‘Jamun’- heard of it? Not the one available off the shelf at Haldirams!!! Yes, the glossy crimson black fruit which leaves a purple, sweet and sub acidic tinge in the tongue when you eat it. It has several names. It is also called as the Indian blackberry ( Nerale Hannu) . It is an Asian fruit which you find in the markets in late summers and early rainy season. It is a fruit with very good medicinal values.
‘Jalebi’, in its simplest term is the South Asian sugar dipped sweet mini pretzel (Brezel). Jalebi is prepared in different ways and consumed in different ways, but I tell you, each one of them taste uniquely superb. It is said that the word ‘Jalebi’ is derived from the Persian word ‘Zolbiya’. Though it is said that Jalebi was introduced in India by Persian invaders, it used to be prepared here much before that, but called by a different name.
Jamun Jalebi is a fusion of the flavour and colour of the jamun fruit with the traditional sweet pretzel – Jalebi. To know the taste, why don’t you try it yourself?
Here is the recipe.
Total time : 13 hours
Preparation time : 12.5 hours
Cooking time : 30 minutes
Servings : 20 to 25 jalebis
Ingredients :
Jamun fruit : 15 to 20
All purpose flour : 1 cup
Cornflour : 2 tbsp.
Sour curds : 3/4th cup
Baking powder : ½ tsp
Ghee : 1 tbsp.
Oil / Ghee for frying
For Sugar syrup :
Sugar : 1 cup
Water : ½ cup
Saffron strands : few
Method :
Jalebi preparation :
- Grind the deseeded jamun fruit and keep aside the pulp
- Sieve all purpose flour, corn flour and baking powder to a container
- To the above, add ghee, curds and the fruit pulp and mix till the batter attains the consistency of cream that can be piped. Add sufficient water while mixing
- Cover and set it aside for 12 hours for fermentation
- Once fermented, stir the batter slowly. Do not over stir
- Prepare the sugar syrup as mentioned under “Sugar syrup preparation” section and keep it ready
- Heat oil / ghee in a deep bottomed pan and once hot enough, prepare jalebis using piping bag or the ketchup bottles. Fry in medium flame
- Dip the fried jalebis in the sugar syrup when it is hot / warm and let it soak in the sugar syrup for about 2 to 3 minutes
Jamun Jalebi is ready to consume. Jalebis taste best when served fresh and hot. It can be eaten as is or with Vanilla Ice cream.
Sugar Syrup preparation:
- Boil sugar in water and add few strands of saffron to it. Let it boil till a one string consistency is reached.
Note:
- This recipe can be prepared without curds as well. In such a case, adjust the consistency with enough water and let it ferment for atleast 15 hours
- Jalebis taste great when consumed hot and fresh
- You may even replace baking powder with equal measure of baking soda
Jamun stories:
During our childhood days, visiting cousins used to be no less than a picnic. Most of the houses then, were in the remote area, with no good vehicle connectivity. So, we had to either take a bus or drive to a certain point from where we had to walk all the way to the destination. Enroute, the varieties of trees on either side with their colourful leaves and fruits used to welcome us. We used to play games, eat exotic tasty fruits before reaching our destination. One such tree was the Jamun tree. It is one variety of fruit, which is very tasty, but you can’t eat it more because of its sub acidic nature. We played games like “Who eats more Jamun?”. Well, needless to say, I never won that game ever. Anyways, for all those who love jamun fruit for its sweet taste , this dish is the one for you
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