Kala Jamuns are dark brown gulab jamuns made from paneer/khoya/milk powder and then deep fried.
They are later coated with sugar syrup. In Kala Jamun, sugar is added to the dough and after frying, the sugar caramelization gives it the dark, almost black color, which is then called 'Kala Jamun' or 'Black Jamun'.
Ingredients:
Preparing Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Makes: 10-12 kala jamuns
For Kala Jamuns:
- 1 cup Milk Powder
- 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour (maida)
- 1/2 tsp Ghee
- 4 tsp Yogurt (curd)
- A pinch of baking soda
- A pinch of salt
- Ghee or Oil for deep frying
For Green Color Inside Kala Jamuns:
- 1-2 tsp Sugar
- 2-3 drops Green Food Color
- 1/2 tsp Cardamom Powder (optional)
For Sugar Syrup:
- 1-1/2 cups Sugar
- 2 cups Water
- 4 Cardamoms (crushed or powdered)
- 1 tsp Lemon Juice
Method:
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, milk powder, salt and baking soda.
- Add yogurt, mix everything lightly and bind it. (Don't over mix or knead, if you knead or mix the gluten forms and this tends the dough balls become dense and it doesn't absorb the sugar syrup)
- The mixture will be sticky, so add some ghee to your palms and bind it.
- Set aside for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile make the sugar syrup.
Preparing Sugar Syrup:
- In a wide mouthed pan, combine sugar, water, cardamom powder and pit it on Heat.
- Stir once and gently bring it to boil.
- Once the sugar syrup seems to be thick, switch off the flame. (Make sure it doesn't reach to 1 thread consistency)
- Set aside add lemon juice and stir once. (Lemon juice is used as it doesn't crystallize the sugar syrup)
- Preparing Green Color inside Kala Jamuns:
- After 15 minutes divide the dough into 2 parts (3/4 and 1/4 as shown in the picture above)
- In 1/4 part of the dough, add green food color, sugar and cardamom powder.
- Mix well and make small dough balls. ( make sure the dough balls are not big because it should be wrapped inside plain dough )
- Now take the plain dough and divide into equal dough balls as the colored dough balls. ( the plain dough ball should be double the size of the colored dough ball)
- Take the plain dough ball spread it on your palm as shown in the picture above.
- Then stuff the small colored ball into the plain sprayed dough.
- Close and make it into a Jamun shape.
- Repeat the same process to the remaining dough.
- Heat ghee or oil for deep frying.
- Once the ghee or oil is hot, lower the flame. (to test the temperature of the oil or ghee just drop a piece of dough into the ghee or oil, it should slowly rise to the top. If it doesn't rise then the temperature is not hot enough to fry)
- Add the shaped dough to the ghee or oil. (1-2 dough balls at a time, according to your kadai or pan size)
- The shaped dough have to be stirred with a spoon frequently to get even golden color.
- Remove them and set aside for 5 minutes. ( if frying in oil place them on paper towel. If using ghee to fry place them on the plate directly without paper towel )
- After 5 minutes add them to the oil or ghee.
- Fry them till they are light black color on low flame. ( this might take around 5-6 minutes to get that light black color)
- Remove them and add it directly to the sugar syrup.
- Soak them in the sugar syrup for at least 3 hours.
- Serve them warm or cold.




















