In this post, I am sharing a traditional method of making jalebis using yeast, flour, ghee, sugar and yogurt. These homemade jalebi turn out super crispy and irresistible! If you are in a mood for a seasonal twist, may I suggest my pumpkin jalebi recipe? Come end of September and its time for autumn festivities. Hindus all over India celebrate Navratri (nine days of fasting & feasting), worshipping Goddess Durga in nine pristine forms, each form depicting a virtue. Ramlila is a nine to ten-day long drama staged during these days in northern parts of india to portray the life events of Lord Rama and his victory over the demon king Ravana. The last day is observed as the festival of Dusherra, which denotes the triumph of good over evil. On way back home from ramlila we used to eat jalebis from the mithai shops, and though there is no ramlila here, I love to follow the tradition and make a batch every year.
What is Jalebi
Jalebi is a deep fried indian sweet made with a yeasty flour batter. The fermented batter is pipied into hot oil using either a cloth with hole or, homecooks like me, use a squeeze bottle. Once the concentric spirals are crispy, they are soaked in sugar syrup. Its crispy, mildly tangy and sweet! Jalebi is quite comparable in appearance to a funnel cake but it’s eggless and fermented. When the fermented batter is piped into the hot oil, it swells and comes sizzling up and changes its color to golden. They are quite cloying, however the little tanginess balances it. Usually, jalebi is served with unsweetened milk (in kulhads) or with rabdi. However, my favorite way to serve hot jalebis is with dahi (plain unsweetened yogurt).
Ingredients
Maida (all purpose flour) Cornstarch or Rice flour - for the crispiness Besan - Gram flour Active dry yeast Ghee - Ghee makes the batter taste nutty and rich. Whole milk plain yogurt - Adds a tangy hint Pinch ground saffron Orange or yellow food color Oil or ghee for frying
For the Sugar Syrup
Granulated sugar Lemon juice Green cardamon pods(grind the seeds to make cardamom powder or use store bought) 7-8 saffron strands Optional Flavorings - Rose water, kewra (screwpine water)
How to make Jalebi
Prepare the Jalebi Batter
Make the Sugar Syrup
Start making the syrup about 10 minutes before you start frying jalebi.
Check the Batter
You would think that jalebi is simply fried batter, what could go wrong! Trust me, a lot. The key to making perfect jalebi is the consistency of batter. The consistency should be velvety- ribbon like, it should be thick but it should flow in a continuous string when dropped from a height. It takes practice to understand it fully, however I am writing a lot of tips and tricks that will help you understand the details of jalebi making. Too runny or thin batter, jalebi will be thin and crackly. Too thick batter, they will be thick and doughy and won’t absorb the syrup! In addition to batter, the temperature of the oil also plays an important role. Flat jalebi often result from low heat frying, too high- the jalebi will burn.
Fry & Soak the Jalebi
Tips for Perfect jalebi
Indian Cooking especially mithai (sweets) making rides on a lot of approximations, visual feel and tips and tricks learnt through experience. Mithai making is an art and gets better with practice. Here are few of the things I have learnt from my jalebi making trials.
Sugar Syrup :-Addition of lemon juice to the syrup prevents crystallization of sugar as well as lends it a mild tart flavor which is typical to jalebis. Food Color :- Adding food coloring to the batter is a choice, if you do not want, skip it. I like to add color because I think it looks nice to the eyes. Batter :- Usually the batter gets a little runny after fermentation, so its better to keep it on the thickish side before you set it out to ferment. You can always add water later to get the right consistency. Batter Consistency :- One of the ways to check the consistency of batter is to try to drop it in the bowl from a height, about 6-7 inches , it should fall is continuously, similar to how a lace or ribbon flows. Piping the Jalebi :-You could use a Ziploc bag with a small opening to make the jalebi. However, I find using the squeeze bottle much easier since if you keep on pressing the ziploc bag, after a few batches, the hole becomes large in size and the jalebis become very very thick. I find the ziploc method quite messy too. The squeezable bottles are available in baking aisle. Attaching a nozzle to a piping bag works fine too,keep in mind that the thickness of the jalebis will depend on the nozzle size. Do not use a very big size nozzle since the jalebis will not cook properly. Oil Temerature - While frying if the temperature of oil is too hot, the jalebis will come up sizzling, the batter will tear or have bubbles all over, it might every scatter in the oil and jalebis will turn over crisp and not absorb syrup properly. If the oil temperature is too low, then jalebis will remain flat and raw inside. Once you start frying, it will take you 1-2 minutes to get a feel of the right temperature of oil, the jalebis should come up within few seconds (2-3secs) of piping into oil and swell as you fry but at the same time do not get too brown. Don’t worry I also had few over brown ones, so you will know when its right. Shape of Jalebi :- Getting the right shape of the jalebis takes time, they do not have to be precise and perfect but as you make more and more, you will get a hang of it. Just keep in mind to squeeze the bottle/piping bag batter with a constant pressure and work in concentric circles, outside towards inside. Again, practice will help. However, whatever shape they come out,they will taste good. Texture of Jalebis :- The right texture of the jalebis is crispy on outside, if you take a bite, you will notice the tubular crossection filled with syrup. Without getting more technical,just know that they are not meant to be soft. Vegan Version - Skip the yogurt in the recipe and use a little more water to get the right consistency of the batter.
Storage
Jalebis can be stored for 2-3 days. Do not refrigerate. Just store at room temperature. However, I do not recommend or prefer storing them, the texture is pretty off once they are cold. Make small batches and serve rightaway while still warm.
