Jalebi is a popular Indian dessert made and served for festivals and special occasions. It is one Indian sweet that I must always buy whenever I pass by the Indian sweet shops. And why not, the bright colours that captures anyone’s attention at a glance. I love everything about this sweet – the shape, the colour, one bit and the sugar syrup oozes out filling your mouth with complete satisfaction of indulgence. To add to the indulgence, this crispy sugary spiral goodness tastes even better when served with cream/clotted cream or thick sweet yoghurt.
I always wanted to try making these, and now having tried, tested and tasted I can happily say, you should try them too. I never thought how easy they were to make until now, may I say so. From me to you Happy Diwali with a plate of sweet Jalebis.
Ingredients Makes about 24 Jalebis
2 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup cornflour
1/2 cup thickened yoghurt (curd)
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
Few strand saffron
1/2 teaspoon powdered green cardamom
1 Tbs melted ghee
2 cup sugar
1 cup water
Lemon juice
Few drops of rose essence
Pinch of yellow or red food colouring
Oil to fry
Method
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Now, add the ghee, yoghurt and enough water to make a thick batter.
Using a hand whisk, mix well until it is thick pouring pancake consistency batter. Add pinch of food colouring of your preference.
Cover and let rest in a warm place for 8-10 hours to ferment, or until small bubbles develop on top of the batter.
Once the batter has fermented, start making the sugar syrup by add the sugar and ½ cup (120 ml) of water to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
Add cardamom, the saffron strands to the sugar syrup.
Simmer until a sticky syrup develops, about 5 minutes. Squeeze the lemon juice that will prevent the sugar to crystallise.
Whisk the batter and add a tablespoon of water if the batter looks too thick. Transfer to a squeeze bottle or piping bag.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-low until it reaches to approximately 180°C.
Squeeze the batter into the hot oil, making small circular spiral shapes.
Increase the heat to medium-high.
Fry them until they are crispy on both sides, about 5 minutes.
Remove and immediately dip in the syrup mixture.
Serve warm or cold with cream or yoghurt of your choice, but they are super delicious on their own. . You can served them on their own.
Brinda’s Note: Jalebi will preserve well for a few days of kept in an airtight sealed container.
HAPPY COOKING!
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