Burfee

Posted by: Celene 11-10-99 9:22 AM

Burfee
Source: Madhur Jaffrey's "An Invitation to Indian Cooking"

4 c. granulated sugar
3 cardamom pods, slightly crushed (or more to taste)
2 c. powdered dry milk
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. vegetable oil (or melted unsalted butter)
1/2 c. milk
Vegetable oil for deep frying (use fresh, these will pick up least flavor in oil that has been used before)


First, make syrup; in a 4-quart pot, combine 4 c. water, sugar, and cardamom. Lower heat. Simmer 2-3 minutes, or until sugar has been dissolved. Do not stir.

Pour half the syrup into a serving bowl, about 3-quart size. Leave other half in pot with cardamom pods.

Combine powdered milk, flour, oil (or melted butter), and milk in a bowl. Make a soft dough. Make small, smooth balls out of dough, each about 1 inch in diameter. You should be able to make more than 2 dozen jamuns.

Heat oil for deep frying in wok, karhai, or any heavy-bottomed wide pot. You should have at least three inches of oil. Keep on low flame. Jamuns need to be fried slowly. Put a jamun into oil as a test. If it begins to brown immediately, your heat is too high. Each jamun should take 4-5 minutes to get a reddish brown color on all sides. If first jamun does not turn out right, correct heat. It is better to take this precaution than have a whole batch burn outside and stay raw inside.

Now put in 6 jamuns at a time, turn them over as they turn reddish brown on one side. As they get fried, put them into syrup in pot. Bring this syrup to a boil. Let each batch simmer in syrup five minutes. When jamun are "syruped", lift them out with a slotted spoon and place them in fresh syrup in serving bowl.

Keep frying and "syruping" a batch at a time-as one batch fries, another can "syrup" until they are all done. When cool, cover serving bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Syrup in pot can now be discarded.

To serve: Gulab jamun can be served cold, at room temperature, or slightly warmed. Remember, you serve yourself only gulab jamun, not syrup in bowl.


Go to Mimi's Archive Page

Return to Mimi's Recipe Request Line