Jalebi

 

 

                                                          Jalebi 

 

     Jalebi, also known as Jilapi, zalabia is an Indian and Arabic sweet snack popular all over South Asia and Middle East. This recipe was brought to medieval India by Persian speaking Turkish invaders. In India this sweet is usually served with sweetened condensed milk dish, rabri or eaten with kachori in the northern parts of Indian Subcontinent. In our home, the hot jalabi is a favorite. This should be crisp, juicy and slightly tangy. Corn flour gives it the crispness and curd and lemon juice gives it sour taste. Coming to the recipe.

 

 

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Resting Time: 15 minutes

 

Ingredients:

All-purpose flour or maida: 150 gms

Curd (well beaten): 4 table spoons

Corn Flour: 4 table spoons

Baking Soda: 1/4 tea spoon

Water: 25 ml

Orange food color: 1/4 tea spoon

Cooking Oil: As needed for frying (200 ml)

For Sugar Syrup:

Sugar: 150 gms

Water: 300 ml

Cardamom: 2 pods well crushed

Lemon Juice: 3 tea spoons or half of a lemon

 

Method:

1) Take a bowl, add maida, corn flour, baking soda, curd and mix well.

2) Add water little by little and mix it into a smooth batter, with out any lumps.

3) Let the batter rest for 15 minutes.

4) In the meantime, prepare the sugar syrup.

5) Place a wide and deep bowl on the stove over high flame, add sugar and water. Mix well.

6) Let the syrup boil for 7 to 10 minutes.

7) Add lemon juice and cardamom and put off the fame.

8) Fill the batter into a ziploc and seal it well.

9) Cut it in one end, like a piping bag.

10) Place a wide frying pan, preferably pressure pan on the stove over medium high flame, pour oil and heat it.

11) When the oil is hot, take batter filled in ziploc and squeeze it in a circular way, like concentric circle for 3 rounds.

12) Likewise, make the jalebis and fry them until crisp and when done, take it out and soak it in the warm sugar syrup, for not more than 2 minutes. Take it out and serve hot.

 

                              

 

Note:

1) The recipe, I have given is an instant one, traditionally the batter is fermented for 8 hours before it is fried into jalebis. These instant ones tasted similar to the traditional one. 

2) The batter should not be too thick or too flowy, the consistency of the batter makes good jalebis. If it is, too thick, the jalebis turn out soft and thick. If the oil is not hot enough, you have flat jalebis. If over fried or fried on low heat, jalebis shrunk. So the batter should be in right consistency and oil should be hot. 

3) Always use a wide pan or else jalebis may shrunk and becomes clumsy.

4) The syrup should be warm, otherwise jalebis won't absorb syrup.

5) The optimum time for soaking the fried jalebis is, let it soak, till next batch is fried ready for soaking.