Gulab Jamun

Method

1. Make the syrup first. Press the cardamom pods with the flat of a knife to crack them. Put the sugar, water, cardamom and saffron in a 18 cm saucepan over medium heat, stir until the sugar dissolves, then boil for 7 min. A cooled drop should feel slightly sticky between your fingers but not form a thread; a thicker syrup won't soak in. Turn off the heat, stir in the lemon juice (it stops the sugar recrystallising) and the rose water, and keep warm.

   Add in this stepSugar 200 gWater (for the syrup) 200 mlGreen cardamom pods 3Saffron (optional) 1 pinchLemon juice ½ tspRose water 1 tsp

   medium heat

2. In a bowl, mix the milk powder, flour and baking powder, add the melted ghee and rub it in with your fingertips until sandy. Add the milk a little at a time, bringing it together gently with a spatula into a soft, slightly sticky dough. Do not knead it: kneading makes hard, chewy jamuns. Cover and leave for 10 min.

   Add in this stepFull-fat milk powder 80 gPlain flour 15 gBaking powder ¼ tspGhee, melted (or butter) 2 tspMilk 45 ml

3. Grease your palms lightly with ghee or oil, pinch off pieces of dough and roll them into 2.5 cm balls. They grow by half again when fried, so keep them small. They must be completely smooth with no cracks, or they will split in the oil; if you see cracks, roll a little longer between your palms. You will get 3–4 per serving.

4. Pour the oil into a wide, deep 18 cm pan (a kadai is ideal) to a depth of 4–5 cm, no more than a third full, and heat over medium-low heat for 6 min to 140–150 °C. That is much cooler than most frying. Drop in a tiny piece of dough: it should sink, then rise slowly with small bubbles after 5–6 seconds. If it shoots up at once, the oil is too hot; turn off the heat and let it cool a little. Never leave hot oil unattended and keep a lid close by.

   Add in this stepOil for frying (or ghee) 500 ml

   medium-low heat

5. Slide the balls into the oil with a spoon and don't touch them for the first minute, or they may break. Once they float, gently stir the oil with a spoon so they roll around by themselves, and fry over low heat for 8 min, until evenly deep brown. Fry in 1 batch(es). If they brown in under 4 minutes, the oil is too hot and the centres will be raw.

   low heat

6. Lift them out with a slotted spoon, let the oil drip off for a few seconds and drop them straight into the warm (not boiling) syrup. Leave them to soak for at least 2 h: they absorb the syrup, swell to nearly twice their size and turn soft and juicy right through.

7. Serve warm or at room temperature in bowls with some of the syrup, scattered with the chopped pistachios. Jamuns straight from the syrup are very hot inside, so halve and cool them for children.

   Add in this stepPistachios, roughly chopped 10 g