Gulab Jamun with milk powder is an easy, delicious homemade sweet prepared without khoya or store-bought mix. Here is a foolproof step-by-step recipe with photos and tips to make soft, melt-in-the-mouth crack-free gulab jamuns for Diwali!
Last year I shared Gulab jamun recipe with khoya. As it came out very well, I got the confidence to try Gulab jamun with other options. Khoya is not easily available in many places. So Milk powder is the best replacement for khoya to prepare Gulab jamun.
Recently my reader friend Harini asked me to share milk powder gulab jamun recipe and Gulab jamun with instant store bought mix as well. As I had bookmarked this recipe already, I tried it yesterday. Milk powder, fine semolina (chiroti rava), maida and milk are the major ingredients used in this recipe. It is easy to make too. It came out really well in my first attempt itself.
The author of this recipe had given the instructions very clearly which helped me a lot to make perfect Gulab jamun. Thank you so much Savita for the great recipe. I was very happy to see my soft, crack-free, well-soaked Gulab jamun in sugar syrup. I don’t say it doubled in size but it did puff up. I have shared step-by-step photos, tips for troubleshooting and a cooking video for beginners. Hope you will try it for this Diwali and share your feedback with me. Let’s see how to make yummy Gulab jamun recipe with milk powder and semolina.
Check out my Gulab Jamun with khoya and Jamun Kofta gravy recipes too!
Quick Notes for US & Abroad Kitchens
- Milk Powder Selection: In US grocery stores, full cream or whole milk powder (such as Nido, Carnation, or Everyday available at Indian and international grocers) gives the richest texture. Non-fat dry milk powder can make jamuns slightly dry, so add an extra 1/2 teaspoon of ghee if using non-fat milk powder.
- Semolina / Rava Choice: Look for fine sooji or chiroti rava at Indian grocery stores (like Laxmi or Deep brand). Avoid coarse Bombay rava or coarse semolina from American stores, as large granules will cause the jamuns to crack during frying.
- Stove Heat Management: Electric coil and glass-top cooktops retain intense residual heat. Once the oil reaches frying temperature, reduce the burner knob to low or medium-low so the jamuns fry slowly without over-browning before the inside cooks through.
- Sugar Syrup Warmth: When dropping fried jamuns into the sugar syrup, ensure the syrup is comfortably warm, not boiling hot. Boiling syrup can cause the jamun skin to wrinkle, while cold syrup prevents proper absorption.
Gulab Jamun Recipe With Milk Powder
Ingredients
For Gulab Jamun Dough
- 1 cup Milk powder (approx. 100g / 3.5 oz) Everyday or dairy whitener
- 1 tbsp All-purpose flour / Maida
- 1 tbsp Fine semolina / Chiroti rava must use fine rava
- 1 ½ tbsp Water to soak semolina
- ¼ tsp Baking powder not baking soda
- ½ tbsp Ghee
- ½ tbsp Cooking oil flavorless oil
- 1 to 2 tbsp Milk boiled and cooled to room temperature
- Cooking oil or ghee for deep frying
For Sugar Syrup
- 1 cup Sugar (approx. 200g / 7 oz)
- 1 ½ cups Water (approx. 360 ml / 12 fl oz)
- 2 pods Cardamom crushed, or 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
- few Saffron strands optional
Instructions
- Take the fine semolina (chiroti rava) in a small bowl, add 1 1/2 tbsp water and let it soak for 10 minutes. In a wide mixing bowl, take the milk powder, add ghee and 1/2 tbsp cooking oil. Mix thoroughly with your fingertips so the fat is evenly distributed with the milk powder.
- To this mixture, add baking powder, maida and the soaked semolina. Mix gently with your fingers without applying too much pressure until it resembles pea-sized granules.
- Gradually add room-temperature boiled milk (about 1 to 2 tbsp) and gently gather the mixture to form a soft dough. Do not knead with your palms; use your fingers alone. The dough will look sticky initially. Cover with a clean dry cloth and let it rest for 10 minutes (it will absorb moisture and turn smooth).
- While the dough rests, prepare the sugar syrup. In a deep pan or kadai, combine sugar and water. Bring to a boil on high heat until the sugar dissolves completely, then reduce to medium heat and boil for 5 minutes until it becomes sticky like oil (thin sticky consistency, no string needed). Add crushed cardamom seeds and saffron strands. Turn off the heat and keep the syrup warm.
- Uncover the jamun dough. It will now be soft and non-sticky. Divide into small portions and roll gently between your palms into smooth, crack-free round balls. If needed, lightly grease your palms with ghee. Keep the rolled balls covered with a dry cloth to prevent drying.
- Heat oil or ghee in a kadai on low to medium flame. Test the temperature by dropping a tiny piece of dough: it should rise slowly to the top within 5 seconds without browning instantly. If the oil is too cold, the jamuns will disperse; if too hot, they will brown on the outside while staying raw inside.
- Gently drop the jamun balls into the oil. Do not disturb them for the first 10 seconds. Then gently swirl the oil in a circular motion with a ladle so the jamuns rotate and fry evenly to a rich, uniform golden brown color on low flame.
- Remove the fried jamuns with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels for a minute.
- Immediately drop the hot jamuns into the warm sugar syrup. Let them soak for at least 2 to 3 hours so they absorb the syrup, puff up and become soft and juicy. Enjoy warm or chilled!
Video
Notes
- Gulab jamuns will disperse or break in oil if the oil temperature is too low. Always test with a small peanut-sized dough ball first.
- Gulab jamuns will become chewy or dense if you add too little baking powder, or crack if you add too much. Measure accurately.
- No need to add cooking soda (baking soda) for this recipe; baking powder alone is used.
- Fine semolina (chiroti rava) is essential. Do not use coarse rava, as it will not blend smoothly into the dough.
- Beginners can start with half the quantity of ingredients mentioned to practice and avoid wastage.
- Lemon juice is not needed in the sugar syrup if maintaining the 1:1.5 ratio of sugar to water; it will not crystallize.
- If you have leftover fried jamuns without syrup, try making jamun kofta curry!
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Try this easy, yummy Gulab jamun at home for special occasions and enjoy!
For more traditional festive ideas, check out my complete collection of South Indian Diwali Sweets and Snacks Recipes.
This gulab jamun is so tempting me. I m so much drooling ,and love each photos so colorful
hi chitra thanks a lot.i ll surely try this for diwali and give u the feedback.ur gulab jamun tempts me and photos r verryy beautiful.thanks once again.
Sure Harini, Thanks ! I will post instant mix gulab jamun by next week.
thank u chitra.
hi chitra,yesterday i made gulabjamun with milk powder.it came out well.it didnt double the size as u said but tasted good and easy to make.thank u.
Thanks for the feedback Harini :)
hi chitra r u going to post gulab jamun using instant mix?tommorrow i am going to try.definitely it ll be helpful for beginners as well as people like me.what they show in ads is true or not i dont know.they stack jamuns like laddus…is it possible? i keep mine in broad vessel or basins only i cannot store in a containers or dabbas we use normally.silly doubts.just to check whether what i do is jamun or what.
Hi Harini, Yes, I am planning to make it tonite and post tomorrow by evening. I wish to make it perfect. Wish me luck Harini :) In TV ads, they stack it like laddus just for the picture attraction. we cannot store it like that. we can keep them dunked in sugar syrup or make it as dry jamun and keep in a box.I have asked few tips from my friends and i will share them in my post :)
Hi chitra surely u ll get best gulab jamuns.