To healthify or not is the question?
Gulab Jamun is a classic dessert. What is not to love about a deep fried dough that is suspended in sugar solution? Each ball is typically around 150 calories. Usually a dessert portion is 2 balls which makes it 300 calories per serving. A typical Indian dinner is around 600 calories. Now, you have just eaten 50% of your dinner calories as your dessert.
Is that so bad? I had this discussion with my sister recently. I told her excitedly that I was working on a healthy version for Gulab Jamun and was listing the pros and cons of each experiment. You know the drill – lower the fat and it is not as rich and satisfying; lower the sugar and you feel that something is not quite right. She honestly wondered if it was a big deal. “If you are going to eat Gulab Jamun once in a while, why not have the rich full fat, full sugar and be done with it?” While that is a very legitimate argument, I feel that discussing ideas to make it healthier helps us in these modern times, when we are just inundated with dense calorie foods everywhere.
A Little History (Sorry, Can’t help myself!!)
If you look back to the history of Gulab Jamun, it just involves 2 main ideas – Gulab (rose water) and Jamun (resembling a round fruit). So, as long as we have a round ball dipped in rose water syrup, we have technically made a Gulab Jamun :).
However, let’s consider the food science aspect of a traditional Gulab Jamun. We take Khoya (milk solids), deep fry them and add it to a sugar syrup. Given the hot weather in India, before refrigeration, Khoya (kova in tamil) will not keep for more than 2 days. Deep frying them removes most of the moisture and replace them with fat from oil or ghee. Suspending them in sugar solution is the perfect environment to prevent bacteria from forming. You could easily keep it for a week or more without wasting your excess milk production.
Fast forward to now, with refrigeration available, do we need to deep fry it? Can we not bake it? Can we not suspend it in a solution that is less sweet than the original thick syrup? Here are my results after 6 attempts at cracking this.
Can we get to making it?
First let us make the dough. Add the 3 ingredients – whole wheat flour (you can use maida instead, being the health wierdo that I am, I could not resist passing on 4g fiber, 4g protein), milk powder and whole fat greek yogurt to a bowl.
Milk powder, Wheat flour and Greek yogurt
Knead it to make a dough.
Gulab Jamun Dough
Let it rest for a while and then make it into balls. Toss the balls in a little bit of melted butter or oil.
Gulab Jamun Balls
We want to bake it. But, here lies the problem with baking.
The baking surface always gets brown like this (shown from a test batch):
Oh no!! Baked Balls with Black Bottoms :(. How can we avoid that?
If you think of frying, there is heat attacking it from all sides equally.
How do we do that when baking?
To replicate that idea and to minimize the contact surface of the ball, I came up with this idea.
Ta- da!!
Baking in the oven without burning
I used raw potato pieces as my base and used toothpicks to hold my Jamuns up in the air.
This resembles frying, but in the AIR…Say What?? Hold the phone!! I realize your mind is blown with the awesome state-of-the-art tools I employ in my kitchen!! I knew my engineering skills will come in handy one day to make guilt-free Gulab Jamuns :).
Ahem, Onwards with the recipe…
Once the time is done, take a piece out, cut it into half and check to see if it cooked all the way inside.
Check if they are cooked all the way through
Meanwhile, have a syrup made with water, honey and rose water boiling.
Honey syrup for Gulab Jamuns
As soon as the balls are done, take them out and boil them in the syrup for a minimum of 10 minutes to get it to absorb the juices.
Your Gulab Jamuns are done. Eat them while they are hot or store them in the refrigerator to eat them over time.
Recipe:
My recipe comes out to about 90 calories per Gulab Jamun, which is about 40% lower in calories compared to the original.
Low fat, not fried, baked, no sugar yummy, healthy Gulab Jamuns
- 1/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour
- 1/2 cup Non-fat Milk Powder
- 1/4 cup Whole fat Greek Yogurt Start with less yogurt and see how much your dough needs
- 1/2 cup Water
- 1/2 cup Honey
- 1/2 cup Rose Water
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Preheat oven to 300F (150 C). (We want the ball to be cooked all the way inside, so 300 for 30-35 minutes is best for a well cooked ball).
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Add the dough ingredients and knead to make a dough. Let it rest for 5 minutes and then make it into balls.
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Toss the balls in a little bit of melted butter or oil to coat the outside and prevent it from drying out.
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Cut raw potato into large thick slices and place them on a cookie sheet. Pierce the dough balls with toothpicks on one end and pierce the other end on the potato pieces.
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Place the cookie sheet in the oven for 30-35 minutes. Mine took about 32 minutes to be done. During the cooking time, use the oven light to check if any ball toppled over and place them back if so.
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Once the time is done, take a piece out, cut it into half and check to see if it cooked all the way inside.
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While the balls are baking, add the syrup ingredients to a bowl and heat them.
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As soon as the balls are done, take them out and boil them in the syrup for a minimum of 10 minutes to get it to absorb the juices.
Important Notes
Rose Water
You know what makes the Gulab Jamuns delish? – The rose water!!! Ok, so, I have recently been obsessing about authentic rose water, but trust me folks, the rose water in the syrup takes it to the next level. I am not the kind of person who would bother with an ingredient if it is not in my pantry. But, in this case, I urge you to please make the effort to find good rose water. It has zero calories, but the lovely smell and the intrinsic sweetness it adds to the syrup is worth hunting it down.
Rose water makes all the difference
A “Melt in your mouth” version
The main recipe above makes sturdy gulab jamuns. It softens with the heat of the syrup and over time, but it does not make “melt in the mouth” ones. Why? The only fat for the recipe comes from the yogurt. So, it is a very low calorie dish, yay for that.
Now, in another trial version, I added 2 tablespoons of butter to the dough and reduced the yogurt to less than 2 tsp. That makes for a crumbly, melt in your mouth version. The taste is fantastic too. But, here’s the problem, my toothpick technique of holding it up in the air does not work once the butter is added. It crumbles down once it gets baking.
So, I had to bake it on the tray directly turning it manually every 5 minutes. This method really produces gulab jamuns that taste like the fried version spot on, but does not look the part.
Not that great looking, but tastes delish!!
This version will add 25 calories to each ball, making the calories 115 per Gulab Jamun compared to 150 for fried version. Still not bad!!
The ingredient list for the ‘melt in your mouth’ version is as follows:
- 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup milk powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking powder
- 1-2 tsp Greek Yogurt
- 2 Tblsp butter
Mix into dough and bake at 300F for 30 minutes, opening the oven every 5-10 minutes to change the direction of the ball contacting the baking surface. Follow the regular recipe for the rest of instructions.
It is your choice, which recipe you want to try. Try the fancy looking one for only 90 calories per ball. Don’t care for looks as much, try the buttery baked version. And if you have multiple family members, I can assure you, each one will pick their own favorite version as the winner.
That’s it for now!!
Happy cooking, and keep me posted if you try these recipes…
Would love to hear from you!!
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innovative idea and thinking in cooking. great.
Thank you!! Happy to hear it!!
I made it..loved it. Can i use ragi instead of atta
Hi Ruchika, I feel that since ragi does not have gluten, it may not stick together while going through the baking and soaking-in-syrup process. It may end up crumbling along the way. But, that’s just my hunch.
Thanks for posting your feedback. Happy to hear you loved it!!
Thanks for quick reply.. i never thought that about ragi and now i now why all my ragi bread crumble. i was impressed how you cooked your jamuns. I recently got air fryer so used that. Do you have anfb page i can then follow uthere.
Glad to hear the recipe worked well with the air fryer.
I am currently not on Facebook (https://www.upgrademyfood.com/why-i-deleted-my-facebook-account/) but I am active/available on Twitter/Pinterest/Email. Feel free to communicate anytime via these channels.
This is a totally awesome idea!!! I think I will not miss the oil and sugar in the original recipes.
Thank you!! So nice of you!!
Mind…blown…yaay for those nifty engineering skills!
Heheee!! Tune in for more breakthrough technology coming soon :)!!
Awesome Swetha..
Thanks Jyothi!!
WOW….wondeful n innovation to d core…was thinking instead baking thought will try using kuzhipaniyaram style of frying…WC oil…
any suggestions Creator!!!!
Hi Indhu, Kuzhiappam does sound like a good idea, but here is my concern – I am not sure if the balls will get cooked all the way through. You need a runny batter for kuziappam, but gulab jamun has a chapathi-like dough right? A microwave would cook it better (all the way inside) and then use maybe use the kuzhiappam to get the browning on the edges…?? Just thinking aloud here…You can also look up air fryer, that many Indian chefs are now recommending.
I really like the option honey replaces sugar.
Will it be good if we bake it in idly cooker as we bake kozhukattai (mothagam)?
Hi, Jayadevi, Steaming it is a possible idea, but the caramelization that happens when you bake/fry it will be missing in the steamed option. However, I always love experimenting, you should give it a go if you think it will work for you…
Hi, I loved the trial and error techniques u use in ur recipes. I also like u believe in using appliances to cut down the work. I just had a query. I was wondering if you can think of some gluten free flour to make the dish.
Thanks
Nisha
Thank you Nisha for your kind comment.
With regards to your question – I believe you could try using any popular brand of gluten free baking mix (King Arthur, Bob’s Red Mill, etc). They usually mix a combination of flours that will behave just like wheat flour without the gluten.
I have not tried any Gluten-Free flours, so sorry that I can’t give you any specific feedback. If you have any success with GF flours, please report back so other viewers can get tips from you.
Was looking for a healthy gulab jamun recipe. Will try this! Thanks
I don’t have oven. any alternative. .
You have to cook it all the way to the inside + develop a crusty edge. For that, I would recommend an air fryer, or pan frying with a little ghee/oil. Or like suggested in comments earlier, steam + pan fry combination. Hope that helps
Wow…Greek yogurt, wheat flour and milk powder to make a jamun, who would have thought? That was quite a science project 🙂
Haha…, I do love a good science project:)!!
Awesome!! Love your take on healthy no sugar added diet! It’s so hard to find a low glycemic based vegetarian food blog. I am so glad I found yours. Please keep going. Cheers!
Thanks Ann!!Lovely to hear that!!
Amazing!!!! Who would have thought of inserting toothpicks. You simply rock!!!
Hahaha :)…glad you liked the idea!!
I am making my g/jamun in air fryer. My husband is diabetic, we both love the sweets. Thank you for your fabulous recipes.. I will be checking more recipes from your site. Happy Divali to you and your family dear Sweta.
Hi Sabita,
Thank you!! So sweet of you!!
Happy Diwali to you and your family too!!
Wow loved your experimental cooking healthily
U rock
I believe u enjoyed Diwali
Thanks Madhumita, 🙂
Yes, had a great Diwali!!
Hi swetha, the ingredients used for jamuns are awesome but to my knowledge honey should not be heated, the nutrients present in honey may turn poisonous and lead to ill effects in the body.
Hi Manjusudha, Yes, the ayurvedic principles do not approve of heating honey. I assume they are talking about raw honey with its immune boosting benefits. Most processed honey nowadays come to us after going through a heating stage.
Having said that, please feel free to substitute with jaggery if you are more comfortable with that choice. Thanks.
Another option to oven for baked Gulab Jamun is bake them in Appe patra or electric Cake pop maker. I have tried, and it works well.
Great idea!! Thanks for sharing!!
wow cake popor appa patra sounds great.. true cook with engineering n scientific mindset
Haha :)!!
Hi Swetha,
I liked the idea but i have a friend who is ayurvedic follower and she always advises me to heat honey. Is there an alternative for this?
Thanks
Kavitha
Hi Kavitha,
Please feel free to substitute with jaggery if you are more comfortable with that choice.
Thanks.
Swetha
Hi
For the syrup, you boiled honey with water. Don’t you think boiling honey is not wise?
Hi Barsa, I am posting this reply again as it is a FAQ. Yes, the ayurvedic principles do not approve of heating honey. I assume they are talking about raw honey with its immune boosting benefits. Most processed honey nowadays come to us after going through a centrifugal and heating stage.
Having said that, please feel free to substitute with jaggery if you are more comfortable with that choice. Thanks.
Hi just wondering if making a baked badusha (I think it’s called balushahi too) works with a similar recipe? Love the idea of making them stand on pototo…that’s cool…you get to have baked potato for dinner and jamun for dessert:) and save electricity too!! Thanks:)
Hi Dia,
Haha…that’s funny!! Dinner and dessert in 1 shot!!
Re: your question on Badusha, I am sorry I have not made badusha before and unsure if the concept will work. You will have to go with your intuition.
Swetha
Awesome idea. Love it. will try and let you know how I fare. thanks a ton for these wonderful experiments of yours and helping newbies like me 🙂
Thanks Deepa!! 🙂
Its really a good idea but heating up honey is not good it may end up even bad compared to normal sugar..than th
Hi Parimala – I understand that viewpoint is from an ayurvedic concept. I have not seen scientific studies validating this idea.
However, you can use jaggery or agave syrup or even brown rice syrup if you are uncomfortable using honey.
Hey. This is great. But I just had a concern. As far as I know, honey should never be cooked/ boiled or even added to super hot water. It turns toxic. Would the boiling of jamun in honey syrup be fine then??
Hi Anamika, Yes, the ayurvedic principles do not approve of heating honey. I assume they are talking about raw honey with its immune boosting benefits. Most processed honey nowadays come to us after going through a heating stage. Having said that, please feel free to substitute with jaggery if you are more comfortable with that choice. Thanks.
This is amazing! The things we do for health’s sake…. from one health weirdo to another, you knocked my socks off. I eat gulab jamuns by squeezing out as much sugar as I can, then dunking it in water and squeezing again. This may reduce a tiny bit of fat but definitely reduces the sugar. Its still sweet but somewhat sorry looking, but that’s how I eat it….now I can try your method.
Haha… this made me laugh out loud!! Your eating methods sound very familiar to me!!
I’m still laughing about the dumplings being suspended in the air with a potato base! Wonderful – engineering genius applied to cooking! Even more wonderful that that engineer is a woman!!
Haha!! 😄