezy!

Here’s the recipe for gulab jamun from my favorite Indian recipe site, Manjula’s Kitchen.

Gulab Jamun in Cardamon Syrup

I’m not Indian, but I am a Punjabi bride, and making sweets is my favorite thing to do, so it wasn’t too hard to hit up Winco last week for some milk powder.  Since it was my first time, they were a little heavy, but not horribly so, and I think my syrup was better than pros.  Overall, it was successful and my husband was very pleased that I learned to make one of his favorite sweets.

I do have some tips to cut down on any issues:

• I am working with an electric stove, so I ended up setting my burner to ’3′ with a range from (low-2-9-high).   The recipe says medium heat, but that was way too hot for my test bolitas.
• The dough was a little dry even though I used all the milk, so I ended up adding two more tablespoons of milk to get it slightly sticky.
• This recipe didn’t have a measured amount of baking soda, so I used a pinch, guessing that it was around 1/8 of a teaspoon.  I’ll make sure to measure next time!
• I used a wire strainer over a mixing bowl so I could drain (and cool) the gulab jamuns before dipping them in the syrup
• When I made the syrup, I used a single black coriander pod and let it reach a boil, which gave the syrup a darker, strong color.

This recipe took a long time, mostly because I was fiddling with the oil temperature.  Once I got it down, it was pretty easy to just drop in the dough and swirl the oil so they browned evenly.  I used a timer to make sure I cooked them long enough, the low heat helped keep the outside from getting too brown and not letting the inside get cooked.

Busy day today, I’ve been working on my notes for my exam.  I’m a little nervous, but it will be okay.   I went ahead and ran 1.75 miles today, and really killed it, did it in 32 minutes, but mind you, I was doing the second half on slow (2.6-2.8) with a varying incline (3-6%).  So not too bad overall, although eating is still an issue, because I’m trying to cook tasty dishes that aren’t too big.  That’s the hardest part.  I can try to watch my portions, but making sure that there isn’t too much in the first place is always difficult.  Most recipes are made for families, so I usually have to guess whether they will be okay for just the two of us.  I’m getting better though, I am lowering the amounts and adding more vegetable sides, so Gus will feel full.  I’d hate for him to be hungry.

I tried out a pudding recipe as well, it was a surprise for Gus because he LOVES pudding, and I thought it might be healthier to make it from scratch, instead of from a box.  It was pretty easy, although I thought I messed up because it wasn’t thick and gooey like Jello pudding.  He loved it though, he said it was exactly like Indian pudding, and I added sliced strawberries, a few chocolate chips and some granola to make it extra tasty.  I even layered it so it would look nice too, haha.  I always forget to take pictures when I make a good-looking dish.  In any case, he liked it, and next time he wants to try it layered with some sliced almonds.  I think that’s a great idea.