Easy Khoya Gulab Jamoon

We had a great Ugadi, though we missed family, we had family-away-from-family- the best of our friends with us. So it was all about feasting and merry making. It was good. As usual it was Obbattu and the rest of the usual suspects for the festive spread. I also made some Gulab Jamoon because my little Sunny boy would not eat Obbattu and I did not want him to go without something sweet on Ugadi. Thus was  added these lovely Gulab  Jamoon to the standard Ugadi menu. Well the updated menu will probably be the new standard, at least till Sunny boy grows to like Obbattu.

I always made Gulab Jamoon out of the pack. I did like the results, till Honey's aunt came up with these khoa (khoya) Gulab Jamoon. Sunny boy fell in love with these beauties on his latest trip to India. The love was affirmed when we visited family in Lucknow. There is this joint called Ritz where the Gulab Jamoons are as  big as tennis balls, melts in the mouth and is served warm, just right for Sunny boy and a lot of us of course. After knowing how fond of such Gulab Jamoons Sunny boy is, I had to make it. I decided to simplify the recipe for convenience. It worked! I will never make Gulab Jamoons out of the pack.

We will need,

Khoya /Mawa/ Khoa    341 grams (one pack)
All Purpose Flour  2 tbsp
Baking Soda 1 tsp
Sugar  2.5cups
Cardamon 1 pod the skin discarded and the seeds crushed.
Saffron a few strands
Ghee to deep fry

Method:

• Dump the Khoa into a food processor with the all purpose flour, baking soda and about 3 tablespoons of water. (If the khoa is home made and has a lot of moisture, do not add water)
• Pulse it till the mixture comes together like a soft dough. Remove and dump it onto a clean surface. Kneed till the mixture is soft and pliable. 
• Pinch about 1 tbsp of dough and roll it between your palms to get a smooth and soft ball (or 1" long logs). Repeat till all the dough is used up.
• Meantime, combine the sugar and about 2.5 cups of water in a wide mouth pot. Cook the mixture till the mixture reaches one thread consistency i.e. pinching the syrup between the thumb and forefinger should yield a thread like structure. Throw in the cardamon and saffron.Keep the syrup warm.
• Heat the ghee in a thick bottom Kadai. Once the ghee is hot enough  lower the prepared khoa balls. Deep fry till golden on low-medium heat. If the heat it slightly high, the Jamoon will turn out to be very dark. Once the Jamoons are golden brown remove from the ghee using a slotted spoon and lower gently into the hot syrup. 
• Let the Jamoons soak in the syrup for a couple of hours at least. I let it sit overnight.
• Serve Jamoons warm with a dollop of ice-cream on top. (That is how one of our friends enjoyed it)