jalebi | saint valentin
What would I be if not a good Punjabi girl for making jalebi for my boo. Shimmy back to our first Valentine's Day as a married couple. I was veli - no job, no kids, no friends - but in a happily married bliss. This is one of the ultimate moo mitha desserts in my opinion going straight from the gooey rosewater syrup right into the mouth of a loved one.
Jalebi
makes around 10 jalebi
Ingredients
Sheera : Sugar Syrup
400 grams (2 cups) granulated sugar
480 ml (2 cups) water
8 green cardamon pods, ground
2 tsp rose water
pinch of cream of tartar or 1 tsp lemon juice
Jalebi Batter
200 grams plain flour
100 grams white bread flour
125 grams tapioca flour
600 ml water split into 125 ml and 475 ml quantities
1/2 tsp active dried yeast
1/4 tsp saffron
2 tbsp hot, whole milk
1 tbsp full fat, plain yogurt
Oil for frying
Method
Making the sheera : sugar syrup
Add water and sugar to a medium sized saucer bringing it slowly to a boil and leave for 7-8 minutes.
When the sugar completely dissolves, reduce the heat to medium and add the cream of tartar or lemon juice, rose syrup and crushed cardamom pods
Let mixture simmer for about 10-12 minutes until the consistency because a slightly sticky syrup. To test, very carefully put a drop of syrup on your thumb and rub with your pointer finger. You should feel a stick and when you release your pointer finger, there should be a single threadlike strand between the two.
Take the syrup off the heat and start making the jalebi. The syrup should be lukewarm at the time of soaking jalebi in the syrup.
Making the jalebi batter
In a large bowl, sift together the plain flour, white bread flour and tapioca flour
In a small bowl, add the yeast to 125 ml lukewarm water. It must be lukewarm. If the water is too hot, it will kill the yeast. If it is too cold, it will not activate the yeast. Set aside for 5 minutes and then gently stir in the yeast so that it is fully dissolved into the water.
Heat the milk just before boiling point and stir in the saffron strands.
Pour the dissolved yeast and saffron milk into a measuring jug. Add the balance 475 ml water.
Stirring with a wooden spoon, add the measured liquid to the flour and beat until the batter is very smooth. Add the yogurt and beat again.
Cover batter with cling film and leave to rest for 3-4 hours to allow the batter to ferment and grow in size, giving it more flavor and depth.
Making the jalebi
Heat oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium heat.
** Once the oil becomes hot, it is extremely important to test the temperature before beginning the frying process. Carefully drop a dollop of batter into the oil. If it takes 2-3 seconds to rise to the top of the oil, it is the correct temperature. If the batter rises up quickly, vigorously bubbling, the oil is too hot. The jalebi will be hard and the syrup won't penetrate them. If the batter is slower to rise, the oil is not hot enough. This will result in a raw, soft and oily dough.
Once the oil is the correct temperature, you will need to use a funnel to pipe the jalebi into the oil.
** The size of the funnel is the same as the tip of a diner style ketchup bottle or a squeeze bottle of honey or mayo. Use one of these bottles to pipe out the dough - easy, easy - or scoop the batter into a ziplock bag and cut a small hole at one corner.
** As jalebi are oddly shaped by swirls of connecting circles, they are made by piping 3-4 circles one on top of the other directly into the oil. As they fry and bob in the oil, the circles will naturally intertwine and link.
** The last batch I made looked like the Persian version of the sweet, Zulbia. Nevermind the shape, they were delicious.
Start frying! Once the jalebi starts to golden brown on one side, flip it over (about 1-2 minutes on each side). You can add multiple jalebi in the oil depending on how big the pan is; just don't overcrowd them.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the jalebi from the oil and drain on a paper towel for one minute.
Transfer the hot jalebi into the syrup and allow them to soak for 1-2 minutes.Use a different slotted spoon to remove from them from the syrup and onto a serving dish.
Eat jalebi fresh! This way you get the true crispiness of the exterior as they will naturally get soft due to the syrupy interior.
