Recipe - Gulab Jamun with Dark Chocolate Filling

One of India's most popular sweets, the Gulab Jamun needs no real introduction. The milk-solids based sweet is actually not just limited to Indian cuisine or even South Asian but is also a part of Caribbean cuisine! 

They are delightful melt-in-your-mouth little globes of heaven and can test the character of even the truest of calorie watchers as they sit there in their golden hues, bathed in a glistening sugary syrup.

So how can we improve upon this heavenly treat first prepared in India? (Yes, I know. We Indians did make everything in the world from gulab jamuns to spaceships!)

Well, we add another sinful delight to it. And who else but Dark Chocolate to upgrade the traditional Gulab Jamun? Calorie shmalorie! Life is too short not to indulge once in awhile and try to make heaven a little better.

So here you go! Enjoy your double delight of Gulab Jamun with Melted Dark Chocolate within.

INGREDIENTS:

• Khoya (mashed) - 250 g
• Flour - 50 g
• Chenna (mashed) - 50 g
• Cashews (crushed) - 1 tsp
• Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
• Dark chocolate - 40 g
• Sugar - 600 g
• Ghee - 50 g
• Water - 400 ml

For those of you who are wondering, khoya is the milk solids you get after slowly cooking and evaporating the milk. You can read about how to prepare it here.

Similarly, chenna is coagulated milk similar to paneer but not as firm. You can read about how to prepare it here.

RECIPE:

Mixture 1: Mix khoya, flour, cardamom powder & chenna and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Mixture 2 : Add cashews and grated dark chocolate with 25 gms of Mixture 1.

Heat the sugar and water for around 10-15 minutes on a medium flame till you get a syrup. If you like the traditional rose flavoured syrup, you can add a few drops of rose water to this mixture before heating.

Covering portions of Mixture 2 (inner layer) with Mixture 1 (outer layer), make 15 round medium sized balls.

Deep fry in ghee on medium heat - a high flame would cook unevenly, leaving the outside ready but not the inside - until you get the characteristic golden brown colour.

Drain and soak in the sugar syrup for half an hour.

Serve hot or warm, as desired. 

Click the image above to convert it to its full size and download the recipe

You want to really go to heaven on this one? Try adding a dollop of vanilla ice cream on top of this Gulab Jamun with Dark Chcocolate within it.  

Can you picture it? Oh sweet Lord!

Expect to see the odd food recipe like this at Godyears too - all prepared by my mother - from recipes she has collected as far back as the 1980's - with some unique to Kerala cuisine and some variations of international dishes. 

Since the goal is to share, I will be looking to make all the recipes into easy downloadable single images as well so that you can save them on to your mobile/device and use them offline. Of course, if you do try them out, it would be awesome if you gave me (and her) feedback here on what you thought of the dish.

For the list of all the recipes so far (including seafood, egg dishes, sweets, twists on traditional dishes et al), click here:

For more food posts,  you can just check out the Category on Godyears labeled "Foodgasm" here.