Kala Jamun Recipe

The Kala Jamun (a variation of Gulab Jamun)... a darkish variety is prepared in the same way as the regular Gulab Jamun's except that the balls are coated with Castor sugar and then fried. The caramelized sugar gives the Jamuns the dark colour. They are often served garnished with dessicated coconut coating.
Kala Jamun picture

Summary

Prepration Time10 MinutesCooking Time45 Minutes
Difficulty LevelEasyHealth IndexJust Enjoy
Servings3CuisineIndian
CourseDessertSpecialityWedding
Main IngredientOthers

Recipe Story

Nobody knows how the history of this sweet came in to being but the story goes like this: stated that a king in a princely state, was once presented with jamuns ( fruit) and he loved their taste and ordered they be grown in his kingdom. However, the climate and soil weren't suitable for their growth and the entire crop failed. The King felt very depressed over this. Seeing this, his royal cook conjured up these balls which resembled the fruit and offered them to the king, and voila! the king was happy again. Hence the name Jamun. Gulab was added because the syrup was rose water flavored.

Ingredients

For the Kala Jamuns:-
2 cups 250 grams khoya grated
5 tablespoons plain flour (maida)
1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
2 tablespoons sugar
For making sugar syrup:-
3 cups sugar
a few saffron strands (optional)
Other ingredients needed are :-
ghee for deep frying
1 cup desiccated coconut

How to make Kala Jamun

To make Sugar Syrup :-

In a large pan, combine the sugar with 1 litre of water and bring to a boil.
Simmer over a slow flame till the syrup is 1 string consistency.
Remove any impurities which float on top of the syrup using a slotted spoon.
Note : You can add half a spoon of milk to the boiling sugar syrup, this will separate the dirt from the syrup.
Add the saffron if desired and keep the syrup warm.

For the Kala Jamuns :-

In a bowl, combine all the ingredients, mix well and knead into a firm dough without using any water.
Divide this mixture into 25 equal portions and roll them into rounds. These should have no cracks on the surface as otherwise the jamuns will crack while frying.
Deep fry in ghee over a medium flame till the jamuns are dark brown in colour (for approx 10 to 12 minutes).
Drain and immerse in the warm sugar syrup. Soak for 30 minutes. Drain and roll them in desiccated coconut. Kala Jamuns are ready to serve.

Comments

Anuprabhakar says :

Looks very good,feel like making them as soon as possible.Can i use ricotta cheese or cottage cheese instead of khoya in preparing kala jamun.

Posted on: 16 January 2009 - 2:17pm

srividya76 says :

Thank you so much for the encouragement.

Posted on: 10 October 2008 - 10:04am

bigkhan says :

kala jamun, widely eaten by children and it is a very favourite sweet dish for them.it is oposite in color with gulab jamun but test is same,it is good food stuff for i food.tv lovers.

Posted on: 10 October 2008 - 8:44am

bigkhan says :

Kala Jamun is a very important north indian sweet dish widely used on the special occasion, like festival,get togather or to intertain guests r friends srividya has done a great work for ifood.tv, lovers.i appreciate her good efforts.

Posted on: 10 October 2008 - 8:36am

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