Kala Jamun

Kala jamun or Kala Jaam is one of the most loved sweets. You can call it as the king of sweets. It is black in color hence the name. Both gulab jaam and Kala Jaam are rich and syrup laden sweets. Some people also serve dry kala jaam without the extra syrup .You will see both the varieties in a sweetshop.. Some people will just gorge on the chaat counter and sweet one in weddings. This is however a healthier version. Can you guess how? We try to make it healthy although it is still fried 🙂

Well, there is no maida or plain flour in it. We make it from a surprise vegetable which is sweet potato. This is a shakarkandi based one so it is actually a falahari gulab jamun. Also, this recipe of kala jamun is without khoya / mawa but uses paneer.  You got to make it to understand that there is no change in taste. Super tasty, rich and yummy. You can also stuff it with nuts if you like. However, this version is a nut-free one.

Yes so you can actually eat it during fasting. It is totally gluten-free. It does have milk powder and paneer in it, to give it that color. People also make vegan versions but that is for another post. For now, I sign off on this Diwali delight on the gluten free one. For the gulab jamun version using similar ingredients , you may refer to a recipe by fellow blogger here

Ingredients

• Sweet potato boiled and grated
• Paneer/cottage cheese/ricotta cheese
• Milk powder
• Ghee
• Sugar
• Water
• Lemon juice
• Saffron strands

Equipment

• Grater
• Saucepan
• Kadai

Instructions

1. Boil and grate the sweet potato. Add milk powder and paneer.

2. Add hot ghee and mix well.

3. Mould in desired shape either cylindrical or round.

4. Cook in ghee/oil on medium flame. Keep stirring all the time.

5. Take out once dark brown

6. Move to sugar syrup once the whole batch is fried. Serve after few hours. You can serve it hot or cold as per your choice.

Print Recipe

4.2 from 5 votes

Kala Jamun recipe

Yummy recipe loved by one & all.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time40 mins

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: glutenfree, glutenfree kala jamun, gulab jaam, kala jaam

Servings: 24

Author: Gaurav

Equipment

• Grater
• saucepan
• Kadai

Ingredients

• 1 cup sweet potato boiled and grated
• ½ cup paneer/cottage cheese
• 1-¾ - 2 cup milk powder
• 1 tablespoon hot ghee

For sugar syrup

• 1.5 cup sugar
• 1.5 cup water
• 3-4 drops of lemon juice
• 5-6 saffron strands

Instructions

for sugar syrup

• Bring all ingredients to a boil.
• Keep it hot by moving to a very very low flame or keeping it over a water bath(on top of a vessel that is boiling water)

for kala jaam

• Boil and grate sweet potato.
• Add paneer and milk powder to it with 1 tablespoon hot ghee.
• Knead the dough, add more milk powder if required.
• Shape them into balls or any shape.
• Heat ghee in the kadai on low flame.
• Test the ghee and mix by frying a small ball of mix.
• Fry the full sized balls on low flame.
• Use a spoon to keep on stirring them slowly in the oil/ghee.
• once they turn dark brown, move them to the sugar syrup.
• Let them stay in the syrup for few hours.Do not move them a lot else the shape is not preserved
• Serve chilled or at room tempreture.

kala jamun vs gulab jamun

Difference between Gulab Jamun and Kala Jamun is not just in color. Other than the color, there is a difference in taste which is due to the addition of Paneer .I prefer fresh home made paneer that can be easily crumbled and added to the mix. While frying them ,they will get a dark brown color .The skin of the kala jaam is also thicker than Gulab jam.

Storage

Store them in refrigerator. They stay good for a week although it is guarantee you will eat them faster than that.

Variations

You can make gulab jamun with khoya. You can also make gulab jamun with maida but that is not gluten free.Some people also make gulab jamun with mix.Many mixes are available like GITS, MTR etc. However, I like to make it from scratch. You can also make gulab jamun sabji Jodhpur style using the balls as kofta. These days cake and cheese cake with this flavor is also very popular. Some people also make bread  jamun these days.

Serving suggestion

Enjoy these melt-in-mouth  hot kale gulab jamun with a cold  strawberry ice-cream ,mango kulfi or kesar pista kulfi, Indian wedding counter style. Hot gulab jamuns with cold ice cream is superb. This combination is pretty popular in wedding menu. You can also enjoy pairing it with a spicy samosa. You can also serve it hot with cold rabri.

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